"What have you been up to?" I inquired as I studied Tina's face.

She still possessed that beautiful countenance beneath her silver-blond locks, but there was a new depth in her blue eyes. Perhaps "maturity" wasn't quite the right word; it was as though her once striking immaturity had gradually dissolved.

This transformation was noticeable not only in her appearance but also in her demeanor and speech. She exuded a different kind of confidence now, one that wasn't the arrogance often associated with certain noble lineages but a more subtle blend of humility and competence. Her change was truly remarkable.

"Well," she began her explanation, "while we were trapped in that barn, I recalled my grand-grandmother's story. She had chosen not to join the great migration during the onset of the last long winter. Despite my greatparents' efforts to persuade her, she remained stubborn and unwavering, having experienced two migrations already and refusing to partake in a third."

While she spoke, I glanced at Alice and realized that she must have been in great part responsible for Tina's transformation. Quite an impressive educational task, I thought to myself. Note to self: if I ever have kids, sending them to spend their holidays at Alice's barn might be a great idea.

I chuckled at the random thought as I refocused on Tina's story.

She continued, arching a brow but otherwise unfazed by my chuckle, "So, she was left alone in the palace. When they returned a decade later, they found her still residing in the palace's greenhouse. She had managed to maintain the warmth with magic and fire and illuminated it with her spells, and miraculously, the plants had borne fruit despite the entire greenhouse being deeply buried under snow."

She shrugged, raising her gaze to meet my eyes, then continued her story:

"That's what I did in that barn after we were trapped inside. I cultivated some plants and sustained their growth with my light spells."

I huffed. So simple and yet so ingenious! She had done the exact thing that had ensured their survival in that confined environment!

"Have you truly been trapped within that ring? How did that happen?" - I wondered, feelings of guilt seeping again into my soul.

They exchanged a gaze, but Tina spilled the beans:

"Spartacius tried to take us out!"

"Spartacius?" I asked, quite surprised. He was the last person I would have expected to find a way out.

The Lynx sighed but let her tell the story further.

"He disguised himself as a hobgoblin and planned to sneak us out. He'd already scouted parts of the cavern and believed the plan would work."

I turned towards the Lynx, arching an eyebrow. "And you agreed to stay inside the ring and let Spartacius smuggle you out?"

He snorted. "I thought it was a good idea at the time. My foolishness cost us, and we ended up stuck in that barn."

Tina rolled her eyes while Alice chimed in.

"The passage was too narrow for the Lynx. Only one of us three could have fit through, and Spartacius was the only one with a suitable magical disguise."

"Besides," Tina added, "Spartacius believed that where we couldn't succeed with brute force, we could succeed with a clever ruse."

The Lynx grumbled. "Well, you've seen that it worked brilliantly! But, demon, we owe you a great debt for getting us out of there. My only worry is that being in debt to a demon might bring us even more trouble..."

I shrugged, then added, "What can be worse than being my mount?" trying to lighten the mood.

He responded angrily, "I'm not your mount!"

Fearing that my attempt at humor had only made things more tense, I decided to change the subject and also satisfy my curiosity.

"What happened to Spartacius?" I asked.

"Why do you care?" The Lynx wondered, still a bit angry, but then added, "he escaped from the caverns. As long as he was near the cavern, he could exchange some whisper messages with Alice. We told him to go look for Cala. That's all we know about him."

So that's how it all happened! I turned towards Tina.

"You did great. You know, we humans work somewhat like those stoves your grandmother used to heat the greenhouse. We consume oxygen from the air and generate carbon dioxide. It's how we stay alive. On the other hand, plants do the opposite when they grow. They utilize carbon dioxide with the help of light, extract the carbon to form their leaves, and release oxygen."

Tina gazed at me in amazement.

"That sounds like demon gibberish to me!" The Lynx chimed in. "But, weirdly enough, it kind of makes sense. We managed to survive while trapped in that barn, even though I initially thought what she was doing was just a way to keep herself occupied. Is this demon knowledge?"

"No, I learned it from Dolores."

I sighed. I turned towards Alice: "Have you encountered any humans yet?"

Alice shared a glance with the Lynx before answering. "We came across a small settlement not too far from here, and I traded a small gold nugget for some supplies and food. They seemed to think I was a prospector of some sort?"

"They thought you were searching for gold. It is valuable here, but the value you get for it in these small villages is less than in the big towns. But for you," I turned to the Lynx, "please be careful. You should not show yourself at all, or else you'll risk starting a great lynx hunt. Such big predators do not exist here."

He shrugged, displaying his confidence. "I can take care of myself."

I continued, emphasizing the potential danger. "Yes, but you are not alone! People here have big guns, drones which help them see everywhere, and a lot of dangerous weapons, and all around you may get endangered."

He watched me with an indignant look but then pressed his head to his paws. "I don't need to hear this from a demon," he grumbled.

I sighed, realizing he was disheartened, and I began to understand why.

I did not miss Cala and White Flower because I had them inside me. I had all their memories and could even think I was one of them, but he was sorely missing them.

"I'm really sorry, Lynx," I said, "I haven't done that. I did not kill Cala and White Flower. I... I did not even exist when it happened."

Probably, I shouldn't have touched the subject at all. He almost exploded in anger.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"You say so!" he raised his gaze to look at me. "Explain to me first how you mask your power."

To his growing annoyance, I laughed first.

"I do not mask my power, Lynx," I explained. "It has been taken away from me through some debuff. I am really as weak as you see me."

"So I could kill you now?" his eyes were dangerously fixated on me, taking a red hue.

"If this would make you happier, you are welcome," I said, daring him. I knew I shouldn't have said that, but, as in many of my cases, my mood and temperament got the upper hand over wisdom. I realized it always after the fact.

To my luck, not everybody reacts like me, and we were not alone there.

"Lynx!" Tina exclaimed, hugging me.

"Why are you so distressed?" Alice asked.

I turned to look at her, and somewhere in her eyes, I recognized that motherly look that had always been in her gaze when she looked at me.

That brought me back to saner waters. I shrugged.

"I have only this demon form; I cannot transform; I can only try to hide under some low-level illusions. This is not gonna work if I interact with humans for more than some occasional couple of minutes of interactions. They would find out about me and chase me. Even the friends I have will run away from me when they would understand what I truly am. They currently think that I am a witch and barely accepted me like that... but... a demon? Who would want to deal with me? Only some crazies, maybe..."

My lip started to tremble, and my eyes filled again with tears.

"I'm finished. I have no life here! Who cares for a demon?"

I pressed my face in my hands and started sobbing. Once I released the tears' dam, there seemed to be no stop to the flood. To my surprise, Alice hugged me from the right while Tina pushed herself into my left side, squeezing me between them.

"You are crying?" The Lynx huffed. "Look at me. What should I do? What is different from your situation to mine?"

That... was surprising... and stopped the flood.

I hadn't thought of it like that, but my situation was not worse than his. Maybe even better. I took a deep breath, thinking about that.

"OK. Point taken, but you at least have friends!" I said.

"What did happen to you?" Alice asked. "Who took your power, and how?"

"I had been summoned. You know, like demon summoning. I did not know what that was. I did not even know what I was by then. I did not accept the summons. Each summon I refused made me feel worse, and I did not know what was happening. I wanted to accept one, but they wanted me to kill somebody, so I told them to go fuck themselves. I did not know, but each summon I refused had given me a debuff, halving my level. During the last summon, I was level thirteen. Now I am level twenty-six, a bit stronger than Spartacius was."

"Hah, I could really swat you like a fly!" the Lynx said, but the way he had said it didn't seem like he really meant it.

I shrugged. That was the truth.

"So you have to accept each summon?" Tina asked, arching her brows in shock.

"I can refuse them, but then my level is halved. After one summon, I got some of it back, so maybe there is a way to regain my power, but it seems that to do so, I have to accept all the shit they want me to do and more..." I shrugged.

"How often do you get summons?" Alice wondered.

"I did not get any for some time, then they came one after the other until I accepted one. I just returned from it a couple of hours ago... Seems pretty often, considering that I am only a couple of days old..."

"Do all demons have to accept summons?" Tina wondered.

I sighed.

"How would I know?"

"Poor you!" Tina said, seemingly visibly upset by my misfortune.

"Oh, yeah, the poor little demon!" The Lynx snorted, shaking his head.

I turned to look at him.

"You really cared about them!" I said.

That seemed to have been a bullseye remark. His eyes gained again that red coloring as he turned to look at me. I hadn't seen that before as Cala, but I knew from White Flower's memories that it meant he was deeply disturbed. I sighed.

"If this helps, know that they deeply cared about you!"

"What would you know!" he growled.

I didn't state the obvious; I didn't state that I knew everything about them. I turned to Alice.

"What about Sid? Where is he?" I asked.

Instead of Alice, Tina responded again.

"He is still that block of black stone he transformed into..." She blinked at Alice and the Lynx as if she had revealed something she shouldn't have. But she had already said enough for me to understand.

“Why would he do that? Why would he petrify himself?”

The Lynx sighed, looking at Tina.

“You shouldn't have said that. Sid is why the demon was looking for us. She needs him for whatever demonic ritual she plans to gain or regain her power, or whatever! Now, you may have delivered it to her on a silver plate. All she needs to do is pull that ring from us.”

Meanwhile, I understood why Sid did that.

“Oh, he did that to protect you, to not consume all the air in that barn. Was the situation that bad?”

“He will be OK; he will wake up soon!” Tina explained, not directly answering my question.

I shook my head, negating it.

“Not quite true. This is a state where he has no control, and I don't know if he knows enough to set the right preconditions to be awakened. I think it is the first time he tried it; he is much too young to do such a thing. Did he tell you to do something to wake him up?”

“No. Is there no other way to wake him up?” Tina wondered.

I shook my head again.

“Besides what he had put as a condition, only the breath of a dragon's mother would wake him up. Maybe my black magic could wake him up, but not with the puny power I have now.”

As it started to rain, Alice raised her eyes to the sky, then back at us.

“Let's go inside and talk further,” she said after having exchanged a glance with the Lynx.

She opened the ring's portal, and we walked inside one after the other.

I was very surprised to see the many small trees that were filling the barn. High up, several crystals were emitting light, and Tina went over to feed them with mana. It seemed they were taking care of the trees, even if they were no longer necessary for their survival.

And there at the end of the small forest was the curled up, sleeping black dragon.