Chapter 99: Final Consequence
As they had expected, Sapphire, Dakota, and Balethon did indeed receive a summons to report to the general of the Royal Guard, going with Victoria to do their best to explain the situation. They reported to the general’s office for a report and questioning.
“So, you claim to have encountered a force far beyond anything we have seen in decades that far out. To the point that it actually seems ludicrously excessive for the task at hand, and yet you managed to not only miraculously save five children from a fallen keep that had been picked clean but also save another keep currently resisting this overwhelming force without taking a single casualty yourself?” The general’s expression was incredulous as she looked over the four individuals before her.
“No Ma’am, Jarix found the kids, one of your own. And we very nearly lost two of our own in the following battle, not to mention the damage Jarix sustained. He clearly gave everything he had to save the keep the inhabitants of the keep, acting with both honor and bravery going above and beyond his assigned orders,” Dakota replied in her well-trained diplomatic voice.
“Yet we have no way of verifying with either Zarko, Radexi, or Jarix at the moment. Most convenient,” the general replied, still not letting go of her suspicious tone.
“Jarix did in fact verify the report this morning. Though it happened through Lady Deriva and her son, Luke Deriva,” Victoria added, also using a very respectful tone. Sapphire elected to just shut up so she didn’t insult the general by accident, but honestly, after all the shit they had gone through to be accused of lying of all things, was more than a little insulting.
“And how do you know that was Jarix's testimony?”
“Because these people have been through very thorough scrutiny as of late and we have failed to find a single fault with neither their actions nor intentions. I guess you can thank the falsified accusations against them for that. Secondly, the report fits very well with what I would expect from Jarix, I have been overseeing his training on and off for nearly a decade, General,” Victoria replied, not budging on her position.
“Another recruit more passionate about honor and glory than following orders,” the general replied with a sigh. ”And what of this new threat then, if they are indeed real? Jarix was seemingly capable of taking down no less than three of them by himself. So then, what gives? Limited combat potential, poorly led? The battle was fought at night; surely that should give them a nearly insurmountable advantage.”
“Element of surprise,” Victoria stated as if that was blindingly obvious. “It said so in the report. One of them didn't even get into the air. The second was overpowered in a frontal assault. The third was only dealt with on account of support from his crew after having inflicted very serious damage to him.”
The general replied with an annoyed grunt, looking back at the report. “What kind of threat would you classify them as then, Colonel?”
“It is a well-known fact that bats can see at night. If this is true for these monsters then I can only assume it makes them capable of not only flight but full-on maneuvering during the night, even at low altitude or through treacherous routes.”
“It would explain their ability to dodge our patrols,” a scribe, who was noting down everything being said, let out calmly while scribbling away.
“It would,” the general agreed with a sigh, “and their mediocre combat performance would explain why we haven't seen them deployed actively yet, that and the enemy likely want to keep them a secret. But they match the descriptions of the damage caused to some of the other frontier keeps… Fine, they exist. We will have to find a way to combat them then, but you can't honestly expect me to believe those numbers aren’t exaggerated. 75 darklings and three dark knights... I mean, come on, Colonel! I have read enough battlefield reports to know those numbers rarely mean anything. What would you put the actual numbers at.”
“The numbers are accurate, General,” Dakota interjected. “They are not air kills or other such numbers, it’s the number of bodies recovered from the field.”
“You are saying you have three full sets of... let’s assume lich plate in Deriva Keep’s possession?”
“That is correct,” Dakota replied confidently. They knew so for a fact, so there was no reason to lie here.
“Oh godsdammit, why can’t you just be lying,” the general let out in frustration. “We don’t know where they are coming from. They can apparently navigate as they please at night without us spotting them, and then there is this dagger. I have sent for the one recovered from your keep. We have tried to crack how it works, though nothing has come of it yet.”
“That doesn't sound good,” Balethon let out, sounding rather worried, Sapphire agreeing on that point.
“No, it isn’t. We are holding an emergency war council in a few hours time, you are gonna be present too. Hopefully that particular mystery won’t be evading us for too much longer. With that determined, we have to come up with a plan to fight this situation. If we cannot defend the frontier keeps we will be forced to start withdrawing from them. We simply don’t have the manpower to defend them all like has been done with yours.”
“Fingers crossed we can think of something then,” Sapphire tried with a strained expression.
“The frontier is already basically undefended. People won’t be leaving because you tell them it’s not safe. it’s always been dangerous out there, but it’s their homes,” Dakota interjected.
“No, but right now I’m responsible for everyone lost,” the general replied in a much more somber tone. ‘Oh, please don’t seek pity from us,’ Sapphire thought to herself. She guessed the general just wanted to avoid the fallout from her failures in the future.
The war council was indeed held in the Royal Palace itself. Sapphire had wondered what that might look like inside. She was not disappointed. The hallways were large enough for dragons to traverse, and they did. There was cobalt blue carpeting with silver and gold framed paintings on the walls. Not to mention, the amount of gilding used. It seemed like almost everything that could be, was gilded, and countless valuable items were out for display.
The war room, though, was a different story. There was a massive table in the center surrounded by raised platforms of multiple tiers on three sides and one large opening big enough for a dragon to occupy it on the fourth wall. They had arrived early, taking up seats at the highest tier looking down. The general peeled off to sit at the closest tier.
The king didn’t show, though one of the princesses did indeed grace them with her presence, arriving backed by a gnarled looking veteran of a red dragon and her personal entourage of what looked like advisors and a complement of Royal Life Guards. Sapphire almost thought it was Baron for a second, though on closer inspection that clearly wasn't the case. Firstly, it was a she. Secondly, Baron still had both of his eyes. Thirdly, she was even larger than Baron. Sapphire put her down as maybe being as much as 45 tons maybe more, making her a true behemoth. As the massive dragon laid down on the platform only the front part of the body was even inside the room.
The princess was introduced as Major Aquilani Leviticus of the Royal Guard and the royal family, third in line to the throne. Sapphire knew it was common for members of the royal family to serve in the guard, earning ranks as per tradition. Though, if it came down to it, there would be little doubt as to who was in charge in a discussion between Victoria and the princess.
Unlike her father earlier, she was kitted out for war to the point where Sapphire honestly wondered whether she planned to storm out the room to charge at the enemy herself.
She was an odd combination of unrestrained fury at what had happened and profound gratitude towards Sapphire and the others, Victoria included. The other representatives of both the Royal Guard and the Merchant Guild, specifically the head of their escort services, weren’t so lucky though. Even the general of the Royal Guard wasn’t above her wrath as she dished out insults and accusations of both incompetence and cowardice that this situation had not been discovered earlier.
Following the reprimanding of everyone the princess had deemed in need of one, the actual meeting had commenced. The report was discussed; many questioned the truthfulness of it, though they were eventually either persuaded or overruled on the subject.
The dagger had been brought in at one point, Sapphire leaning over to Dakota to whisper.
“What are they planning on doing with that thing here?”
“Damn if I know,” Dakota replied with a shrug of her shoulders.
The Lady Ishani stood up, walking down to the floor. Sapphire had not noticed her before.
“The dagger before you has been examined thoroughly. Aside from its potent magical potential and the dark nature of said magic, we have been unable to unravel its secrets, nor break its enchantment. Hence, we will proceed to a more direct approach. The first willing test subject, please.”
The doors opened again as a very miserable-looking dragonette was marched through the doors in chains. ‘Oh no they aren’t,’ Sapphire thought to herself at the sight of the familiar-looking prisoner.
“For the records, would you please state your name and that you consent to his experiment,” the Lady continued, gesturing to Thalrex.
“I, Thalrex Lyftmore, consent to this experiment in exchange for having my criminal record expunged.”
“Oh, you fucking idiot,” Sapphire let out quietly, actually feeling sorry for the mercenary. Her sentence had been indentured servitude for a number of years likely in the mines; Sapphire didn’t know the final number but it wouldn’t be life. Surely it wasn’t worth dying over.
“Don’t say anything, we are not here to make demands. It’s her choice,” Dakota went, putting a hand on Sapphire's shoulder to calm her down. Her voice wasn’t entirely calm either though.
“I would rather have seen the bitch take this one, she will do though,” Balethon added, not sounding overly concerned.
Thalrex had been placed on a stretcher and tied down tightly with leather straps and chains.
Sapphire held her breath as a figure in a religious robe came into the room, accompanied by four chanting individuals carrying censers.
“Is that what I think it is?” Sapphire questioned, eyes locked on the central figure with her stark white horns and solid blue eyes.
“Yup,” came the response from Dakota, her eyes also fixed on the high priestess.
The censer carriers stopped their chanting, stepping back and muttering prayers. Sapphire couldn’t help but join them, saying a prayer for the mercenary. She might have taken a really shitty job, but no one deserved what Sapphire guessed was about to happen.
The high priestess took the dagger from its tray, removing the sheath. It looked just like any other fine dagger Sapphire had ever seen. The priestess gave Thalrex a light cut on the forearm and stepped back to see if anything happened, though nothing did.
Sapphire had to look away for what came next, as they proceeded to get more and more violent with the blade. Stabbing Thalrex in the gut, the mercenary let out a blood-curdling scream, also receiving no reaction. Eventually, the high priestess said her final prayer, stabbing her through the heart, driving the slender blade in deep as Thalrex writhed and struggled.
The effect was immediate; the Priestess got flung back hard enough to smash the thick wooden railing of the first level, her four censer bearers dropping to the floor, the censers clattering to the ground with them.
Thalrex writhed and fought against her restraints as a black stain spread from the wound, quickly engulfing her in darkness. Sapphire covered her ears as her scream turned twisted, her back arching up as she roared out with all her might. Then silence as the dragon slapped down a paw on top of her, crushing the stretcher and small table under Thalrex with a sickening crunch. Leaving only a sizable blue gory stain on the floor, stretching away from her broken body.
“There, you know what it does. Can we deal with them now?” The dragon questioned impatiently as she held up her paw, waiting for her crew to clean it off. Sapphire just sat there staring in shock.
The room erupted into activity, some people tending to the priestess and the censer bearers, the Life Guards moving aside from having leapt in front of the princess, sheathing their weapons.
Lady Ishani stood there for a second before taking out a small booklet and beginning to write, walking over to inspect the ruined corpse.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Well, that explains that,” Victoria had let out, sounding rather apprehensive. “And if there are two chances are good there are more.”
“And Jarix has one of those, right?” Balethon questioned, clearly in shock too.
“I’m gonna let them know immediately,” Dakota declared, leaning back.
__________________________________________________________________________________
It had taken a few days, though Tom was finally allowed to sober up. Jacky hadn’t left him for most of the time, though it helped that she really needed the time to recover too. The statement that she had needed to be carried back wasn’t a joke either. Apparently, she and Ethera had climbed a tree to get enough speed to get the two of them airborne. She had pushed herself far beyond anything that could be considered a good idea and she had paid the price. Nunuk had her running her wings through a series of exercises to try and get her back in the air as soon as possible. But other than that she was not allowed to use them at all.
Zarko had returned along with Rekui, the silvered huntress from Deriva. She had come by to say hi during one of Tom’s more awake moments. She apparently expected Jarix to be flight-worthy within a few days. He won’t be fit for a fight, but he’ll at least be to the point where he could take to the wing for some testing to make sure everything was fine. He wouldn’t be pulling any hard maneuvers or daring dashes across the sky, but he should be able to make the journey just fine.
‘Damn dragons and their healing hacks,’ Tom mused to himself, honestly feeling relieved he might be heading for home soon. Kiran had to be worried sick. Nor did Tom feel particularly inclined towards staying in an infirmary bed any longer than necessary. He certainly wasn’t adding anything to the defence of Deriva in his current state. To say he was ready to return home wouldn’t be an overstatement either.
Lady Deriva had agreed that Bizmati Keep’s inhabitants had done more than anyone could ask of them already, including leaving their keep perilously low on defenders during such an evidently dangerous time.
When the hangover finally hit, he found himself blessing the fact his eye bandages hadn’t been taken off yet in addition to reciting the few prayers Quin had forced him to learn. The hangover had him puking 'til there was nothing left and shaking and shivering badly enough that Jacky had called for one of the healers more than once. Tom had been through plenty of hell during the last few days, and now he had both Jacky and the promise that it would soon be over to help him through it. Yet it somehow seemed even worse as he clutched up tight against Jacky, begging her not to leave him.
“I’m not going anywhere, not this time. You said it goes away, so just sleep it out dude,” Came the soft, caring reply as Jacky curled up around him, stroking his sweaty face. “You need water dude, it’s like you’re leaking all over,” she went with a snicker as she grabbed a pitcher from the nightstand to help him drink.
“See Huxly... That’s what you are supposed to be doing,” one of the other wounded let out, teasing.
“Oh shut it, they broke by damn back and you know that.”
“Oh you and your excuses, we both know it was hardly a fractu…”
“Shhhssss,” Jacky cut them off as Tom winced at the noise, before she went back to nuzzling him.
“Thanks Jacky.”
The mother of all hangovers had lasted a full day and well into the night, but mercifully the next morning brought with the clearest mind Tom had possessed in damn near a week. Jacky had brought breakfast up as he cautiously tried to eat something to see if it would stay down. Much to his relief the bucket hadn't been needed and Quin had even cleared him to have a walk around for a bit. In fact, she insisted he should get up and move as much as he could.
He had needed a hand to get to his feet. Luckily he had Jacky on hand ready and willing to help out. Even if she found it a tad too funny that he was the one struggling this time as he stood there on shaky feet.
“Shiva’s not gonna stab me in the back while we walk the corridors, is she?”
“Nah. I think she got time to calm down a bit. I think it helped that I promised to keep the gun loaded for myself if she did,” Jacky replied, not missing a beat.
“Please promise you won’t ever do that...”
“Well, then she has to promise she won’t hurt you. It’s very simple really,” Jacky joked as they made it down the stairs to the hall. Tom still hadn’t been allowed to take the bandage off, though Nunuk had promised she would take a look at it tomorrow to see if it was time.
Jacky had led Tom to a table somewhere towards the big doors to the outside, which judging by the air was currently closed. “You just sit here for a moment, I’ll be right back. Watch him,” Jacky went as she let go of him, running off.
“I’m guessing I’m the designated guardian then,” Jarix spoke out from above, Tom looking up towards the sound.
“I guess so. How are you holding up?”
“Better than you, it would seem.” The dragon replied with a concerned chuckle.
“Not much of an achievement. No but really, you doing okay?”
“Yeah I guess, it’s been a… different week, that’s for sure.”
“No rest for the weary.”
“I mean, it can’t get any worse now so…”
“Oh don’t you say that Jarix, you’ll incite Murphy's wrath.” Tom let out with a chuckle.
“Who?” Jarix questioned, clearly not following as Tom chuckled at his own joke.
“It’s just an old saying. ‘It can always get worse.’ Hopefully, it won't though. I don’t think I would survive that.”
“Speaking of which,” Jarix let out, tone growing a hint more concerned. “Time to earn my keep I think”
“What do you..”
“Tomas Hansen. I need a talk with you,” Shiva let out from a way’s off, accompanied by approaching footsteps.
“You can start with saying sorry for breaking their door,” Tom replied confidently; he knew she couldn’t touch him here even if she wanted too.
“I need to know. Is she telling the truth? You didn’t… Oh you know,” she replied in a tone of strained indignation.
“Yes she is. If you aren't gonna start screaming and swinging axes around you might even get the whole story, but yes. I held my promise to the letter,” Tom replied, putting heavy emphasis on the last part.
“See I told you so. This is the part where you say sorry,” Fengi added in, apparently having been sitting at the table all along. There was a bit of a pause before Shiva responded. “Jacky fucking loves him.”
“For the record, Tom did try to stop her from leaving,” Jarix added from above. “I think that’s rather important”
“I’m sorry. I just didn't believe her,” Shiva finally replied, sounding completely defeated.
“For both breaking down the door and smashing me in the head with a chair?” Tom tried, rather pointedly.
“Hell no, you deserved that one. You would not believe the amount of trouble you caused... But if she’s truly happy with you… Then I guess that’s how it’s gonna be,” she replied, falling back into the sad tone.
“Oh come on, I can’t see you but you sound like you lost her. I can’t be that bad.”
“Come on Shiva, he’s perfect for her. Would you rather have her run off with an escort or a mercenary?” Fengi added, Tom pulling a slight smile, backup was always appreciated.
“I… as long as you don’t kill her… That I couldn’t forgive”
“Who says I could,” Tom protested as sincerely as he could. It wasn’t hard to manage. He honestly didn't know what he would do in that situation, nor did he feel like thinking about it. “I did try to stop her from going… Kinda hard to order someone who is deaf though.”
“She wouldn’t have listened even if she could, nor could that little whelp Luka have made it” Shiva let out as she sat down with a sigh. “You might not have claws but you have dug them in deep.”
“Oh come now, I might have made a promise not to bribe Jacky, but don’t tell me I have to bribe you.”
“No, I will not take a bribe. You will continue to prove yourself worthy of the last Furlong. Unfortunately, she’s more than worthy of that name so I can’t stop her.”
“You make it sound like it would only be her in your way,” Fengi added, sounding very cocky at the moment. Tom had a feeling the eight-ton dragon currently looming overhead might have something to do with that though.
"I don’t know what metric you use to measure worthiness, but I’m fairly sure I’m not poor and I have killed a lot of bad guys so far.”
“Fuck that’s true,” Fengi let out as if something just clicked. “Oh godsdammit!”
“What?” Tom questioned, looking towards where he guessed she was.
“I helped make Jacky the richest woman I have ever known… I’m an idiot,” Fengi replied, slamming something into the table that sounded like her head.
“I’m what now?” Jacky questioned from a ways off. “Hey! You better not be threatening him!”
“No, I am not. You made it very clear not to touch him,” Shiva replied, still sounding displeased at that.
“Damn right I did,” Jacky replied as she sat something down on the table, sitting down next to Tom and taking him into an embrace so they were both facing Shiva.
“Jacky, have you realized how much Tom is worth?” Jarix questioned from above, sounding genuinely curious.
“He’s worth a hell of a lot to me,” she replied, clutching Tom a little closer. “And you won’t get in the way of that,” she then snapped at Shiva.
“She hasn’t figured it out,” Fengi went, sounding more than a little incredulous. “Jacky, he’s the richest person you have ever touched.”
“Now come on, if anything I’m an expense at the moment,” Tom protested. There was a big difference between having a lot of money and having some stuff that was worth a lot after all; technically speaking he was fucking broke.
Jacky shifted him over to the side a bit, Tom guessing that she was looking him over. “Didn't think of that… Mom, aren’t you supposed to give a girl something just because? Dad gave you that ring, right?”
“You're not getting married!”
“What? No, I meant like… I mean just kinda want a gift... I did save you three times,” Jacky replied with a snicker. “Four if you count yesterday,” Tom had to admit, that yeah, he kinda owed her on that front. Rather badly, in fact.
“Uhm... What kinds of gifts exactly?”
“Like some jewelry may be a nice thing,” Fengi added, seemingly not quite over her earlier outburst.
“Well I did bring a bit of jewelry from home, if you want a ring or something?” Tom tried, thinking it over.
“Nah, I would rather have a thing… Can I keep the revolver?” Jacky replied with tangible excitement in her voice.
“I guess that works,” Tom admitted. An annoyed grumble emanated from Shiva.
“Yuss! That’s so much better than a stupid ring.” Tom heard the sound of the revolver getting unholstered.
“Did you sleep with that on?” Tom questioned. He hadn’t heard her strap it on this morning so she must have.
“Yeah duh, I told my mother, I'd shoot myself if she killed you, wouldn’t be much of a threat without the gun,” Jacky replied with tangible spite in her voice.
“Lethal jewelry,” Jarix added with a deep chuckle. “Shouldn’t you give him something too though?”
“Right I should… What do you want? I haven't got anything you haven't got.”
“You saved my ass three times on this trip, possibly four, and you want to give me a present?” Tom questioned, trying to make it sound as absurd as possible.
“I mean, I think I have to.”
“Don’t die on me and don’t shoot yourself. How's that?”
“That applies to you too, and you better damn know that. But no seriously, there must be something.”
“Well you’re a huntress. What about a nice trophy?”
“Oh, I have plenty of those.”
__________________________________________________________________________________
“That settles it then. A three-strong formation is to be dispatched to track, and if possible destroy, any enemy-held positions in the area. Starting with an exceedingly thorough sweep of the forest on the island in light of what happened to the local unicorn and her current condition,” the general clarified, pausing for any objections.
“Very good. Young Tiguan is to be deployed to enact security for the rebuilding efforts of Hylsdal, as well as running transport operations for the core of engineers from the guild assigned to the project. The free trader Archeon shall also be employed in this role once his current itinerary is complete. The keep is expected ready for inhabitants by next spring.”
“If he agrees,” Dakota added in. “We do not speak for him, we are simply his current employers.”
“Understood. Furthermore, Jarix is to remain deployed to Bizmati Keep until such a time as this situation is resolved. Tiguan is to be drawn from the cities defenses, though in light of our latest cuts to said defense force, the remaining three are to be drawn from the forces relocated to long-range patrol duties. Am I correct in understanding Colonel Victoria Hashaw has volunteered to lead this formation with Baron?”
“Yes general, though again Baron has yet to be asked, of course.”
“Oh, he’s not gonna pass up this chance,” the large female red dragon chuckled deeply enough that the room reverberated with her. “I bet he’s willing to do anything to get out of flying boring patrols with no hope of action.”
“His opinion won’t matter either way. You two are the most experienced being transferred to patrol as it is. Not to mention the rather useful crew composition you have, following your time training our latest additions. Colonel, you are at liberty to choose your remaining compliment from the other forces getting transferred,” the general finished, leaving no further room for debate.
“Yes, ma’am,” Victoria replied with a quick salute.
“Nice to see you taking action for once, general,” the princess went, seemingly poking a bit of fun at the general.
“And nice of you to promise not to force my hand by running off with our best units. Your contribution to our defenses is most appreciated. Council dismissed,” the general replied, sounding slightly sarcastic, leaving the princess chuckling as she turned to leave.
The rest of the room rose to their feet and began making their way to the exits. Victoria escorting Sapphire and the others down the wide corridors.
“Are they really gonna be rebuilding Hylsdal this year already?” Sapphire questioned, looking to Dakota as they walked.
“Apparently so. I’m guessing they want another stronghold on the island just in case. I think the Hylsdals have family back here too; they might be interested in taking over the family home?”
“I wouldn’t want to go live where my family was just slaughtered,” Balethon replied, voice heavy with apprehension.
“Then they will find someone worthy and willing and send them out instead,” Dakota dismissed him. “The important part is things are about to get even more busy back home. We might be able to make some money selling building materials to them.”
“Are you seriously thinking about making more money right now?” Sapphire questioned, trying to emphasize the absurdity of that. “We have way too much to do already.”
“Right… that we do indeed. I have been thinking about that actually. With our current influx of funds and the amount of projects on the horizon it might be time to go looking for some more faces for the keep.”
“You wanna hire more people?”
“We have the room, and now we have the work too. Why not?”
“Well what about Tink and Junior, think they would be willing?” Balethon questioned.
“If you tell them more about Tom then I think so, yeah. Don’t they have work to do though?” Sapphire responded, pondering it. “What about Ray… I mean I know she’s... you know... and she can’t stay with Tiguan now, nor could she do that forever.”
“I think Tink can get the things we need done before we leave, then he can continue his work at the keep. Might even help take a bit of the load off Tom, he’s damn well earned that,” Dakota replied, sounding thoughtful. “As for Ray that doesn’t matter if we have the work for her on the ground. I for one think she would complain a lot less about kitchen duty than Jacky.”
Sapphire felt a sigh of relief leave her body. She liked Ray, but she was the kind of person you normally couldn’t get away with helping. This situation was everything but normal though, and for once she thanked the gods for its absurdity.
“What about another huntress or two? You girls haven't been the best at staying airborne as of late,” Balethon added, clearly trying to be funny. Sapphire didn't consider his attempt successful.
“Someone is getting dropped next time,” she replied dryly. “But it might not be a bad idea. Especially if Jarix is going to be staying in the winter.”
“No, I agree. I say we go watch a game then someday. We got lucky with you last time.”
“Yeah, we already tried the street girl approach. Ray might be sweet but she won’t be rivaling Fengi in the air anytime soon,” Balethon tried again.
“Dude!” Sapphire snapped at him.
“Honestly man,” Dakota agreed, shaking her head.
“Oh come on, it was a good one. It’s not like she’s here,” Balethon tried to defend himself, holding out his arms wide.
“No, but she will be so you better learn to behave with decency. Your tongue has a tendency to slip. Tiguan is heading out as soon as possible, so you lot are swinging by the training fields tomorrow morning. You pick up Ray and wave goodbye to Tiguan. I recommend acquiring the medicine for Esmeralda and Tom today. If you could also convey the request to Arc, that would be appreciated. If he agrees, tell him to accompany you to the training fields, by then I will have the paperwork in order.” Victoria interrupted rather sternly.
“Of course we will let him know,” Dakota replied as they made their way out of the grand structure.