I head back to my room alone, smiling like an idiot as I carefully walk down the hall in my drunken state.

She could out-drink anyone! Woman might even be able to drink the entire ocean.

I cover my mouth as to burp so don’t alert the facility that their Commander is slightly drunk. Can’t let the troops get any wrong ideas about their respectable Commander.

I open the door to see a man sitting near my desk with a document in one hand and a pipe in the other, the small embers illuminating parts of his face.

I reach for my sword to fend off the mysterious man. In a blink of an eye, the blade of his sword firmly rests on my neck. My body locks onto itself as I stare at the shadowy figure.

He takes a puff of his pipe. ‘That is not how you should treat your guest, Volas,’ his gruff voice echoes in the room.

Handcock!

The dirty human dares enter my room without my knowledge. How dare a low born of a fractured nation step into my room.

‘Lower your sword! That is not how you should introduce yourself to your patrons,’ I snarl, he lowers his sword while he causally smokes his pipe.

‘Fair point, I should be more respectful in your own home.’

‘What do you want, human?’

‘Please, young Commander, call me Handcock. I’m here to talk about your slave uprising.’

He came to mock me, chastising my Empire’s military for a laugh. Humans are the most disrespectful group of people I ever laid eyes on.

‘What about it?’ I ask him.

‘Commander Earl has made some… Interesting choices throughout this war. Not wanting support from the north, waving away reports and now relying on the Dragon Fleet. So far, you are the loudest to oppose him. Which is a surprise for me.’

‘So you came here to inflate my ego?’

What is this nonsense? Did he come here just to cause problems? Handcock laughs. ‘Oh no, I am here to stay. I have orders to watch and see if my kingdom needs to step in to fight and maybe get your Empire out of this mess. But I’d prefer to survive to tell my duchess about it, so I came here with my knights to help with the defence of this city.’

His knights won’t be as useful as the Outriders, but I can see them being good meat-shields. These humans will not even be a significant force to defend this city. It is truly one of the highest of insults for them to come here. But I don’t have a choice. The north won’t come to help. Recruiting and training will take time, and I am running out of it. They can serve me, better than nothing, I suppose.

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‘I welcome your assistance, human.’ I reach for his hand to shake it. ‘But remember, this is my city. You follow my orders and no one else’s.’

Handcock smirks. ‘I’ll listen to you, young Commander, but my loyalties are my own.’

‘If you want peace between our people, I suggest you cut the crap and know your place.’

He exits the room, stopping before he closes the door behind him.

‘Have you read the book Stormfront? It’s about the Death Riders.’

I fold my arms to tell him no.

‘I didn’t expect you would have.’ He frowns. ‘In the book, it doesn’t just talk about their history, but how they view war. They say in war, we will face one of the three different types of enemies. The first is the enemy with soldiers that will fight for their cause, but their leaders are incompetent. These soldiers will face glory in defeat. The second is the enemy whose peoples don’t believe in the cause or the fight. They are a defeated army at heart. The third is the enemy that is devoted to its cause, its goals, and future. Their defeat can only happen through eradication.’

Handcock lights up his pipe as he smokes from it. ‘John Thrall wrote that during the early years of the Unification War. He sees war in stages, seeing that victory or defeat is dependent on what type of enemy you are facing. The wrong type can lead to your own destruction. The Dogs for you are the third type. Eradication can only truly defeat devotion. The Dogs see you as the first. Your people’s leadership will be your downfall. The question will be, what type of army do you need to defeat a devoted enemy?’

‘Get out!’ I demand.

Handcock takes a puff of his pipe, giving a sigh before leaving. How dare he imply my empire would lose to them, lose to slaves even if they are devoted! I should command him to leave my city.

But how can I, when I need his men to defend my city? How can I also answer that question without acknowledging that we are to the Dogs a flawed army? How, when I know it’s true?