"There he is," Syra greeted me with an all-knowing smile.

I gave her a slight nod as I walked to the living room area. Surprisingly, Ynos was up and awake, perhaps something to do with the table full of food in front of him.

I quickly scanned the room but found no traces of Sidus. 'Where did he go?' I wondered.

Immy was sitting next to Breta and was asking her something about the land of the Gods. Breta didn't seem that interested in the conversation, but still engaged with her nonetheless.

Once she saw me, she gave me a small nod before turning her attention back to Immy. Essie was also nowhere to be found, but I could sense her presence right outside the house.

"How did your business go?" I asked Syra as I pulled a chair to sit down.

The old Dragoness grabbed a mug full of juice and sat down next to me before answering; "Could have been better, but who am I to complain," she shrugged.

"Is that so," I nodded and moved my hand to what looked like a very tasty meat pie.

Ynos barely acknowledged my presence with a raise of his brows before he continued to wolf down the food.

"Yes," Syra nodded, and I could feel a faint trace of mana slip out of her body, but I wasn't able to see it, even when I tried.

A slight frown made its way across my face, but I still tried not to react and took a bite out of the meat pie. The taste was just as I expected, 'heavenly'.

"We will need to leave soon," Syra said calmly. Her expression was still smiling but her words were serious.

"I'm assuming whatever you did is to stop the prying ears?" I asked without a change of expression.

"It will not hold on for long, and they will soon figure out that something is wrong, but yes."

"Who are we running from?" I asked.

"Everyone, it's no longer safe," Syra answered.

"Any news from Grandma?" I asked again.

"No, last I heard she was supposed to be with the council, but I can't make any contact with her."

A small sigh of relief escaped my mouth, "At least that means she survived. Grandma is strong, she'll be alright," I nodded.

"That is true. Your Grandfather is still busy on the frontlines, while Iver is nowhere to be found."

"Mother needs to vent after father fell," my voice lowered slightly as I spoke.

Ynos who was busy eating stopped for a second and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before he continued without speaking.

Syria nodded once more, "We might need to leave the plane."

"All of us, together, I'm assuming?"

"Yes."

I turned my gaze to the two ladies sitting at the end of the table, "You ladies okay with that?" I asked.

Breta nodded, and Immy spoke, "As long as we are all together, then I do not care."

The shadow on the corner of the room morphed and Sidus's figure stepped out of it holding little Essie's hand.

"That was so cool! It almost felt like brother Aether's teleportation but it also wasn't! It felt like walking through water!" She said excitedly.

Although he tried not to show it, Sidus's nose flared in pride as he nodded 'nonchalantly'.

"It's only for short distances and not teleportation. We walked through the shadows." He explained.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"I assume you guys heard everything as well?" I asked.

He lightly coughed as his eyes met mine before raising his head to look at the ceiling, "Yes, all good."

I inwardly facepalmed, was he still thinking about what happened in the morning with Breta? By the King, I hope the misunderstanding doesn't escalate.

"When do we leave?" I turned to Syra and asked as I finished my last bite of the meat pie.

"Preferably, now. I don't want the village to be caught in the middle of the chaos," she then paused and glanced at everyone "You will all need to keep up with me."

"Can't we teleport?" I asked.

"No, too risky. They might try to do something to mess with your destination and throw us off course or worse, leave us stranded in the void."

"So, are we fighting our way out?" Ynos asked as he placed the leftovers on the table and stretched his limbs.

"Hopefully not, but we are fighting anyone who tries to stop us," she answered.

"Works for me," he said.

"Where will we go?" Little Essie asked.

"A certain world that's off the grid. It has a few Gods and Dragons there, but they are the type that settled down since they want to be left alone."

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's go," I answered.

Syra nodded at all of us, and I could feel her mana retreat back into her body. Whatever magic she had used, it was no longer there. I could once again sense the gazes on us, and it made me feel extremely uncomfortable.

*****

We left the house with no issues and made our way across the village, greeting the villagers along the way. Our group did get a few curious glances as we walked past but otherwise continued unhindered until we left the village and made our way to the celestial mountain range.

Once we were deep into the mountain, Syra's magic suddenly wore off, and our transformation quickly went undone. Breta looked at us in curiosity as we grew in size and soon enough dwarfed her.

The only one who didn't change back was Essie, as it seemed like she was able to transform without the help of Syra.

The old Dragoness was focused on a certain spot in the distance, while Essie floated gently toward my head, her human form changing as she approached.

By the time she landed on my head, she was back to her cute green Dragon form. She was much bigger than before, but before me, it didn't matter much, as she still appeared almost like a child, fitting perfectly between my horns.

"I missed this!" She said with a giggle as she grabbed my horns.

I smiled lightly and turned to look at Breta who also lightly flew toward me.

"What?" I asked.

She didn't say anything and instead sat on my back.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Nothing, take me as well." She answered with a shrug, under Essie's curious gaze. I could also see Sidus sneaking a glance our way, the second I turned toward him, he quickly averted his gaze and looked elsewhere.

A long sigh escaped my mouth as I lightly shook my head.

"Are we leaving?" I asked Syra as she still remained in her human form gazing at the horizon.

"It seems like they really want me to stay," she answered with a growl, and for the first time, my heart truly skipped a beat as her aura filled with rage slowly leaked.

'What happened?'