Ziah's Point of View

Pendragon Estate

There was a silence from the old Dragon. “…”

Our General seemed to notice it as well. “Is something wrong?”

Sighing, Dryritt replied. “You will be hard-pressed to form any manner of alliance with any nation in this day and age.” He informed Arthur. “Everyone is wary of one another, and there is no trust. Most look at neighboring kingdoms as enemies or possible adversaries. In times past, Demons roamed this world with purpose. The fires of war were constantly burning.”

“So, you’re basically saying that there is no common enemy.” Arthur hummed in thought as I assumed the Dragon nodded. “But for how long will that be the case.”

“Demons may be targeting Lestrania, but unless they grow bolder, you will find it difficult to gather allies for your purpose.”

“Even the Dragons?”

“We have our own circumstances that I’m in no position to speak about.”

Greigh and I glanced at each other at that. “We should leave.” I whispered.

The Captain nodded. “Agreed.” He responded in a hushed tone.

Taking to the air, we flew off toward the Temple as my eyes focused on Greigh, who seemed lost in thought. “What are we going to do?”

Sighing, he glanced back at me. “Keep this to ourselves for the time being. Sir Arthur said he wanted to speak to me when we had a moment. This just gives me a little more incentive to find the time.”

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“We’re really not going to tell the Priestesses?” I asked.

He came to a sudden stop before twisting to look at me. “Absolutely not!” The harsh tone he used surprised me, and he noticed that before his voice softened. “Arthur said the Priestesses’ memories were influenced by Rudnurth. We have no idea what that entails, and I have no intention of causing a clash of titans. Nor would I want to be caught in the middle of one.”

“You think Arthur would act?” I asked softly.

“I think that if we reveal him, one side will act regardless,” Greigh answered. “That’s the last thing we need right now. If Arthur isn’t moving, I don’t want to force his hand. He likely has a plan in place for moving forward and will reveal it in due time. For now, we play things close to the chest and keep our ears open.”

I nodded, and we started flying again. “So, how should we address him moving forward?”

Greigh’s head hung. “I don’t know for the future, but for now, sir will do.”

“Greigh.” I called out to him.

“Hmm?” He hummed out over the wind.

“Are we gonna be okay?”

He turned to me with a small smile. “No matter what happens, I’ll make sure you’re okay, Ziah. Never doubt that.”

I smiled in return. “I never have.”

“Good.” He replied before he looked back to the Temple. “Because you’re going to be my lifeline.”

“Lifeline?”

“The truth is, Arthur likely knew we were there,” Greigh stated, and my eyes widened. “That means this is a test. One, I don’t plan on failing. Stay quiet, let me handle things moving forward, and we’ll be fine.” I could only nod in concern as we got closer to the Temple.

Arthur's Point of View

Pendragon Estate

“You’re not going to do anything about those two?” Dryritt inquired as he sat down.

My eyes watched as the energies of Greigh and Ziah flew off towards the Temple. “No. I’m interested in seeing how they respond to this. Push comes to shove; you may get your wish of me reclaiming my throne.” Leaning back in my chair, I closed my eyes to rest them for a moment. “That being said, I’d like to consider myself an excellent judge of character of my men. Those two have stood by my side.”

The Dragon smirked. “The king has new aides?”

I frowned as I opened my eyes. “This Knight has his officers.”

He waved my statement away. “Bah. Whatever you want to call them, you trust them. I assume you trusted that old Human who passed. Did he know who you are?” I nodded. “That would explain why he and those two Elves were so protective of Lady Lucia. She resembles Arceana a bit, but I think she has stronger ties to another in the Delmaris family.” Dryritt stated nonchalantly and coughed at my small glare. “Of course, who could possibly say for certain…”

“I wasn’t there when it happened.” My words were soft. “I’m tired, Dryritt, but would you tell me what happened to them?” The Dragon looked at me in surprise. “I can kind of surmise what happened, and I know people mentioned it…”

He frowned. “Your mind was elsewhere.”

I nodded. “It was.”

He nodded in agreement. “There was a lot happening at the time. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if we would survive. I’m older than I care to admit, and my guards were no more than boys too young to have seen any kind of battle.” The Dragon sighed. “It’s a blessing and a curse.”

“One that we all bear one way or another.” He was quiet. “Aien and Augustus… How did it happen?”