Sera scanned us with a face of stone. Then, finally, her lips twitch slightly upwards. I wouldn’t call her expression a smile, but it didn’t seem to bear ill will either. Our eyes met, and she said, “Thank you, Hayden. Without the aid you brought, we would have been in dire straights.” A considering look passed over her face for a second, followed by guilt. “I…I apologize for what I said to you earlier. It was unfair of me.” She bowed her head slightly at me, mindful of her status.

Octavia nudged me from behind, and I hastily bowed as low as possible on the horse in return. An uncomfortable silence stretched over our group as they waited for me to say something. I struggled to find the words, then said, “I understand.” Shooting her a grin, I continued, “I accept accept your apology, and you’re welcome.” Octavia jabbed me again, and I continued, “We were happy to help.”

Sera gave a short, exhausted, but genuine smile this time, and the tension that had been hanging over our conversation broke like the dawn of the day.

Aqualia and Augustus, who’d been hanging back, stepped forward, both giving a polite bow as a greeting.

“I apologize for the interruption, princess,” Aqualia said, “What are your plans now?”

Sera reached a hand above her shoulder, the phoenix stretching their head out for a pet. She stroked the phoenix’s head, fingers reaching undamaged through the flames. Her head tilted back as she stared at the sky before returning to Earth. “Now is as good a time as any to ask, I suppose. I sent a message your way yesterday. Did you receive it?”

Aquila shook her head. “I did not.”

Sera frowned, glancing at the body of her captain in the distance, before flicking her eyes back to meet Aquila’s. Aquila gave her a sympathetic look. “Would you consider making a public statement with me regarding the future of chimeras as a gesture of goodwill between our people? Hayden and Augustus poured their souls into a speech for us, and I’d hate to see it wasted.”

Aquila looked at August in surprise. He avoided eye contact, and his blush was easy to spot under her and the phoenix’s combined light.

Moved, she turned back to Sera. “If August worked so hard on it, I will happily oblige.”

Aeolus stepped up next to Sera, gently intertwining their hands together. He lifted them, looked her in the eye, and, with a deliberate look towards her blood-covered ragged dress, “We have a few things to do first.”

She followed his gaze and gave a silent, teary laugh. She swallowed and agreed, “Yes, we do.”

She dropped their hands before tightening her grip on Aeolus’s hand. Turning to Aquila, who looked on, unjudging, she said, “I don’t know how much Augustus has told you, but my father was assassinated last night.”

“Yes. I am sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you. I must announce my father’s passing by this evening. It would be best to make our speech then, lest we allow resentment over my father’s passing to rot in the lives of my people. To that end, I would formally like to invite you and trusted individuals to rest and recover in the palace until the announcement.”

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Aquila bowed to Sera. “I shall humbly accept your invitation.” Lifting her head, she looked at August. “I trust you’ll handpick the best for the job?”

“Of course, m’lady.”

Sera looked at Faust, standing next to Octavia and me. “Faustus, you will handle their security.”

He sent a pleased smile Aquila’s way, his face lighting up, before turning to Sera, looking like an excited dog with a bone. “It would be my pleasure.”

“Very well.”

With nothing else to add, we rapidly regrouped together and headed back to the city, guards taking care of the captured chimeras. A few stayed behind, presumably to take care of the deceased. Sera’s phoenix flew overhead, signaling our presence to anyone watching, bright enough to be visible from the city proper.

On the way back, we rode up to the front of the company, Sky on our left, August, Aquila, then Faust on our right. Sera and Aeolus led the way, followed closely by Helia and Azure. The rest of the chimeras walked behind us, camouflaged from prying by the horsemen surrounding them.

Although we’d just won a battle, the men we rode with stayed professional, and the ride through the forest was characterized by the sound of hoofbeats and whispered conversations from our friends. It wasn’t yet dawn, but blue was bordering the horizon.

Sky moved close enough to nearly bump our legs together. He gave Octavia a hesitant look before asking, “Did you see the clothes that guy was wearing earlier?”

Octavia replied, “Yeah! They were so weird looking! Where was he even from?!”

He didn’t acknowledge her. “Do you think they were–”

“Modern clothes? Pretty sure, yeah.”

The young man also had the same ability to teleport that Ani did. Was he related to my appearance?

“Mudern clothes? What’re those?” Octavia asked. Sky and I cringed at her pronunciation.

“They’re a style of foreign clothing. From the country Haden is from,” Sky said.

Octavia placed her hand on my shoulder for balance and leaned to the side, giving me a once-over. “That explains your fashion sense, I guess.”

“These were in the wardrobe!”

“Yeah, but you wear them weirdly.”

“I do not!”

Sky was no help. “Something about how you wear it does look a little off….” He admitted.

I looked at his clothes, then back at mine. “I see no difference.”

“Well, it’s there. Maybe it’s your weirdly skinny figure?”

“My figure is perfectly normal!”

Octavia patted me on the shoulder. “Just keep telling yourself that.” Between the two of them, it was almost as bad as having my sister around, jeez.

We reached the palace at dawn, exhausted. In the soft light of morning, Servants and soldiers alike were milling about, tidying up, and beginning repairs on the damaged areas. A few walked up and offered to take our horses from us. Gratefully, I accepted, ungracefully sliding off of the horse and into the muddy courtyard. Octavia climbed down gracefully, landing with a thump that sprayed mud everywhere. It made little difference to me, already caked in mud, but the servant gave her a stink-eye, which she ignored.

Since I’d left Ani there, and the others were heading there themselves, I followed the servant into the stable. Notus ambushed Aeolus, clearly reprimanding him for leaving him behind. Meanwhile, Ani, now clean of mud, strode up to me to sit at my feet, begging for pets. I went to pick him up, but as soon as my muddy fingers made contact with his clean fur, he recoiled, cleaning the mud off as quickly as possible. Additional attempts at grabbing him were unsuccessful. Now that he realized I was muddy, he wanted nothing to do with me. I didn’t blame him.

Azure, leaving Aeolus to deal with Notus on his own like any sane guard, walked up to me and asked, “I saw you out there. Bet ya glad ya took me up on that training now, aren’t ya?”

I stopped annoying my cat and straightened my posture. “I am, thank you.”

He moved to whisper conspiringly in my ear, “Even ol’ Helia agrees.”

Helia must have had some type of sixth sense as she looked over at his words. She did look at me less disapprovingly than she had before, so Azure’s statement may have had some merit. Azure gave me a friendly pat on the back and walked back over to Helia, making conversation.

Once we walked into the palace proper, servants with damp towels ambushed us. They scrubbed our skin raw, aggressively wiping off the mud and blood we’d accumulated before they finally let us return to our rooms with the promise of hot baths. My body desperately longed to pass out in bed, but I longed to be clean more. The remaining mud and dirt darkened the water, but it was warm, and my eyes kept sliding shut.

I dried myself off, tossed on some clothes, closed the window curtains, then flopped onto the bed, exhausted. Ani followed suit, taking his place against my chest. The faint pinks and oranges of the new dawn blessing the city were the last thing I saw before my eyes closed.