The rain didn’t let up till early morning. Sunlight settled through the trees, exposing the damage of the storm. Large branches littered the forest floor, some barely missing our carriage.

Gunnar leaned against a fallen tree, sharpening his sword beside Trent, who had fallen asleep earlier. After realizing that we’d be stuck here, it was decided that shifts would be to rest. The delay would cost us.

Of course, I was perfectly fine to stay up. When it became my turn to guard, Serlon insisted on staying up with me. He did so, under the guise that I was younger, but it was because he didn’t trust me exactly.

Not like I trusted him either. But it was a mutual feeling. We trusted each other on professional terms. Like I’d scratch his back, if he did mine. Even if he entrusted me with things, one thing remained clear. Because at the end of the day, I wasn’t human.

Worst of all, I was a demon. Humans and demons weren’t the most compatible creatures. They were pitiful, empathic beings who let their feelings override their choices. And Demons were more brutal and calculating.

We had little in common.

However, if anything was morally right about my mindset, it was my honor as a soldier. Despite my disgust to admit to that, I suppose I related to humans in their knight codes. If you could even call it that.

The point was that I wasn’t going to betray them, as long as staying here benefitted me. But I wasn’t going to turn against my race either, despite being abandoned by daddy dearest.

I’d take my “duty” of returning Edwin to Trane seriously, and then I’d need to figure out my plans. The war was approaching inwards.

Tensions were surely rising too. I wasn’t sure what awaited back in Trane. Right now, how could I be sure that I wasn’t betrayed? Not like I’d blame them.

Even to the faintest extent, my body felt lighter. Being confined in a human body wasn’t taxing considering my mana deposit, but it wasn’t unlimited. At one point, I’d need to slip back into my original form.

One hour would work. I’d take anything. It wasn’t like my body was puny enough to not handle something like this. After all, dragons had immense storage of internal mana. I wasn’t like a puny low-level mage that couldn’t do layered spells for shit.

Still, my body was healing from the light magic. Not to mention my left wing was severely damaged to the point of no flying. There was a lot of excess energy being put into healing and maintaining this appearance.

“Hello?” Gunnar’s hand waved in front of my face, “Earth to Asta.”

My face morphed into a scowl, “Move it, or lose it.” I pointed to his hands, which hovered dangerously close to my mouth, “I’ll bite your fingers off.”

“Don’t kill the messenger!” He scoffed, automatically cringing at his word choice. Poor phrase considering the events that led us to become sheltered in the middle of a storm in the first place.

Eran slapped him upside the head, “Watch it, idiot. Be careful with your words. Let Asta alone. I’m not responsible if you’re missing a finger. You know the kid isn’t lying,” He cautioned.

Eran’s attention gravitated to Edwin and Serlon. They chatted in front of the carriage, arms crossed. Edwin’s face looked pale with his hair sticking up at all ends.

You could tell that leaving Leton had taken a toll on him. He was empathetic, which would only hurt him in the future. Royals had to make cruel decisions. Leaving Leton was a mutual one for both parties. Trane couldn’t take that for granted.

From my perspective, Trane needed to focus on preparing themselves if an attack should reach their doors. What use would be worrying about what other kingdoms do?

If Hellion approached Trane’s doors, I couldn’t be sure what would happen. And what would I do if that day arrived? I wasn’t sure yet.

If they weren’t strong enough, they deserved to die in the first place. That was my stance on it. But from their whispered bickers, I’m sure that they cared more about the situation than I did. From a distance, I could hear what they were saying.

“We need to get back, as soon as possible.” Edwin whispered under his breath, “Lars and Daniel won’t have the authority to handle this matter anymore.”

“With the delay, we’ll be able to get back the earliest in two days,” Serlon revealed, bags hanging under his eyes, “I apologize for your highness.”

“We don’t have time anymore,” Edwin frowned, “Hell, we don’t have to know if Leton is on the brink of falling now.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The short answer was that they’d have a month at the earliest, but my father loved to span war. That sadistic bastard got a kick out of that. It was highly unlikely that we’d use anything but siege tactics for a kingdom like Leton.

“We don’t have any other options, my liege!” Serlon shook his head, their conversation now drawing attention.

Edwin sighed, combing his hand through his hair, “Let’s talk about this later, Serlon.”

“Let’s get moving!” Serlon yelled, walking towards the others, “We’ll leave in five!”

“Yes Sir!” The others yelled, quickly moving into position. Trent hurried to set up the mules, making sure to check their harnesses.

I sighed, brushing the dirt from my outfit as I got up. Gunnar and Eran hurried to the sides of the carriage, stepping through the light coming from the top of the forest.

The severity of the night wasn’t obvious in the dark, but under the light, their clothes were soaked to the lower fabric. Mud covered most of their attire, splashes drying on their face. I probably looked similar. Everyone looked ragged, but we couldn’t stop moving if we wanted to get to Trane on time.

I joined Serlon and Edwin up in front, both of them eyeing me as I drew closer.

“Did you want me to lead us back out?” I asked, pointing to the nearly readied carriage, “We’ll have to avoid certain areas because of problems and all.”

Edwin sent a glare to Serlon, who held up a hand, “I know. I know.”

I raised my eyebrow.

“Asta.” Edwin’s voice was firm, as Serlon grabbed his shoulder.

The guard’s voice was a fierce whisper, “I told you. We’ll deal with this later, Your Highness.”

“Forget it,” Edwin brushed off the guard’s hand, “Asta, after we get out of this forest, please accompany me inside the carriage for a little.”

“-Your Highness!” Serlon challenged him, only to get a nasty glare from the young prince.

“This is an order.” Edwin finished, marching back to the carriage, and huffed the door open before slamming it shut.

Serlon groaned, combing his hand through his hair, “You got to be fucking kidding me…” He whispered under his breath.

I could have asked, but I didn’t care either.

“So, you want me to guide us out?” I sighed, walking over to one of the mules, and patting its neck.

“Is it something we can handle?” Serlon inquired, signaling Trent to take off.

“Hmmm… normally. But considering the terrain and the condition of your soldiers, I’d recommend against it,” I disclosed.

From the energy, it was lower level. But if it were like those demon wolves that Jamie ran into, it’d be a tricky battle with the carriage. Plus, I’d rather not waste energy if I didn’t need to. This was much easier in my opinion.

“Fine. Lead the way,” He agreed, holding a hand up towards the others, as to follow him.

I nodded, leading the carriage back towards the road. We had to avoid going further into the woods, meaning the way back had to be a straight shot.

The carriage creaked, seemingly cracking at every bump or root that it rolled over. The mules walked ahead with some extra motivation, occasionally needing to be pulled forward.

Everyone remained quiet, focusing on getting back to the road. Inside the forest, you could hear rustling from all directions. Whether it be an animal or a monster, you’d never know. Snaps of twigs and the chirping of birds grew louder as the sun continued to rise. Soon the view of the road came into focus, as we trekked through the storm-torn forest.

I tried to ignore the lingering eyes of the demons watching from afar. I could feel their energy spike, as they drew closer. It was interesting to notice that they stopped at a certain point, not daring to get any closer to my energy. So either my authority as a Morningstar was still somewhat intact, or they were beastlike demons that didn’t want to fuck with a dragon.

Both situations were ideal enough.

The carriage stopped at the hill, the mules grunting as their hooves slipped down the muddy decline. They calmed down once their feet hit solid ground and the carriage leveled out on the dirt road.

Serlon let out a deep breath, looking back towards the carriage, “We good back there?”

Trent peered back, eyes brushing over the carriage, “Just dandy…” He affirmed, holding a thumbs up, and a sly grin.

“Hold positions. “We’ll rotate at high noon,” Serlon nodded, making his way over to me after.

He walked alongside me, leaning over to whisper, “Edwin wanted to see you.”

“I’m not senile. I remember.” I scoffed, rolling my eyes, “What’s the deal? What do you know that I don’t?”

“Excuse me?” He grumbled.

“Don’t fuck with me. It’s written all over your face,” I jested, “What’s the blonde bitch going to say to me?”

“Blonde bitch…” His voice drifted, “It’s not my duty to disclose that with you.”

“Then who’s is it?” I countered.

“Not mine.”

“Fair,” I shrugged, “If it’s what I think it is, then I’m requesting a break when we get back.”

“What do you think it is?” He asked.

“Oh…it’s not my duty to disclose that with you,” I quipped, receiving a smack on my arm from him.

I turned around, starting to head to the carriage door before Serlon grabbed my arm, “Hear him out before you kill everyone. Please.”

I raised my brow, hitting away his arm before scoffing, “If it’s that bad, then you wouldn’t have let me talk to him. Relax.”

Plus, if I felt inclined to kill them – I would have already. But I wasn’t going to verbalize that. At least, not right this second.

“Fine. Go.”

“I was going to go anyway,” I reminded him, ignoring his curses under his breath. I walked up to the carriage door, hopping onto the moving step, and grabbed the handle.

“Are you in trouble?” Gunnar ran further up, pulling the door open for me.

“Perhaps,” I commented, leaning down to head inside. My eyes met Edwin’s, who sat crossed on the other side. Gunnar closed the carriage door behind me. I sat across from Edwin, taking this time to lean back on the seat.

“Here I am, your liege. Your Highness. The highest one. My humble prince- “

“I get it.” Edwin finally spoke, his expression breaking into a weak smile, “You’re the only one bold enough to speak to me this way, you know?”

“Give me a reason to respect you and I’ll call you ‘Your Highness’ for real,” I offered.

“…Right,” Edwin sighed, “Can you set up something so that the others can’t hear from outside the carriage?”

It wasn’t strange for him to ask that. I figured that he wanted to ask about my knowledge of the demons. Perhaps my brothers’ moves? That was information that I wouldn’t give out, even if I was banished by my father. As strange as it sounds, those were my people at one point. Edwin should understand that. I was betting on it.

“Easy,” I snapped my fingers, my eyes glowing a dim red, “There. Whatever you’re saying stays between us.”

“Thank you, Arslym.” He leaned forward, clasping his hands together.

“What did you want to ask me?” I inquired, watching as Edwin’s face became more serious.

He remained silent for a while as if he were debating against himself internally. But whatever was on his head, he should just say it.

We didn’t have all day.

“You still have communication with the demons. Don’t you?”