Quietly, Fengari remained seated on the windowsill and stretched her head toward the sun. She had been in conversation with Palaios and Velence in the early morning hours, as had dozens of other of her siblings. For all of them the situation was a delicate issue and without the clear instructions of the gods, it was Velence who was trying to keep the chaos in check. Fengari almost missed following her Protégé because of this. For the last hour, she had been listening to two conversations at the same time, so she was relieved to finally have a short break. Many of her siblings were currently making their way to the mountains of Sylve, including Velence and Lofonus. Some of them would be on standby, while the other part would actively participate in combat. Only a small percentage stayed out of the whole affair, fearing the possible consequences from the gods.

Her bright eyes landed on Sir Venlan. Expressionless, the advisor stood against the wall opposite her, waiting for the princes to get ready. Halfway there, he had ordered his soldiers to call a state of emergency and had followed the princes to their rooms himself. However, the man did not remain quite as calm as Fengari had thought. After a few minutes, he looked at her and simply stared at her, which made Fengari a little uncomfortable in the long run. She didn't move and merely closed her eyes, as if she was simply enjoying the sun.

"Fengari...", Julius Venlan suddenly spoke up. Reluctantly, her ears twitched, but Fengari did not look up. "... you're a dragon, aren't you?"

Abruptly, all her muscles stiffened as shock caught up with her. He wasn't a mage and certainly didn't have the all-knowing eyes, so how did he know? Why did the man make the assumption that the harmless black cat was a dragon? Had she been acting conspicuously, or had he suspected something for some time? Fengari wouldn't know that she had ever acted unnaturally.

<"Caleb!">, she cried out desperately for help. What was she to do if her cover was blown? The High-Magician had specifically warned her not to reveal herself under any circumstances. For the safety of the people as well as her own. However, he had given her no instructions as to what to do if the worst came to the worst.

<"What is it? Has something happened?">, the Apostle immediately replied, similarly panicked as herself. To all appearances, he seemed immediately concerned that something unexpected had happened again regarding the Thormod.

<"That Julius Venlan just asked me if I was a dragon. My cover seems to have been blown.">

<"Oh my...">, Cale merely muttered and fell silent. He seemed to be considering what she should do now. The Magistrat had just told them that the dragons were on the side of the humans, but how would they react if a dragon had already been living among them for days? Fengari did not dare to make decisions on his own. That was up to Cale and his judgment.

"Please don't ignore me. From the beginning you seemed a bit strange to me", Sir Venlan spoke up again. Hesitantly, Fengari did open her eyes and meowed before she began to brush her paw. It was much more difficult to pretend to be an ordinary cat when you were being watched. Especially when someone already suspected that it was all an act. The impatience in Fengari grew bigger and bigger with each passing moment.

<"Does he seem very sure of that?">, Cale finally asked which Fengari confirmed after a scrutinizing look. Silently, the Apostle sighed. <"If that's so, then you can reveal yourself to him. I don't know Sir Venlan very well, but if he is an advisor to the king, he should be able to handle the information. However, don't provoke more to find out about it. You know how people behave towards you.">

In mid-motion, Fengari paused and listened to the statement while her gaze lingered on the man before her. They were in a kind of stare contest, for neither of them was moving now. At the same time Fengari check, if there were other people near her, because she was aware that often the invisible men hid in the palace. However, she could not perceive any other presence, which actually surprised her a bit. They were rarely alone, that it already seemed unnatural.

"I beg you", the advisor with the light brown, long hair and narrow eyes raised his voice again. His position hadn't changed, but Fengari could swear that he seemed a lot more tense than he had a few minutes ago. Quietly, she set her paw back down on the ground, wondering if it was a good decision to reveal her identity to an almost stranger. Even Cale barely knew the man. If it had been William, Edward, or Sir Freigoud, she probably wouldn't be so cautious.

But she put her trust in Caleb.

"What exactly gave me away?", she finally spoke quietly, and in response, Julius took a step back. Intuitively, his hand slid to the sword at his hip, but to the dragon's astonishment, the man remained a lot calmer than she had expected. In the conversation before, it had been he who had complained loudly about the statement regarding dragons. Interestingly, the man acted like Cale had when they first met. He had respect, probably even fear, but he remained brave and tried to stand his ground. Where did he suddenly get this composure?

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"Your behavior. You always seemed as if you could actually understand us. But only two days ago I had a definite suspicion that you were not a normal cat, even though I thought you were a human."

"I see, the Thormod's shape-shifting must have given you pause."

"More like High-Magician Leuen's. That was the first time I realized how easy it is for mages to disguise their appearance", Sir Venlan merely commented.

"Caleb is about the only one capable of doing that. I owed my appearance to him as well, much like Prince William is able to use his Igrikum."

"My mistake, then I guess I had misinterpreted that", Sir Venlan replied politely, but did not relax. He seemed to have a few more questions buzzing in his head, but he did not ask them. For Fengari, however, it was easy to guess what his current thoughts were.

"I am only here because Caleb asked me to protect Sylve and especially the little prince."

"Was it you who had unmasked the Thormod?", Sir Venlan asked quickly.

"Yes. The mana she carried belonged to my sister Chioni. It was stolen from her by another Thormod and this had caused us great problems for several years. It was Caleb who had come for us and since that event we have also been working together."

It was only after this statement that the man finally seemed to relax. Though he continued to keep one arm on his sword, his muscles relaxed and his gaze also became gentle. Since he made no comment, Fengari spoke up again.

"Please keep my existence to yourself. We have our reasons for not revealing anything to you, but I assure you that we dragons wish you no harm."

"I will keep a low profile", Sir Venlan confirmed calmly, as if he had already anticipated such a request. Fengari felt a pang of relief and turned away from the man, her gaze falling out the window behind her.

It had become quite warm and the sun was now clearly visible. The courtyard below them was bustling with activity, as dozens of people had arrived at the palace. From their clothing, Fengari guessed that they were nobles who were to be informed of the current state of affairs. Fengari guessed that today would be a long, tiring day for her. The only hope she currently had was that her siblings would also be allowed to come to Sylve. Although she would be able to stand up to the creatures on her own, it would still be risky for her. Especially since no one knows what exactly the attack will look like. At this point, they didn't even know if Sylve could become a target. It is just a precautionary measure that was decided because of Cale's past.

"How dangerous do you consider the situation, if you don't mind me asking?", Sir Venlan returned a moment later.

"Well, Caleb probably has the best experience of us with the creatures and the Thormod, but my opinion is no different from his. If I had to say it directly, humanity will soon have to fight for its existence. Even with our help and all the preparations of the High-Magicians, I don't think this war will be settled in a day. Our only advantage currently is that we have Caleb."

"You are relying... on High-Magician Leuen as well? Do you consider him to be that powerful?"

"Caleb Leuen is probably the most powerful being you will ever meet in your short life. He is quite superior even to us dragons, although my siblings here may disagree to some extent. He will protect you and us until his last breath, I know that."

Sir Venlan seemed to want to retort something, but Prince Edward opened the door at that moment. Immediately, the high-ranking man saluted the future king, who by now had emerged with neat hair and a noble red uniform. One of the things that Fengari did not quite understand yet, because he definitely changed his clothes several times a day and often the employees helped him with that. Compared to what she knew from the Magistrat, the behavior here was a lot more... stranger.

Elegantly, the black cat hopped down from the window sill and trotted up to the crown prince, who took her in his arms with a smile and let her climb on his shoulder. Sir Venlan watched the whole situation skeptically. A good minute later, the youngest prince also reappeared from his room. Together, the two young men went into the large dining room and were immediately met by some servants who were there as usual.

Fengari hopped down from the crown prince's shoulder and remained standing next to Sir Venlan while the waiters took care of arranging the food. Usually Sir Freigoud or Sir Venlan were only present when the king was also on hand, but the entire rule seemed to have been discarded by the royal family in recent days. Probably as a reaction to the sudden loss of the 2nd prince, even though Fengari could not quite comprehend this action. It was merely a thought that Caleb had shared with her. She kept him updated daily and summarized the most important events for him, but so far she had not received permission to move through the city as a human.

She watched for a while as the two princes uncharacteristically ate without her father's presence, until Sir Venlan gained her attention with an unobtrusive tap of his foot. Irritated, she turned her gaze to the slender man to her right, who was looking at her with expectant eyes. Immediately, she knew he still had questions, but she felt it was too dangerous to begin speaking now.

<"Do you have any more questions?">, she sent to him with the help of Chioni's ability, which obviously surprised the man. Stunned, he looked at the cat, but nodded a moment later. <"If it can't wait, then talk to me in your mind. William has good ears and I don't want to risk anything.">

<"...nd? Do y... h... me? I...">

<"Speak a little more clearly, please. It's hard to understand you.">

<"How do.. wo..? Ar... you able t... hear me?">, the advisor tried again and contorted his face convulsively, making Fengari laugh inside.

<"It's a bit hard at first, I'm surprised anyway that you can keep the connection with me without explanation. Caleb had been trying harder">, Fengari announced with amusement. <"Try to speak as if you were talking to me normally. The more you try to force it, the more difficult it will be.">