Since the fateful day she had met him, Densooth had guided her to become stronger with the help of prophecies. Ruena had later learned that he was the notorious Black Wolf, well known as an evil being who controlled everything from the shadows. If that was the case, then she would let him control her too, so long as he promised her revenge. Just when everything was going perfectly, he abandoned her.

Ruena used what connections she had made and forged forward on her own. Now she stood proudly as the leader of the Alodan Warriors. The Alodan Warriors, the elite mercenary squad once led by her father. That is how things should have been. Unfortunately the life of a mercenary was not at all what Ruena had imagined. Nine years passed since she gained the permit, and she had just barely gained access to real missions and stability.

Why was it now that a letter with the ominous symbol of the Black Wolf sat on her desk? Should she ignore it? No, she knew better than anyone that Densooth was unforgiving to his enemies. She may no longer be one of his people, but becoming his enemy would be a grave mistake. Regardless of what she chose, Soral was sure to find out about the letter and he would be furious.

“Make sure Soral doesn’t find out about this,” she ordered Rosalie, the only other warrior in the room and her second in command.

“Commander, you know how impossible that will be. Your boyfriend can hear thoughts,” Rosalie refuted. When met with Ruena’s cold glare she quickly backtracked, though on the wrong point. “Sorry, sorry. Not your boyfriend. Your fated partner.”

“I don’t care how you refer to him,” Ruena told her, “Just make sure no one else knows this is here so no one else can think about it existing. You and I both learned how to control our main line of thoughts so he isn’t privy to our private information.”

“Why don’t you read it first,” Rosalie suggested, “You won’t know if you want to hide it from him until you know what you are really dealing with.”

Unfortunately, Rosalie was right. There were some things Ruena simply couldn’t do on her own. She was well aware that she had used the prophecy’s mention of fated partners to use Soral for her own goals, and she would always feel guilty for it. Even now, Ruena constantly relied on him for his powerful magic and other useful skills. This was without taking into account that his businesses singlehandedly funded the entirety of the Alodan Warriors.

Unable to think of any more reasons to stall, Ruena carefully broke the seal on Densooth’s letter. The letter was thick due to both high quality paper and the sheer amount of words they held. She braced herself for threats and nonsense alike.

“Ruena Alodan, you have done well since we last met,” it read, “I appreciate that unlike your partner you have yet to make any unsolicited visits, however your goal remains unachieved. You have held your end of the bargain and it is time for me to uphold mine.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

She hadn’t even made it past the first paragraph and Ruena already felt disgusted. She could feel the veiled threats and dissatisfaction. Had he expected her to come running back? To stop Soral from bothering him with childish pranks? Ruena secretly enjoyed hearing Soral’s tales of torment against him. She found it hard to believe that Densooth couldn’t stop him if he really wanted to.

“You and I both know that what you want most is vengeance against Velcorna Alodan for her crimes. It just so happens that the very woman you so hate is aiming for a seat of power far beyond her means. As the true heir of Alodan you have the best chance to not only stop her, but take your own revenge in the process.”

Ruena scoffed. Now that he had a stake in things he suddenly remembered her. She thought it was suspicious that he had suddenly offered his help after all this time. Everything was conditional with Densooth. Everything involved a deal and a price, and he made sure he was always on the winning side of the bargain. Why would he even care if that woman took this supposed seat of power? Though, Ruena did have to admit that she couldn’t afford for her to gain any more power either.

“The throne of Altea is at risk, and the heir I have chosen is young and unready to face the vultures that surround it. You must reclaim your rightful place as heir of Alodan, and next in line to the throne of Altea and protect it until the new Queen is ready to rise.”

Hold on a moment, the seat he had been talking about was the throne of Altea? But Queen Shirisha was still alive, even if she was living in seclusion. Not only that, but Altea was the human capital of Althaedor, representing the eternal alliance of humans and dragons that had created the land in the first place. If Velcorna became Queen of Altea, not only would she gain incredible power, she could plunge the entire continent into war!

“I have prepared materials to help you in your goal. I am sure you will find them most interesting,” it continued, as if the Black Wolf had not just bombarded her with information that was both terrible and grave, “The easiest way for you to properly reclaim your seat as heir is to come bearing a significant achievement they will have no choice but to acknowledge. I have included a list of qualifying achievements you can choose from.”

More high-handed orders. Densooth had set up an entire plan, thinking she would just obediently follow through like she had all those years ago. Still, his words were too serious to ignore, and he wasn’t one to lie. Ruena took a glance over the achievements he had set out for her. Rather than achievements, it was information on high spec criminals and criminal organizations that could not be apprehended.

She ignored Mr. Mischief, the king of Qilin as that was Soral’s cousin and time warped alterego. She tried not to think of the specifics of how that worked, but she knew that catching him would be both impossible and counterproductive. Ruena also had no interest in taking on anything to do with the endless war of the Warlord Territories. It was a wasteland beyond saving, and she wasn’t going to play hero or pretend otherwise.

However, there was one among the targets that did catch her eye. The slave trader, Gero, was back. Nine years ago they had infiltrated his trade and rescued their top technical expert, Janon. During the process they had caused enough damage to the trade itself that it had quickly fallen under. Unfortunately, since it was a rescue mission Gero had escaped.

The majority of the warriors had plenty of reason to take him down. He was the perfect target, but she couldn't make such a high profile decision on her own.

“You were right,” she admitted with a sigh, “I need to let Soral know about this after all, along with the rest of the leaders among the warriors.”