The cat sits in a tree under active camouflage, watching the harvesters in the distance. His human must keep them in line but does not want to kill—he has no such reservations. If culling must be done, he will cull. Silently. Completely.

His human is in a safe zone. The fairy said that the “Mouth” is protected by magic—that if someone attacks, it will kill them. His human is safe—

—but he does not trust the harvesters.

The ones out front are strong. Stronger than he is. They probably have eyes that can see him like the fairy can see him. Eyes that can see his portal. Track his movements. He felt them a mile out; he could barely feel the rest.

Legacies.

That’s what the fairy calls them.

They are different from the rest. They are stronger than that colossus—both in strength and experience. They could evolve but don’t because they cannot return. That’s what the cat thinks.

Legacies.

He wants them to leave his human. He doesn’t trust the lurvine to protect her.

His instincts were right. After his human finishes his reunion with her kin, the beast tamer rushes the lurvine, hugging them, reuniting. Many will join him, and Mira’s protection will dwindle.

He must stay and watch for now. He will strike when the time is right.

Suddenly, the youngest “Dante” looks up at the cat with a thin smile. Even from so far away, he sees and smiles and then looks away. He knows the cat is there, but he doesn’t tell. He, too, is watching, interested—hunting.

That man is dangerous. The cat hates that he is waiting to speak to his human. The man needs to breathe his last, but he cannot yet do it. So for now, he waits, watching, poised to warp into her shadow and take her away, an epic skill none can expect, even if they can counter the second strike.

This is war—and the cat is ready for it.

2.

Hadrian Dante spotted the small cat and grinned. Brexton sold Hadrian exclusive information that Mira had a pet, and it was not only still alive but apparently strong enough to eat through dozens of second-evolution beasts.

It was impressive, but he didn’t expect the cat to have such exceptional Active Camouflage. It already rivaled the Claustra’s, and he could barely see it without Soul Sight. In fact, if Mira’s soul beast weren’t predictably watching over its master, he probably wouldn’t have noticed it.

Hadrian sent a side-long glance to Brexton and found that the clown was already smirking at him. It made him scoff. Never had he met someone who was reprehensible to the point of proudness.

It was almost commendable—

—and certainly disconcerting.

Brexton Claustra’s loyalties only extended to Romulan and general chaos. He never sacrificed results for lunacy, but in any and every case where destruction was an option, he deferred to it. If he had his way, the Dante family would burn, and he got a thrill from Hadrian knowing this while he still paid him egregious sums for information.

It was for that reason that Hadrian was wary of him more than any other.

Hadrian turned back to the woman of the hour, Mira Hill, who had a full crowd trying to surround her but was keeping her distance as she spoke to Aiden and her brother warmly.

It was clear that Aiden tamed the lurvine but it was impressive that she retained them as familiars.

That fact was amazing, but he was drawn more to her appearance.

It was too amusing. Despite being in the forest for four months, she showed up with smooth skin, pristine clothing, and styled hair. He had a feeling that if she had brought makeup, she would have worn it, too—all to flex her power.

What? You thought I was a savage who ate meat with my bare hands? Are you mad? I would rather starve on the altar of despair than submit myself to such rabid conduct. If you entertain such foolish rumors again, I will burn you on the stake of your own ignorance.

He doubted she spoke like that, but he doubted she would address his family with the same casualness that she was giving Aiden and her kin. Her patron wouldn’t allow it.

Elana Saliea—the Eternal Goddess.

Alendrias Dante—Hadrian’s patron and his family’s matriarch—could not confirm that Elana was, in fact, Mira’s patron, but it was likely. Elana had hired Alendrias, and thereby her family, to collect goods from Mira and deliver them up the Spirit Stream. It was doubtful that an eighth evolution god could strike a deal with someone in the forest without at least a blessed subclass.

The question was—who would be Mira’s patron god if Elana wasn’t?

Alendrias said there was only one person on the council but refused to say who it was. That wasn’t surprising. She was the only tenth evolution god on Dronami, and she headed the Dronami Council that governed the gods and rules regarding the planet and its protection from foreign invaders. Her words were law, and the secrets she held for millennia were essential to maintaining order throughout the Multiverse.

Hadrian wanted to know, though. He wanted to test her. He wanted to force her to release her secrets. To fight her soul companion and figure out the depth of her secrets.

Hadrian was excited for the forest time in years.

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He waited patiently until Mira finished and finally addressed the pooling crowd. She walked to the edge of the Mouth with the lurvine, back facing the forest, and then winced as hundreds of harvesters passed by her, taking her into the forest.

“Hadrian.”

Hadrian turned and found his teacher, Kallan, nudging her head toward Mira. She was now standing with her lurvine, watching everyone pass out. It was time for business.

“Okay.”

Hadrian walked through the crowd, which parted as if by magic as he made his way to Mira. She was waiting for him with an air of apprehension.

“While I respect your prudence, there’s no need for wariness,” he said as he approached. “This area is surrounded by a grand ward, and attacks are met with immediate paralysis and death of the attacker. I would be more wary of that man,” he pointed at Brexton, who waved merrily, “as he’s the man in charge of exposing your secrets.”

Mira turned to Aiden, who said, “I can’t say anything about Brexton,” an omission that all but designated Brexton as the person he was chained to.

Mira looked at Hadrian. “Is this your way of building trust with me?”

“What need would I have for that?” he responded, glancing at Tyler.

Mira turned to her brother.

“He’s Hadrian Dante. He heads my security detail.”

“My family does, but I aid them, yes. Although I am regrettably unable to during the Harvest.”

“Because you’ll be slaughtering everything in sight?”

“That’s a rather coarse way to put it, but yes.”

Mira pursed her lips.

“Please, speak your mind,” Hadrian said with a hint of amusement.

“It’s just… your words. I understand they automatically translate, but it’s hard to believe you speak with that lexicon.”

“Why’s that? Is there a problem with accurately conveying one’s viewpoints?”

“Uh… no. It’s just that… Actually, yes. I can’t imagine that half the people here can actually understand you.”

Kallan took a step forward in warning of Mira’s disrespectful tone, but when Mira put up her hands, Hadrian said, “There’s no need for hostilities. It’s a valid question—one I’m happy to answer. The reason is simple: why would I degrade my intelligence to enable the ignorance of others? If you ask me, it’s an offensive disservice to speak down to others as if they were children who need coddling instead of inspiring them to expand their mind.”

Mira genuinely considered it and then said: “I can see your point, but I’m still not sure what the value of language is if you don’t communicate well with people.”

Hadrian chuckled. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone—save Brexton—was so defiant toward him. In fact, after Kallan’s warning, one could even call her recalcitrant. It seemed that her warning to the First Domain wasn’t a bluff—it was her genuine personality.

“Then we’ll agree to disagree. Now please, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hadrian Dante, chosen Scion of the Dante family, and second in command in the First Domain. My family heads your family’s detail, and Kallan and her team here,” he turned to his teacher and four other powerful family members, “will be transporting Elana’s supplies between here and the Second Domain.”

Mira’s eyes widened, and she choked on her words. “Forgive my rough introduction. My name is Mira Hill, Scion of the Elana Saliea.”

“There is no need for such hesitation. I find your subversion… charming.”

Mira blushed slightly and then turned away, unclipping her backpack. “I have her tribute here. Do you by chance have some preservation chambers? I have extra and some cannot be put into the same container.”

“We do,” Kallan said. She turned to the others, who pulled off their backpacks and started unloading supplies. When Mira saw the specialty preservation containers, she started drooling.

“If you would like to trade for some, we would be obliged to do so,” Hadrian said.

“Uh…” As if in a trance, the Mira pulled out a chamber that had about fifty cores of different colors. “Name your price.”

Hadrian couldn’t help but laugh and flash her a smile. This woman wasn’t even negotiating. It was clear that she had hidden most of her valuables, and what she had brought was worth less than dirt to her, a remarkable fact considering the absurd number of green cores.

“We will accept trades in cores, but we would rather trade in herbs.”

“Oh, of course.” Mira pulled out her tribute, exposing the remarkably rare herbs, flowers, and fungi from deep in the forest. There was over twice as much for each. “These ones are super valuable and I’d rather save most of them. But I brought these to trade.”

Mira pulled out five more containers and stacked them up. Each container was packed with a mixed assortment of different plants, and when she opened them under a warping domain and purified them, Felio Hellara, the First Domain heir of the Melhan family, cried out from the location she was watching.

“Calba Root? Trana? What’s that… These are the plants you’re selling? What’s in those—”

“I suggest you back away,” Kallan said chillingly. “In fact, let’s move out of the Mouth. I’ll create a barrier.”

“Wait!” Felio yelled. “Don’t sell those. My family will outbid—”

Mira walked out of the mouth and suddenly, the world tinted black under a sensory deprivation chamber, leaving them alone as Mira hesitantly transferred the tribute to the open containers and handed them off. And then she proved her shrewdness.

“Listen, I used information requests to research the price of these ingredients, and also common items right before I came here. So I know some of these ingredients would auction for hundreds of thousand “hawks” a piece. So it’s not quite fair to trade even one for those chambers. But…”

“But what?” Hadrian said obligatorily, smiling amusedly.

“I will give you all but one of each of the tributes, plus this,” she pulled out a tincture container, “if you set up a life-long protection contract for my family.”

Hadrian furrowed his brow as he studied the container. It was simple alcohol with spores. “What is this?”

He grabbed it and handed it to his alchemist, Tallae Dante, who studied it for about ten seconds before he started trembling in a way that Hadrian had never seen.

“What is it?” Hadrian asked with a sharper tone.

“This…” Tallae looked up at Mira. “Are these Lumidran spores?”

Mira grinned. “Yes, yes they are. And they’re worth more than everything here combined.”

Hadrian’s smile disappeared for the first time, and his eyes drifted toward the trees beyond the barrier, now tinted black, hiding the cat’s Active Camouflage—assuming he was there. Mira’s eyes widened in horror when she saw him looking at Aiden, and Tyler turned to the trees.

“Forgive me, I thought I saw a snara bird,” Hadrian said, regaining his smile. “Pray tell. How did you get these?”

“I’ll let your imagination go wild,” she said dryly. “Actually, I’ll add this: they were a pain in the ass and you’ll pay for them.”

“Assuming we don’t steal them.” Hadrian shrugged.

“I’m under contract.”

“Your family is under contract. And we only have to procure your tribute without killing you. Those are rather loose conditions, would you not agree?”