The impromptu meeting of powerful people had taught Trillia a few important life lessons.

  The first and most important was that a conversation with them drifted dangerously close to life-threatening surges of mana and tempers.

  The second, and still fairly important lesson, was that they were terribly long-winded. It had been fourteen hours of straight talking, posturing, and more knowledge and information about tactics, logistical lines, and economics than Trillia could ever hope to understand or stomach. At some point, the Queen had called Thea in to escort the rest of Trillia's party out.

  Trillia was not so lucky. Not only was she Amara's daughter, but she was also the Avatar of Arlyss and considered a friend to the Storm clan. Despite desperately wanting to flee the throne room for fear of death by boredom, she sat there and continued to absorb information to the best of her ability.

  -=====-

  "Trillia!"

  The little orc shot upright in her seat, mana surging to her fingertips ready for a fight.

  As realization dawned on her and she looked around, she saw that she still sat at the table. "S...sorry."

  To her great relief, the table chuckled at her drowsiness instead of reprimanding her.

  Storm stood and stretched his arms out. "I think having a weak mortal at the table is a good idea. I had no idea we had been talking for nearly a full day until she passed out. No offense, Lady Fairtrade."

  A full day?! The exhaustion she was feeling made far more sense. "None taken, Lord Storm. I am sorry for dozing off. I didn't realize I had gotten so tired."

  "You weren't tired. Dragons are just long-winded and monotonous. Much like our Queen." Stas cackled as the subjects of his barb glared at him. "We've gone over the most important parts of the alliance, I think. We can exchange agents to ensure we can keep in close contact. Initial reports should be surfacing for the various factions we represent and control."

  Stas stood as well and glanced around the table. "I realize we're all rather arrogant, and while I feel as though we've certainly earned the right to be a bit arrogant, given that outside of young Trillia, the youngest person at this table is over three centuries old. That said... the coming months are going to be dangerous for us. Let none of us be so arrogant we don't reach out for help."

  "Well said, Butcher. While I certainly hope none of us would fall, I'd rather there be a debt incurred than to lose any of you." As Storm responded to Stas, she had to wonder why all the dragons just called him the Butcher. Maybe only a small part of her didn't really want the answer.

  Alliyah sat at the head of the table, slowly swirling wine in a glass. The rest of the table was looking at her expectantly.

  The silence grew heavy and awkward.

  ...

  ...

  "When I ascend at the end of this fifty years...what benefits do I have to not kill you to ensure my kingdom is safe?" The dangerous human slowly stopped swirling the wine as she looked over the table at the dragons.

  "Only Storm is close to ascending for dragonkind. The rest of you have made it clear where humans stand. You've made it clear that you barely tolerate me. This meeting, while amusing, has shown me that the only reason this alliance holds is because everyone at this table fears my power and stability just like the other deities fear my husband."

  Trillia once more wanted to turn and flee.

  The dragons sat back down, and any sign of mirth had evaporated. Storm was the only one who was willing to brave the openness of the question put before them. "Dragons aren't known to be beholden to kingdoms. It always ends badly, so what are you suggesting, Queen?"

  The Generals hadn't even looked away from the Queen as the head of the Storm clan spoke. Apparently, her openness had taken them off guard as well.

  "If I find an heir worthy of your respect, that I deem worthy of the throne. I would ask that as a favor for sparing the lives of those who are not going to ascend, before my own ascent, that you enter the same alliance with that heir that you entered with me."

  Trillia saw the flash of anger in the eyes of the dragons. But they didn't outwardly lash out. None of them were brave or stupid enough. What the Queen suggested wasn't some empty threat.

  It was Ignis who finally broke the new silence. "I've been dealing with you for a century, Alliyah. If you find someone that you find worthy, truly worthy, of sitting on that throne. I will happily entertain the idea of a new alliance." As Ventus moved to speak, Ignis raised a clawed hand. "However, if you cannot find such a person. I will instruct my clan to raze any city that falls under the Kadessian banner to the ground should I die."

  Alliyah didn't miss a beat. One moment, she was lounging in her seat, and the next, she stood next to the dragon with her palm outstretched. A quick flash of mana left a deep gash in her hand with blood running from it. "Then let us form a geas, Lord Ignis."

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  Ignis stood and drew his claw across his palm. Trillia was forced to look away as the flash of mana from their hands clasping nearly blinded her.

  Storm made the same proclamation and the same geas.

  All eyes turned to Ventus.

  "I won't make that deal. I won't subject millions to their death because you think me the type of creature who would wipe them out in the first place."

  Alliyah stood in front of the dragon. Both their faces were unreadable to Trillia.

  "If you have an heir you think is worthy, they will have to speak for themselves to broker an alliance with my Clan. I have no interest in wiping out humans or human cities, though. Nor will I enter a geas with the wife of Fate. If you seek to end my life before your ascent, I hope that you will spare my Clan, just as I would spare yours were the roles reversed."

  Alliyah's blank face broke into a little grin. "Very well, Ventus. Let us hope that it never comes to that." The Queen slowly walked back to her chair, the wound on her hand refusing to heal and leaving a small trail of blood behind the Generals. "I think this is a good stopping point. As General Stas said, we'll keep in touch. I'd ask that everyone leaves me to my thoughts."

  The tension was still palpable, but the dragons were happy to leave it at that. The Generals glanced at Alliyah, who had her back turned to the table, one hand dripping blood and the other holding her wine glass once more.

  As everyone else stood to leave, Alliyah's voice broke the new silence. "Amara, Trillia. Stay for a moment."

  Amara glanced at Trillia and nodded to the others, who left and closed the doors to the throne room. "Your Majesty? Is something amiss?" For once, Amara's voice wasn't laced with sarcasm. Trillia couldn't remember seeing her Mother more on edge than she was at this very moment.

  As Trillia looked over to Alliyah, she once more found herself wondering just how dangerous the human was.

  "I hadn't planned to bring this up. Not for a decade at least." Alliyah turned to look at the two of them. "I'd like to consider Trillia."

  Trillia glanced between the two of them, not fully understanding.

  Amara tilted her head slightly as she stared at her old friend.

  "She is her own woman, and as much as I want to shelter her as my child, I know the dangers of attempting that now."

  "Sorry, I don't understand." Trillia looked to her Mother in confusion.

  Confusion, which the Queen was happy to dispel.

  "I want to train you as the heir to the Kadessian empire."

  "Huh?" Trillia stared dumbfounded at the Queen, waiting for the two women to burst into laughter at the joke.

  ...

  ...

  As the silence once more grew heavy and awkward in the room, Trillia realized that it hadn't been a joke. "I'm an orc. I might not even be an orc before long. Plus, I don't know anything about running a kingdom. I'm not smart enough. I-" As her words and the excuses came out faster and faster, Alliyah raised a hand to silence her.

  "I have fifty years to train you. You have at least five years to decide. I know this is quite a lot to spring on you, Trillia. I don't want to scare you away."

  "Why me? There have to be thousands of other people who would jump at the chance!"

  Amara put a hand on Trillia's shoulder with a gentle smile. "We all learned long ago that the people eager to lead oftentimes turn into the worst kind of leaders."

  Panic rose up in her chest as the thought of ruling such a massive and sprawling empire crept into her mind.

  "There is more to it than just that. I know you're a resilient person. You may have some anxiety and fear right now due to your young age and inexperience. But no more than any of us did when Kain first approached us. You're also pact-bound to my son. So I know that you have a righteous and just deity that is looking out for you. You were an Acolyte to Lady Ora'sys. You pray to a handful of other deities because you consider them friends, and you want to keep them in the loop."

  Trillia froze. How did anyone know about that?

  "You ask the deities you pray to about their days. You tell them that you hope they are doing well. Do you know how few mortals even care about their deities? Most ask for power and offer lip service and little else. You care so deeply about the creatures that you meet, that the System itself has awarded you a title for dealing with particularly powerful entities. Dawn may grow frustrated with my family and I. At times, she may even hate us. But I could never hate Dawn. She blessed me with a loving husband, a life full of friends, and wonderful adventure, and most importantly, she blessed me by letting all three of my children be born. So far, all of them have grown into people that I am so proud of my heart could burst."

  Alliyah stepped forward, swapping the glass in which her wine resided and gently cupping Trillia's chin in the not-sliced hand. "The fact that even Dawn, in her infinite patience and annoyance, has seen you as a person worthy of such a title is enough that I'd consider you a worthy heir. The fact that my children all put faith in you, that one of my oldest and dearest friends is your mother? I don't care how little you currently know about running a kingdom. I was a flesh-peddling spy when I took the throne, I learned."

  Trillia couldn't help it as her eyes filled with tears, she hadn't really lined up all the blessings in her own life before. Or really given much thought to just how much support was behind her.

  "I'm not asking you for an answer now. I am asking you to consider it. I wanted Amara in the room so that you weren't entirely blind-sided by this and left adrift on your own." The Queen turned her gaze to Amara. "Tell her the whole nasty truth of it. Anything she wants to know, that you know. Tell her."

  "I don't think that will do much in the way of convincing." Amara said half-jokingly.

  "Good. I'd hate to drag her into a position that she didn't choose against all odds." Alliyah leaned forward and kissed Trillia on the forehead. With a simple motion of her hand, Amara leaned down to receive the same kiss on the forehead. "Thank you for your time. I would still like that time alone so that I can contemplate my future."

  Amara nodded and turned to leave. Trillia paused and stared at the Queen for a moment. "Do you need someone else to heal that?" Looking down at the still-bleeding hand.

  Alliyah looked down at the blood slowly splattering onto the floor. "No. It will stop on its own once the universe has accepted the geas that was proposed to it. Thank you for offering."

  Trillia nodded and took one last look at the woman before she turned to leave. "And Trillia." Once more, she paused.

  "If you want to say no, once you're informed. Do so. Do not feel like my burdens should ever be your burdens. By the time this war is over, you will have done more for Alirast than most of its occupants could ever fathom, and if the reward for such service is a life of peace and quiet afterward, no one would blame you. Least of all me."

  The little orc took a deep breath and barely managed a nod as she and her mother left the throne room.