“My team, my buddies, my friends, my family-”

  “rades.” Boriss adds.

  I nod to the Russian. “rades. Two towers have been pleted with twenty more to go. We’re making good time and- Cillian, how are you already on your sed bottle? I just started this meeting.” I call out the San.

  “I was thirsty!” Cillian grins with a shake of his drink.

  I shake my head at his poor liver before surveying the rest of the team at the table. Everyone is present and staring at me expetly while Cy strokes my furr.

  “Alright, now where was I?”

  “Good time,” Boriss reminds me.

  “Right. We’re making good time… shit. I fot where I was going with this.”

  They all look at me expetly while I try to remember what the fuck I nning to say. Only for my memory to fail me.

  “Welp, I fot. It probably wasn’t important anyway. Or it was and It will bite me it ter.” I frown, staring at those present. Then my eyes fall upon our masked friend.

  “Speaking of something probably important. Auranta, mind taking off your mask and introdug yourself?”

  Eyes shift to the [Air Mage] sitting directly across from me.

  She nods slowly and untches her mask. Then, ever so carefully, removes it to the gasps of most present.

  “I am an Ioid Princess of Queen Tinea.”

  Without the threat of the tower breathing down my fluffy neck, I ow take a pra the woman's looks. Her facial and body structure is that of a human but mixed with what seems like something of a moth. She has rge red eyes, soft white scaly skin, aremely white hair. Poking out of her head are two fuzzy antennae simir to something you’d see on a moth. Holy, when I’d first thought of a race of is, I’d expected them to look more along the lines of hes.

  Myers crosses his arms and leans bato his chair. “I’ve heard of Tinea. She’s a [Mage Queen] patroo the Mage Guild.”

  “That is correct.”

  “Patroned? What do you mean patroned.” I ask.

  Auranta gazes upoh her deep beady red eyes. “All ioids are created by a Queen, and each queen differs from one another. Most Queens are at war with others and in a stant struggle for domihey do not generally partake in alliances, nor are they accepting of other species. Queens who have mastered their baser instincts will patron themselves to either a guild or try- granting them the ability to travel alongside other species ued.”

  “At the expense of the Patron.” Myers adds. Then he looks at me. “Be wary of Ioids, for their loyalty is to their Queens and the Queens are in service to the patrons.”

  Auranta frowns at Myers words. An actual, very human frown now that I see her expression.

  “All serve a master whether willingly or unwillingly. To state otherwise is a lie.” She says while taking a look at the child that pets me.

  Myers sees the iion of her words and matches her frown.

  I roll my eyes at the respectfully hostile uones betweewo. I’d expected some infighting within my crew, though much earlier. I’ve little idea hard, Cillian, and Boriss get along so well with each other.

  “Auranta, mind telling me why you are after the towers? You’re clearly not a champion, so there must be a reason.”

  “There is.” She nods. “The hivends are in peril. A new Queely showed up and has begun ing other hives at a rate my mother has never seen before. In response, many hives are now at war against this new Queen, but they are slowly losing and the Queen is getting more powerful with each hive quered.”

  “So what do the towers have to do with this?” I ask.

  “My queen's scouts have found that swarms of this Queen's soldiers have been seeering and leaving the towers at will with resources aplenty to fuel her hive. Now that you’ve expihe subject of champions to me, I believe that this Queen is a champion like yourself.”

  That’s Genius! She’s farming the tower for resources to wage a long war she will win.

  “So, why are you allowing this to happen? Shouldn’t you try to take out the Queen before she gets to?”

  “The Queen is deep within the hivends. Moving a fleet capable of threatening this new Queen would leave my Queen undefended. Any nearby hives would relish the ce to sughter her in her moment of weakness.”

  “’t you ally with another hive? Or several hives?” Irmgard asks the question I was about to.

  Auranta shakes her head at the blonde woman. “It is withiure of each Queen to be as aggressive and antagonistic to another. Queens that ally with each other do so because they have to and not because they want to.”

  Instinctually Geic hatred. It’s been many worlds since I’ve seeient species with that kind of lifestyle.

  “Well, now you know that that Queen is a champion. What are you going to do about it?”

  “I will covertly send the information about champions to my Queen when we nd in a city. Then I will tio serve you aboard this ship and record information about towers until such time I am ordered to do otherwise.”

  I 't help but crack a smile. Not at the decision, but at the slight eagerness in tone. She doesn’t seem like she wants to return to the Queen's side.

  “Then I’m happy to wele you aboard as a perma member of the crew.” I say happily.

  “Da, is nice have more rades. Big family is good.” Boriss grins.

  “Your bat ability is impressive. I wele such a capable sister to serve the Matriarch.” hes says.

  “Wele,” Cillian waves a bottle.

  “It’s o meet you.” Emma says softly.

  “Willkommen,” Irmgard says with a rare grin.

  At the words of the crew, I ’t help the very human-like blush on Aurantas face even though her expression shows very little ge.

  Chug, I look at the only unhappy guy at the table. “Myers, st we talked was about a route. Have you got one for me?”

  Myers sighs. He reaches to the side and grabs the world map which he spread over the table.

  “Our stop will be iy of Gdius.” He points a finger very ter-east of the world map.

  “That seems far,” I ent. And ihe location is a det distance away from us.

  “This map is old and the slipstreams aren't updated.” He grumbles and points slightly to the left of the map right where Memphis is. “If we take the slipstream o Memphis and follow it here,” he moves his fihrough the map, “and the here.” he points at where the slipstream swerves left, “We travel a day east and take another slipstream that nears Gdius.”

  I nod. “If I remember, I think the Gambino family is heading there too. I wonder if we’ll meet them.”

  “Maybe, though they do have a much faster fleet than our ship.”

  “I see. Pity, I kinda liked them. Anyway, is Gdius where the ower is located or are we just stopping there for a reason?”

  Myers nods. “The city supposedly has a tower within it, but I'm ignorant of exactly where as I’d never goo Gdius.”

  “Gdius' rgest coliseum is located oower's disd the entrao it is heavily blocked off.” Auranta interrupts, grabbing the attention of everyone present.

  Her beady red eyes g those present before uanding why they are looking at her.

  “I visited Gdius before Memphis but wasn’t allowed to get anywhere he tower unless I became a fighter in the arena.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Why didn’t you?” I ask.

  She blinks back at me. “They do not allow spells. My martial strength is mediocre at best. I wouldn’t be able to pass the prelimihat would allow me to gain access to the trounds.”

  “I see. Well, maybe I sneak inside or something. I guess I’ll figure that out when I get there. How long is the flight?”

  “Two weeks if we pass by Memphis and a little longer if we don’t.”

  “Ughhh,” I groan. “Another long flight. How is our food supply? Are we going to o stop anywhere?

  “We used to before you started practig magic,” Irmgard expins. “If we ration it and you stay a cat, we make do for two weeks.”

  I pout. “Damn. I kinda want to train.” I look to Myers hopefully.

  The old man sighs. “There are usually small vilges and towns near slipstreams we stop at.”

  “Perfect.” I wiggle out of Cy's grasp and hop onto the table. “We’ll stop at one and buy whatever food we need.”

  “And alcohol,” Cillian wiggles his third empty bottle.

  I roll my eyes. I look away one moment, and the guy’s ed more alcohol than your average alcoholic.

  I swear, you must have some skill or something to drink like that.

  “Ummm,” Emma raises her hand up. She’d beey silent for the meeting. Hell, she’d been generally shy ever since she joihe crew.

  “What’s up Emma. Don’t ever be afraid to speak up.”

  “The freezer room is done and the runes are charged. I start w on the ons whenever you wao.”

  I blink, surprised. “We have a fridge now? Nice! We buy fresh meat now- wait a sed. Did you say you work on the ons?”

  She nods slowly. “I figured out the ruo reduce recoil from the books Adriana gave me. They’re tedious but not plicated. But, I don’t have enough materials for all the ons.” She expins.

  My tail flicks left and right to the slight wobbles of the ship. “Do what you and I’ll have Irmgard buy you whatever you need.”

  “We’ll need more crew to man the guns too,” Irmgard add’s.

  “Gdius would be an ideal pce to buy crew for your ship,” Auranta says.

  “Buy crew? As in sves?” I ask.

  “[Sves] are banned everywhere outside of Buxoory.” Myers quips. For some odd reason, the old ma like Auranta now that he knows what she is.

  “I eaking about iured Servants,” Auranta expins. “Which are very much legal.”

  I stret the table as I feel a wave of sleepiness e over me as though it is time for my midday ap. “I’m not keen on buying anyone as I prefer anically gaining crew, but my ret summon had a det sve system. Then again, it was enforced by an immortal empress.” I yawn. “Anyway, we’ll talk ter. Let's set sail for now. I o talk to Green.” I hop off the table and make my way to my room. Using reflexes that e with a majestic body like mine, I reach the top of the bookshelf, take a stretch, y down and y eyes.

  Within a moment, I am whisked off to a white room.