“Oh dear,” Carth said, his voice filled with concern. “Lady Phaedra, are you ill?”

  Phaedra stared at the fox demon and tried to keep herself from slouching, or even collapsing. She was exhausted. The bath had helped for a little bit. But then she’d had to walk from the airship to his throne room in that oppressive heat.

  Annoyingly, Yroth walked by her side and didn’t look the slightest bit fazed by the incredible heat. Then again, she was a dragon. At least Phaedra’s wool was only a bit damp and not entirely compressed down from sweat. She didn’t want to think about how sick she looked. She had a job to do.

  She was liking this idea less and less, though. Carth didn’t look the slightest bit fazed by this heat. If anything, he seemed to be reveling in it. As a fox demon, he had one normal red tail and then two more tails, one seemingly made of flame and the other of lava. She doubted they actually were, as the amount of magic wasted from using fire and lava constantly would be exhausting for little benefit. It likely meant he had a fire or lava demon in his ancestry. She wished that she did, right now.

  “My apologies,” Phaedra said, trying to not sound too sheepish. “The heat and humidity seem to have been impacting me quite heavily.”

  “Oh dear,” Carth said, leaning forward in his throne. To his credit, he did actually look concerned. She wondered if maybe she had misjudged him. “A thousand apologies for not coming to greet you personally. I do hope my servant’s meal was satisfactory. I would have prepared something more fitting for the daughter of the Wolf, but your sudden arrival has left my already stretched resources quite thin.”

  Phaedra eyed him. She would have sworn for a moment his eyes flickered towards Yroth. Was it her imagination? Was he worried about her? Well, this had been her territory until recently. Perhaps he was just surprised to see her bound and collared in such a form. She wondered if he could even recognize her, she doubted he’d ever seen her in the form of a kobold. “His heart was satisfactory, it--”

  “His heart?” Carth asked, his eyes going wide. “W-wait, you didn’t…”

  “Your servant’s meal was far from satisfactory,” Phaedra said coldly, trying to put on an air of dismissive brutality that, frankly, she didn’t feel even close to. She just wished she could understand why he looked so surprised. “As such, I instead devoured his heart. Is there something wrong?”

  “A-a thousand pardons, my lady,” Carth said. There it was again, she could see his eyes flicker towards Yroth. “I… I do wish you had talked to me beforehand. I never would have sent my servant if I had thought you would have reacted so harshly.”

  Phaedra froze, staring at him. “I… what? Did you… not… send him with that message? To devour his heart if his meal was poor?”

  “Of course not,” Carth said, sounding almost offended at the remark. “I merely told him to make do and I would have something proper prepared for you at the earliest convenience.”

  Phaedra blinked a few times. Wait, he had? But Kun had seemed terrified. She glanced towards Yroth, who appeared to be… fuming. Her tail was occasionally flickering, her eyes were narrowed and her wings were partially opened and only barely stopped from going into an aggressive stance. “That was not what he told me,” she said before turning towards him again. “He said that he was told to offer his heart if that paltry meal was insufficient.”

  “There must have been some misunderstanding,” Carth said.

  “You dare to doubt Lady Phaedra’s word?” one of her guards yelled, but she quickly raised a hand for silence. Something was going on here and she really, really didn’t understand it.

  “O-of course not,” Carth said quickly. He sounded genuinely concerned, even upset, when he got to his feet. “I merely believe that there was a miscommunication. Perhaps if her ladyship hadn’t reacted so harshly. Poor Crumb.”

  “Crumb?” Phaedra asked.

  “The name of the kobold,” Carth said. “He was a good lad. But please, my lady, tell me. What is it that brings you to my territory? Even bringing your… ahhh…?”

  “The Ascended Dragon who once ruled here,” Phaedra said. “My pet.”

  “Truly?!” Carth asked. “You devoured her own child in front of her? Her ladyship is quite a bit crueler than I had heard.”

  There was DEFINITELY something going on here. Phaedra narrowed her eyes slightly before glancing between him and Yroth. She wished she could figure out what it was, what he was planning. Was there something she was missing? “Indeed,” Phaedra said. “I’ve come here for a simple reason. To challenge you in a Rite of Conquest. I desire the territory that my pet once held.”

  Carth froze, though for a moment she swore she saw the corners of his lips twitch. “The Rite of Conquest. I see. You desire my territory, interesting. Very well then. What do you offer in opposition?”

  “Whatever you desire,” Phaedra said, grinding her hoof into the ground. He was up to SOMETHING, she just couldn’t figure it out.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “I see. Very well,” Carth said before shaking his head. “I can hardly say no, now can I? I will require some time to decide on my own demands. In the meantime, please. I wish to show you the hospitality of my territory. If that is permissible?”

  “How long do you intend to stall?” Phaedra asked, glaring at him.

  “Just a day or so, my lady,” Carth said in a soft, soothing tone. “Please. Allow my servants to show you around my territory and ensure your comfort while I tend to matters and prepare for the rite. I assure you, it is a kindness you will not regret.”

  “Very well,” Phaedra said before glancing towards Yroth. “My pet will come with me as well.”

  “Of course, my lady,” Carth said. “Whatever you desire.”

  ------

  Phaedra sighed and stared at the roof of her room. Something was up, she just didn’t know what. Carth was giving into her demands with such ease. He was polite, kind. She’d been shown all over the local territory and things seemed… nice.

  Nothing like she would have expected under his rule. She’d heard that Carth was anything but generous. Gibs’ descriptions of him had been far from kind. Perhaps there was another Carth? Then again, he was one of the rising demons, gaining a reputation. Perhaps it was all slander from the jealous.

  He’d even had a second bed brought to her room when she mentioned her pet would be staying with her. “He’s nicer than I thought he’d be,” Phaedra said.

  “He’s about what I expected,” Yroth said.

  “You thought he’d be nice?” Phaedra asked.

  “Do you think I’m stupid? Or are you just blind?” Yroth asked, her voice harsh.

  “Huh?” Phaedra asked. “I don’t understand.”

  “You were with me today,” Yroth said. “When they showed us around my territory. Are you really so easily tricked?”

  “Everyone looked happy, if scared,” Phaedra said. “Well fed. Safe. Families together. They--”

  “You really are blind,” Yroth said bitterly. “Those ‘families’ were anything but. I know my kobolds, those in my territory. This was nothing more than a display. A show. Those markets, those ‘happy workers’. It was all fake. An act. Even the kobold who tripped and spilled his meal on you. Could you really not tell? I believed you were merely playing along, but… you truly are so naive. Aren’t you?”

  “W-what?” Phaedra asked, her cheeks going red. “Playing along?”

  “I thought that was why you hadn’t killed him for the obvious act,” Yroth said.

  “He just tripped,” Phaedra said. “It was just a little stew. Sure, walking around with it on my fleece afterward sucked, but I was hardly going to kill him over a simple mistake.” Though her guards had certainly wanted to. She’d barely managed to talk them down by reminding them that they were in another demon’s territory. After her earlier ‘mistake’ with Kun, she wanted to avoid any actual bloodshed if she could.

  Yroth just stared at her incredulously. “You are far too naive to survive.”

  “I’m sorry,” Phaedra said softly. “He seems nice, though.”

  “He’s not,” Yroth said bitterly. “His little… tour today was for one thing. To show how ‘good’ my people here have it.”

  “Why?” Phaedra asked. “You don’t think he knows about me, do you? I mean, he couldn’t know what I am? Could he? What we’re planning?”

  That, at least, seemed to give the dragon pause. “I… do not know. I don’t believe he knows what you are. If anything, I believe he expects you to be crueler than you are. But… I don’t know why. Do demons not normally see mercy such as yours as a weakness?”

  “Eh,” Phaedra said with a shrug. “Only to our enemies or rivals. On the whole they’re not much different from the other races of this world. But we get incredibly violent and brutal when we have to. I think they’re mostly just more emotional and tend to come to blows easier. They value power and strength from those who lead, but lots of demons don’t want to lead.”

  “Like sheep?” Yroth asked.

  “Sometimes,” Phaedra said. “Wait… do you think that’s it?”

  “What?” Yroth asked.

  “Do you think he’s trying to make me think he… should like… lead me? That he’s a good leader? Kind?” Phaedra asked. “Because I’m a sheep?”

  “You are the daughter of the Wolf,” Yroth said. “Sheep or not, I would not expect any demon to believe you a follower. But I suppose it is possible.”

  “Here’s hoping,” Phaedra said. “I’m not going to fall for any of his tricks, though.”

  “As if you hadn’t fallen for some already,” Yroth said. “You said ‘they’ before.”

  “I did?” Phaedra asked.

  “Do you not consider yourself a demon?” Yroth asked.

  “I do,” Phaedra said. “I am. I mean, I just… I don’t know. Mostly? It just sometimes doesn’t feel like it, if that makes sense.”

  “Demons truly are--” A heavy knock on the door cut her off.

  Phaedra took a deep breath before jumping to her hooves and walking to the door. She pulled it open to see one of Carth’s guards standing there, a nervous look on his face. “Lady Phaedra,” he said. “Lord Carth has asked for you and your pet to join him in the main courtyard. He has prepared the Rite of Conquest.”

  “Oh? Has he finally decided what he wants?” Phaedra asked.

  “I believe so,” the guard said, his voice still nervous. “All we were told was that.”

  “Of course,” Phaedra said before sighing and glancing towards Yroth. “Shall we?”

  Yroth got to her feet and let out a low growl before walking after her.

  Well, here was hoping whatever Carth had planned, she truly was ready to deal with it.

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