Phaedra felt oddly lonely, sitting on her new throne. It wasn’t as hot anymore, that was nice. Not to mention she couldn’t help being a little happy with how much quicker the move had occurred after her recent fight.

  It was the fear that made her feel lonely.

  She was the Wolf’s daughter. Other demons were always careful of her. Risking her father’s ire was something few desired. Many were also wary that she was more than she appeared. Still, it was hard to truly fear a sheep demon. There was a reason there were so few. But now that fear seemed to have become cemented in all of their minds. Few demons approached her directly, aside from those who had to report to her directly. Whenever she left to look over the new location her demons seemed to practically hide from view. She’d only ever seen this type of behavior around her father, not her.

  Worst of all, however, was that she had uncollared Yroth. There had been almost no reaction. No panic. No fleeing. No attacks. If there were rumors of her being too weak to control the dragon, they were hidden well enough from her that she hadn’t heard them. When she had done it she had almost been desperate to hear some panic, some yelling. To hear them call her the ‘pathetic sheep’. There had been almost nothing. Shouldn’t she have been happy?

  Yet it was quiet. Far too quiet.

  “Is everything okay?” Phaedra asked, her eyes wandering to the large, resting dragon besides her throne.

  Yroth’s eyes slowly opened and she glanced towards her. “Do you desire to sleep for me?”

  “What?” Phaedra asked before, in a hushed, quiet tone she whispered back. “Is that a thing? Can… can people sleep for other people here?”

  “No,” Yroth said. “Sarcasm, little sheep. This is the eighth time you have asked me, today, if I am okay. Considering I have been within your sight for most of this day, I do not know what you believe has changed.”

  “Nothing,” Phaedra said before giving a soft sigh. “Do… you wanna do anything?”

  “You are restless,” Yroth said. “If you desire to do more, why do you not examine your territory?”

  “Everyone hides when I do that,” Phaedra said sheepishly. It took her a moment to realize her wool had once again puffed out to protect her. She quickly retracted it before she could turn into a full ball.

  “So?” Yroth asked.

  “It feels… wrong,” Phaedra said.

  “It is,” Yroth said before laying her head back down. “You are pathetic, to fear you is silly.”

  “You have, at times,” Phaedra said.

  “I have been wary of you,” Yroth said quickly. “I have never feared you.”

  “Uh huh, suuuuuure,” Phaedra said. She was rewarded for her comment by Yroth stretching out a wing and bonking her on the head. “Ow! Space hogging lizard.”

  “Delicate lamb,” Yroth said.

  Phaedra just let out a soft hmph before leaning back in her throne.

  It took a while, but finally Yroth spoke up again. “This, too, will pass.”

  “What?” Phaedra asked.

  “The fear they have of you,” Yroth said. “It will pass. They have seen the Black Wolf. But they will, eventually, realize you are not the thing they fear. Then the danger will return. For now, enjoy the peace your display has brought you. For it will not last forever and there may be a time you miss such peace.”

  “I guess,” Phaedra said softly. “I just… I don’t want to be feared.”

  “Fear often comes with ruling,” Yroth said. “Even if you are, in many ways, ruling merely as proxy. Even if my commands are what they follow, your demons only heed my word due to the fear they feel of you. Eventually the fear of your rulership will fade and you will need to earn it again.”

  Phaedra groaned and sunk into her chair. “Right, so my options are fear or being attacked?”

  “When one stands above others, they draw the sight of all,” Yroth said.

  “Is that how it is with Ascended Dragons?” Phaedra asked.

  “No,” Yroth said. “But do notice that most Ascended Dragons have few, if any, dragons in their territory. Mostly kobolds. Sometimes… others, if we view them as worth protecting. You are a demon, surrounded by demons. In theory, any of them could kill you and take your territory for themselves.”

  “So I should kick all of the demons out?” Phaedra asked.

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  “Only if that is what you desire,” Yroth said.

  Phaedra sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. She couldn’t help it. She knew she was pouting, but it was hard not to.

  Yroth gave another sigh. “I often forget how strange this world must be to you,” she said. “Just because there are many who will either fear you or long to replace you, it does not mean there are not those you can be close with. But as long as you are easy to see, there will always be those who wish to remove you. Enjoy the peace you have earned, be wary of the dangers that may come and accept that which you cannot change. For if you spend all the days of your life afraid of who may harm you, you will miss those who treasure you, little lamb.”

  Phaedra paused and stared at the dragon for a few moments before speaking up. “You… treasure me?”

  Yroth just snorted and gave a small shrug.

  “Eeeeee, does that mean I’m a dragon’s treasure?” Phaedra asked.

  “Perhaps,” Yroth said. “Should I lay on you?”

  “I mean, if you’re offering to come sit on my lap as your smaller, cuter kobold form, I wouldn’t mind,” Phaedra said quickly. She was rewarded with a soft bonk on the head from the dragon’s wing. Still, at least she felt a little better.

  ------

  Phaedra groaned when she heard a light, growling rumble. She lightly tapped on Yroth’s stomach, nestling in a little more against her scales. “Quiet… sleepy…”

  She felt the dragon shift, coiling around her slightly and giving another loud growl.

  “No, let her sleep, it’s cute,” a somewhat familiar voice said.

  There was a loud crunch and the sound of stone being smashed. Phaedra’s eyes shot open and she looked around. “I’m up! I’m up! What’s--” The words died in her throat when she saw who was staring down at her. Especially considering she had been sleeping curled up against Yroth, nestled under her arm. She slowly glanced towards the door and saw a pair of armored boots collapsed by it, the rest of the guard hidden from view. She hoped they weren’t dead. “I-I can explain.”

  “Oh, I would absolutely LOVE to hear it,” her cousin said, a wicked smirk on her face. She, much like her father, had that far too perfect elven look about them. Except her wings were soft, white and feathery, her eyes solid gold. “How ever did you get to cuddle with an Ascended Dragon? Mind control? Did some succubus finally rear its head?” She reached out a hand, only to yank it back when Yroth almost bit it. “Rude thing, isn’t she?”

  “I ummmm… wasn’t expecting visitors,” Phaedra said. “Err, Ascended Dragon, this is my cousin, Jas--”

  “Circe,” her cousin said.

  Phaedra was silent for a moment, staring at her cousin with wide eyes. The smug look on her face spoke volumes. “You got a name?”

  “Indeed,” Circe said with a haughty chuckle. “I was planning to rub it in your face when I saw you… but apparently you got an Ascended Dragon. Seriously, how?”

  “Uhhhhh,” Phaedra said before looking up at the growling Yroth. “We… came to an understanding.”

  “Really? Dad is going to be furious when he finds out,” Circe said.

  “Can he not?” Phaedra asked softly. “I don’t want my daddy to uhhh… come and get involved in what’s already a fairly… tense partnership.”

  The smile fell off Circe’s face then and she looked down at her. “You’re not actually trying to keep it quiet, are you? Word’s already spreading about you, cousin. Even I heard.”

  “Heard? What did you hear?” Phaedra asked before standing, only to stumble and trip over Yroth’s tail, landing face down with a squeak at her cousin’s feet. “I’m… okay.”

  “Are you sure, dear?” Circe asked. “And all about ‘Death’s Wolf’. So your secret is finally out, eh?”

  “It’s not really a secret,” Phaedra said sheepishly before getting to her hooves. Yroth didn’t move to help her and she couldn’t help but get the impression that her dragon was annoyed. “What else are they saying?”

  Circe shook her head. “Well, admittedly, very little. There’s rumors that you managed to tame the Ascended Dragon, but judging by the looks she’s giving me that’s not quite accurate. But that’s hardly the good news. Which brings me to why I’m here. Fenrir has requested all of his immediate family to return to his side.”

  “Daddy? Why? We just left the capital,” Phaedra asked, her stomach tightening into a knot. Did he know? Was he furious at her? Was he planning to kill them?

  “Because, little cousin of mine,” Circe said with a wicked grin before leaning forward. “Something very, very exciting has happened. We’re not going back to the capital.” Her wings were actually shaking with excited energy, the grin on her face akin to the cat that ate the canary. “We’re going straight to the front lines. Do you want to know why?”

  Phaedra sighed and stared at her, a little relief washing over her. If she was being summoned to the front lines, that meant it didn’t relate to her specifically. As much as she’d love to believe the opposite, she found it unlikely he’d allow her to help him in the war. “Will you just tell me already?”

  Circe hmphed and crossed her arms before turning around. “If you’re going to ask like that? Maybe I won’t.”

  Phaedra gave a light groan. “Come on, Circe. Can you please just tell me already? We both know you didn’t just come here to taunt me.”

  “Ask nicely,” Circe said.

  Phaedra gave a light groan before shaking her head. She knew exactly how this was going to go if she let it. Succubi and incubi ALWAYS had to be the center of everything. “Fine, front lines,” she said. “I’ll ask daddy when I--”

  “Okay! Okay, you convinced me,” Circe said, turning back to face her. “But only because I want to see the look on your face when you hear it.”

  “Uh huh,” Phaedra said. “Well?”

  “Medon, the hero summoned from another world?” Circe said, nearly making Phaedra’s heart stop. “Apparently he might be back. At least, according to what I could… extract. Eeeee! Oh, you should see your face! Does that failed ‘hero’ scare you that much? Hee hee, I wish I could stay around longer to tease you about-- hey! Watch it, dragon! You really need to tame this thing better.”

  Phaedra just stared at her, unable to move. Unable to even breathe. She swore she could practically hear the death howl of her father’s, even over her cousin’s laughter. The only reason she managed to stop from falling over was because she reached out to grasp Yroth’s side, which only made her cousin laugh louder.

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