Felicity practically skipped in her step. "You know marriage hasn't actually been a thing between fairy dragons and Elves . . . but it could be if you wanted."

Tristan blushed and suppressed a wide grin. "I don't want to break tradition, but I'm yours wholly and no one else's."

Felicity made a happy squee noise and gripped his arm tightly. "Good."

The duo spent the rest of the day indulging in each other in Tristan's chambers. Experiencing the delights they brought to one another, their passionate sounds doubtless audible through the thick, wooden door that split his quarters off from the rest of the underground complex. Tristan lost himself in the joys of Felicity's presence and love, and he made sure to give her everything he possibly could. Their souls practically sang together in harmony at their exultation of the most intimate act.

Hours passed in rapturous bliss, and Tristan lay back in bed, an exhausted Felicity snuggled up on his chest. Tristan reverse-spun his crucible to rejuvenate himself, not wanting to sleep that night, and a familiar voice echoed in his head.

That was quite a performance, Zeltana said in his mind.

Tristan grimaced. I forgot she was watching everything going on in the Fey Realm. Well, I'm not going to change my behavior because of a voyeur.

It has been a while since we've talked like this. I listened to your Court meeting. She laughed, You are a devious one. Faking another Winterbloom to marry off? One who would be able to take over the empire once the empress dies? And even better, they cannot produce offspring. Genius plan.

Tristan whispered, "I would anticipate that the empress would take other partners once her marriage did not bear fruit. That means there would be other claimants to the throne. But, if their . . . adopted father, shall we say, in the form of this volunteer fairy dragon were to be their advisor – who would turn down a knowledgeable and long-lived guide to their rule?" He sighed and pushed himself back into the soft mattress and pillows. Staring at the ceiling, he continued to ruminate. "I still need to actually go to the empress, make the introductions – Obadai can help with that – and possibly even help the empire take over swathes of the Mortal Realm. There is a lot of legwork to be done, but only after the Demon Realm situation is dealt with."

I have been looking through your memories, Zeltana advised. Two more Demon Houses to visit, to ally to the cause, and then the actual stoking of the uprising against the Demon King. What is the game plan?

"You've seen my thoughts."

Yes, and I know that you haven't thought the whole situation through. You are going to be preparing an uprising, sure, and the Demon Houses you align will assist – but what about the strike force from the Fey Realm? You have not given real though to the tactics you will employ.

"That's Krik's domain to deal with."

Zeltana groaned. If you are going to war-

"We aren't," Tristan thought back with anger. "This is just a focused strike, nothing more."

That is what it will be, sure, but how will the residents of the Demon Realm respond to a foreign military invading the heart of their capital and toppling their king? Even if you pull back immediately, there will be a lingering fear that they need to prepare for future assault. They will militarize, regardless of who takes the mantle of Realm Protector.

"What is your suggestion, then?"

Zeltana's satisfaction dripped through her words like honey out of a jar. You will need to be very precise. A tiny force that will accompany you. It must be quick, like a bolt of lightning. In and out, with no collateral damage, or flashy displays of power. It must be as if the Demon King was assassinated by someone within the realm.

"That's simple enough. Krik won't like it, though. He wanted me to have an escort force when we go to topple Duberceix."

You're the Fey Lord. Do what you see fit. They'll listen.

"Fair."

Also, you should really consider using fairy dragons as assassins. Their shapeshifting capabilities and invisibility would make them incredible assets.

Tristan saw the wisdom in those words. "One problem. They don't have the requisite language knowledge."

Ah. True. And they are not fans of study. You could make them fluent in languages you are fluent in with a simple change to the Realm, though.

Tristan grinned, and both-direction spun his crucible, connecting his essence to the Fey Realm. He put a hand up above him, holding it against the root wall behind him. Surging the essence flowing through him into the roots, he willed it to spread across the whole of the Fey Realm. "I command the fabric of the Fey Realm to change. All who live here, who reside here, who are born here, or who originated from this place, will be able to read, speak, and understand all languages that I, the Fey Lord, know."

There was a pulse through the roots, and Tristan saw the silver essence burst out from him as the magical power churned through him, constantly refilled by the ambient essence of the Realm. Felicity shot up in bed and looked at Tristan, "What did you do?"

Tristan spoke in Dragon's Tongue. "You can speak any language I can now. You're welcome."

Felicity gasped, then let off a profound litany of curses in Demon's Tongue and then Dragon's Tongue. The level of vulgarity caught Tristan off-guard, and when she ended he was flabbergasted at just how raunchily she could insult someone now. She clapped her hands, "This is amazing!"

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

Tristan chuckled and brushed a strand of hair behind her small, shrunk-down antlers. "The only downside is that we can't talk about Bertram, Gisele, Grandfather, or the permanent residents in Elvish without them being any the wiser."

Felicity pouted for a half second, but then that vanished as she giggled, "I need to go and see what type of creative hijinks we can get up to now!" She transformed to her fairy dragon shape and flew to the door, ripping it open and zipping out with many insults thrown at some other fairy dragon in the hallway outside.

Tristan chuckled and leaned back with a sigh, "Done."

That will help. Now you can task Thallia with preparing some fairy dragon spies in the Demon Realm and every Elemental Realm. Build up that intelligence network. And if you really wanted to, they could eventually take out local rulers and occupy their place.

"No," Tristan replied feeling a righteous indignation rise up in his chest that brought a flush to his cheeks. "I'm not going to allow for that. Intelligence gathering, yes. But not assassination and usurpation through guile. My mother would not approve."

Ah. . . well . . . fine then.

"Is that all you wished to discuss?"

Zeltana snickered, I'd love to see you do that thing to Felicity where she got bent over backwar-

Tristan stopped spinning his crucible and let Zeltana's voice fade away. He spoke aloud to her, knowing she was listening still. "Sorry, not while you're in my head. And since I can't get rid of your pervy presence, I suppose I'll just have to live with the fact that you're watching." He closed his eyes and let himself doze off.

Felicity returned after about an hour and cackled with delight, "We've been cursing up a storm outside! It's so fun!"

Tristan rolled out of the bed and stood up, stretching. "What time is it?"

She opened her storage dimension and reached a paw-claw into it, grabbing her Omnitome and flipping it open. "It's really early in the morning."

"We should get ready to go. It's already been a day-"

Felicity came over to him and pushed him back onto the bed, straddling him and leaning down to whisper in his ear. "We said a day or two. I want the two."

Before leaving the Fey Realm, Tristan informed Thallia of his conversation with Zeltana, and his desire to begin setting up a spy and intelligence gathering network. She seemed thrilled at the idea, and replied with an excitement he hadn't seen outside of her gossipmongering around the Queen's Wood. "This is a great idea. I'll get right on it! Also, The Matriarch already has several volunteer fairy dragons who want to do the job of being "Tristan's kid brother from another mother.""

"Do some interviews alongside The Matriarch."

"It's begun. And I have several nymphs who are training the whole cadre on proper manners and decorum for the Mortal Realm. I need to ask, that idea, was it spur of the moment?"

"It was," Tristan replied. He cracked a smile. "I am good at thinking on my feet."

Felicity made little paw-claw biscuits on his head. "He thinks fast on the bed, too."

Thallia laughed her enchanting laugh. "Do tell, Felicity."

Tristan interrupted, his face almost beet-red in a blush. "That's enough of that." He turned to the front of the Queen's Wood and descended the root ramp. Heading to the crafting area, he acquired his gear from the gnomes. Thankfully, they were able to fully repair everything, and despite the damage, the artifice held. Dorni explained, "The item has to be irreparable to lose the artificed spell. As long as it can be fixed, the magic remains."

Taking his gear, fully suited up, Tristan returned to the dirt arrival circle, spun his crucible, and returned to the Mortal Realm. They arrived in their bedroom in the Citadel, and Tristan grabbed his pin. "We need to let Eloise know we're back-"

"I'll go get her." She slapped her tail gently on his cheek. "Alter Form first!" she quickly incanted the spell phrase and made a complicated gesture above Tristan's line of sight, and he felt the familiar itching sensation before it faded away. "Okay! Marius Lestrange form is on. See you in a few minutes at the inter-realm market." she vanished with a pop.

Tristan, crucible still spinning, began to push essence into his Citadel Student Pin. But a loud voice he recognized shouted toward him. "Hey!" He turned and saw Reginald Thrant, the head of admissions waving his arm. Tristan stood still, hands on waist, as he waited for the tall Angelblood man to approach. "Thanks for holding up," he said with a grin as he swept his hair back. "I heard from Eloise that you were back for a short time. Mind talking? Just for a moment."

How'd he- ah, right. Eloise must have told him about my guise. Maybe others were informed as well. "I don't mind. Speak."

Reginald rested his staff in the crook of his arm. "There's been a lot of buzz about the Fey Realm visit. Other realms have heard from the students going to and from their duties and field trips. Lots of people interested. If the Citadel can facilitate a . . . shall we say, permanent stall in the inter-realm market for the Fey Realm? That would be a huge boon."

I can use this, Tristan thought. He nodded sagely and did not betray his thoughts with any facial expression, keeping a neutral expression. "I will consider this. As you've seen if you visited, the Fey Realm wants for nothing. What would be in it for me?"

"Goodwill across the realms," Reginald replied. "But, if you need something more concrete, perhaps we can look into an arrangement."

"Speak to my nymph emissaries," Tristan replied. "They should be out and about-"

"They are. Very nice women, by the way. I believe a few are staying in the guest quarters and utilizing the Citadel as a go-between in their Mortal Realm travels."

That reminds me, I need to check in with the trade fleet. "Thank you for the insight, and the offer. I'll have Thallia, the prime nymph of my realm, ruminate on how best to approach such a proposition. If you'll excuse me."

"Of course. Take care!"

Tristan spun his crucible and poured the essence into the pin, wanting to return to the large tower where he entered the Citadel a little over a Season prior. He entered the guest quarters, and then went through the second door he had not entered the first time but knew led to the chambers.

To his surprise, two nymphs were standing just behind the door and he almost bumped into them. They both gasped and bowed quickly, at the same time saying, "Lord Tristan!" in a respectful and almost worshipful manner.

Good, word of my disguise went to the Fey Realm residents. Tristan gestured for them to stand. "I need you to convey a message to Thallia when possible. The Citadel is interested in giving us a permanent stall in the inter-realm market. Other realms are showing interest."

"I'll pass it along," the one on the left said. "Next time the week-long event is held."

"Good." Tristan glanced between the two. "Any news on the trade fleet situation?"

"About to go out, actually," the one on his right replied. "Things have been going well. There are four ships in total now, with a fifth being incorporated soon."

"Excellent. Keep Thallia informed, and she will convey further information to me."

Both Nymphs dipped their heads, and intoned together. "As you wish."

Tristan spun his crucible, said a quick "thank you", and teleported to the inter-realm market. Heading to the Demon Realm portal, he waited until Felicity – invisible upon Eloise's shoulder – and the Demonkin woman, approached. He handed the rift warden his citadel pin, and Felicity flapped over to land on his head. "I see you found her," Tristan commented.

Eloise handed her staff to the rift warden, then glanced at Tristan. "Ready?"

"Yes," Tristan replied. "Let's get back to it."

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.