"Too late."

The Northern tongue was easier for Astrid to think in, and it relaxed her to hear. Not that she didn't try to speak their new home's common tongue as much as she could, but with just her pack around she could indulge a little. "Yeah, yeah." Astrid grumbled. She had raced back to West Reaches only to find that the war was, for the most part, over. "Where's Hreti?" she asked Liv. She had, unsurprisingly, found her pack holed up in the gate tower they'd taken over.

"He took a cannon to the head while attacking the city lord's office." Liv's whole being tingled with excitement at the fresh memories that fight had gifted her. "There's something I need to say. During the battle, Elanor controlled my rage."

That got Astrid's attention off her being late coming back. "In what way?"

"When I needed my rage, she stoked it into an inferno. When I needed to think, she stole it away. Hreti said she can reassure the blooded wolves, wyvern, and scorpion she partners with. I don't think she realized she did it to me."

Huffing, Astrid nodded. "If she didn't realize she was doing it, she isn't at fault. I will advise Penelope that we do not wish to—" The look of anger that bloomed on Liv's face made Astrid stop and raise one eyebrow. "You have other thoughts?"

"She didn't falter. She could see the way battle turned and she directed us and our aggression perfectly. Elanor made me fight like I have never in my life."

"Then we need to speak to her about it. I have a suspicion." Astrid stood up from a crouch, marveling at her new, more heavily armored form's ability to move as she always had. "Njal, Trygve, we're going to talk to Elanor. I want to get to the bottom of this control she has. You can stay here if you want, or…?"

Astrid and Liv ended up escorted by the pair as they sought out Elanor. Their queries of various soldiers led them to the city's keep. Liv did take care to lead Astrid past the gibbet where David still hung.

"Want to know what surprises me?" Trygve said.

Curious, Astrid asked, "What's that?"

"They're not looting. Not burning. Don't they want to kill the city?"

"I'll add that to the list of things to ask our new King. Who cares if we don't get to sack the city—it's the fighting I'm here for." Clenching a fist, Astrid shifted the topic. "And we'll have another war to fight soon. Hilda said the North was planning a huge force to come south next season. Travis and the city are planning to forge the walls into meat grinders."

"We're going to face other packs, then. I look forward to that." Liv's hand strayed to her hip where an axe and sword were strapped. "Do you think they'll try to take the wall like we did?"

"I hope so. We have a chance to get through to them, then," Astrid said. As she walked through the broken gates, Astrid marveled at how weak this city had built. The outer walls were solid, though lacking the more modern defensive structures that Home had, but the keep itself was nothing more than a mansion with delusions of grandeur. "Hreti died assaulting this?"

"It's an administrative building, though the lord built his office for a last stand. Three cannons." Tongue lolling, Liv felt anew the excitement as she'd been thrown around by the blasts against her shield. "Working on defense will be different."

"We'll adapt," Astrid said, following Liv's lead, since her pack mate knew where she was going. "Tinpot will have something new for us. You wanted guns?" She waited for the excited looks to shoot her way. "He is making us guns that will render field cannons obsolete."

"How big are they?"

"How many of us will it take to carry?"

Astrid let the questions pile up and then waved them off. "I saw the prototype design. It has a pistol grip, but needs support under the barrel. It holds one shot, loaded from the rear." She held up her hand to indicate the size of the grenade shell. "Packed with explosive runes and wrapped in fragmenting metal."

Liv shook her head in awe of the description. "I must find a worthy tribute to that man. He may not be a wolf, but he knows what presents a girl likes."

"I think big guns are a universal favorite. That lord seemed to have enough to be annoying," Trygve said.

"What he's trying to say is he wants a big gun." Njal elbowed his pack mate in his well-armored ribs. "Me too."

As they rounded the corner of the building, they saw Penelope and Elanor standing by a shattered window, talking together. Astrid led the way over to them while making the mental shift back to their common language. "Penelope, Elanor, you finished up here?"

Turning at her name being called, Elanor felt a smile return to her face. "Greetings, Astrid. We have, but Stewart is still discussing terms with West Reaches. After all this mess, I don't think we're ever going to get to the bottom of who organized what."

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"If it were up to me," Liv said, "I'd burn the city to the ground. It's not, though." She shrugged.

"We wanted to ask you, Elanor, what skill it was that let you control my pack's battle rage?" Astrid didn't bother with niceties, diving into the topic she wanted like she had the cannons threatening her pack.

"W-What?!" Elanor held up her hands in a placating gesture. "I didn't—"

"You did and it was great!" Liv shivered. "When I needed to calm down, you calmed me down. When I needed more rage, you fed it to me!"

Elanor's panic at the accusation froze in the face of such enthusiasm. "That sounds like when I…" Gears turned and Elanor's thoughts raced. She realized what it was: "Inspire Courage! But that only works on Sir Travis' creatures. You're—" Freezing with a blush, Elanor hoped against hope she hadn't just insulted Astrid and her pack.

That got to the crux of the matter, as far as Astrid was concerned. She had made peace with being "Travis' creature" when it meant she got to be her own creature first and foremost. "And how did you get that ability?"

Elanor took a moment to remind herself of her skill sets. "It's the third one from the dungeon Priest class." The fear that she'd said or done something wrong fled as Astrid's face broke out into a big grin. "Ah, and you're working on that?" It made sense now. Astrid was wearing her heavy armor, but the glint of more metal among her scales was telling. "Did you finish Tank?"

Tilting her head to show off the scales around her neck, Astrid nodded. "Metal-smith Axel had some mithril armor for me to absorb. I wanted something lighter than what Fife hauls around. I took Priest and—I am unsure who exactly the god is, but they seem amenable to helping me fight for Travis.

"This"—Astrid gestured to Liv—"will help my pack far more than I expected."

"You won't be getting anyone of David's line. No, not even Elanor, and especially not Eliza. His heir will be declared outlaw, Elanor has personally rescinded her place in the Fitzgerald family, Elanor's parents will be declared no longer noble, and any other scrap of that man's family that had anything to do with this will meet the same end he did." Stewart looked around the demolished room for the umpteenth time. The cannons firing had left scorch marks on the walls and the return fire that the wolves had used was evident in the large stones scattered around. "That is not negotiable."

West Reaches let out a huff. "And what, you would have me be a slave? You might as well kill me now." She thought he would be easier to manipulate than he was. He looked ahead, eyes feeling cold to her. West Reaches wondered if he would, even after the promises his inquisitor had delivered.

"So be it." Stewart stood up from the seat at the partially destroyed desk and turned to the broken window. He got three steps before feeling the city's panic. "I'll make it fast, don't worry. I had hoped we could come to an agreement, but if you can't accept my offer, then I—"

"Wait!" The situation was intolerable. West Reaches wanted to drive this man from her city, to make him scream in fear, but the kingdom had extended its protection to him as it would any of its kings.

"Our deal was that you would cooperate. If you won't, there is no deal. David might well have been the perfect partner for you, but I won't stand for the chaos you both wrought. For the rest of my life, West Reaches, I will keep a close eye on your actions. I will have spies here, watching you. If you attempt to harm the kingdom or any of its people as you already have, I will return with another army." Stewart waited for some sign of acceptance. "And, loathe as I am to inflict duty on my children before they're born, they will not turn a blind eye to you either. Now, West Reaches, the first matter I want to correct is for you to rejoin with the kingdom."

The process of ripping herself free of the kingdom and taking all her other cities with her had taken a lot of work to figure out. West Reaches had to carefully probe everywhere she connected to the kingdom and precisely cut those places free—all at once. She hadn't known it would work, but like everything she and David had done, with determination she had managed. Now she had to fix that damage.

Piece by piece, West Reaches reached out to the kingdom and offered itself for connection back into the whole. She had been prepared to feel wrath, anger, and worse directed her way. What she got instead was a mental hug from an entity that felt far more coherent than it had when she'd ripped free. "Why?" she asked it.

"Because you shouldn't be alone," the kingdom replied. "No city should be. Don't hide your pain—share it."

There wasn't much left that wasn't connected back to the kingdom. West Reaches sat on a proverbial precipice and held there for a moment. She wished she knew this was the right choice. Then she remembered Stewart's ultimatum and the warmth that the kingdom offered. So, without holding back, she let herself link.

With West Reaches fully integrated again, the kingdom could reach past her and touch again all the cities of the West. The warm welcomes and joy was a delight, and a very real reminder to the kingdom that it had a good King and Inquisitor. That the two would join together to produce the next generation of rulers was a proverbial cherry on top.

Stewart didn't need the kingdom to tell him that West Reaches was once more part of the kingdom. He could feel a swelling excitement all around, but no more so than in the link to the kingdom that was his birthright. "Thank you for taking the first step. Now, I know exactly who will make a suitable leader for you—someone I trust implicitly—and if you give her a chance she could make an excellent avatar for you as well."

The relief of being welcomed by the kingdom turned to curiosity at Stewart's words. "And if I don't like her?"

"Then I will send more people I trust to pick from, until you find someone that you do like. West Reaches," Stewart said, trying to put as much sincerity into his words as he could, "you've been part of the kingdom for a long time. I would like you to be so for years more. First, though, I need to visit all your vassal cities and reassure them that I hold no ill will—unless they hold any to me."

West Reaches tracked Stewart's movement as he left the office to greet the dragons and the kingdom's inquisitor. "M-My King, Eliza. She went east by horse."

Stewart froze in his walk. "Thank you, West Reaches. You know I won't abide her to live?"

"Yes. She killed your father and your friend at David's command. Please, don't make her suffer."

"If it is within my power, you have my word."

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