Ahn’rah and Cael quickly turned around and attempted to descend the stairs of the Trove Moon once more, the Dullahan laying limp from where he was cradled in Ahn’rah’s left arm. Caelmer nearly tripped a few times, having trouble taking the stairs so fast when they were made for Topavaran Dragons, not Adatopians of his stature.

  “Ahn’rah!”

  The blue Dragon froze, immediately recognizing the voice and turning his head. There was Turimiil, coming to a stop not too far above them and panting hard, her wings shaking even though they were folded on her back. A look of panic that Ahn’rah rarely saw was evident on her face, and that look made each of his hearts sink down to his stomach.

  “Hallath is coming! With Lady Vulluin! We have to-” Her eyes fell on the Dullahan lying in her mate’s arm and gasped. Caelmer quickly climbed the stairs to stand beside Ahn’rah, speaking before either of them could.

  “We’ll explain later! We need to get to your moon and hide, now!” The small amethyst dragon spoke with that seriousness and urgency so rare of him, and it made Ahn’rah even more aware of the danger they were all truly in.

  Turimiil said nothing, simply taking a breath to regain her composure and nodding, turning to ascend the stairs once more. Ahn’rah and Caelmer both followed, the three of them practically running up the long winding steps until they began to grow sandy, and light from the sun began to seep in from the crater.

  As they all stepped out onto the sand, Cael began cursing under his breath over the sand again. Ahn’rah looked to his mate with extreme worry, watching as she scanned the Aether between The Trove Moon and Topavara itself. “Turi? What happened down there, are they chasing you? Why is he bringing Lady Vulluin?”

  Turimiil continued to pant, having apparently pushed herself quite hard just getting here. “I don’t think they ever saw me, but I can’t be sure. Hallath told Lady Vulluin that he would show her the Trove, to-” she then cut herself off, pointing off toward two rather distant figures, flying toward them from the planet. “There they are! They’re coming!”

  Ahn’rah could feel his own hearts hammering away in his chest, but he only waited for one brief moment before making what he felt was the best decision he could. He handed the Dullahan off to Turimiil, who hesitantly took him in her arms. “Quickly, you and Cael take him to the other side of the moon, where they won’t see you.”

  “What? But what about-”

  “Now, go! I’ll be fine, I’m the only one of the three of us he would ever accept being here. I can make sure he doesn’t do anything to Lady Vulluin, and that he doesn’t figure out we took anything.”

  Turimiil still hesitated, her bright green eyes looking up at him with an anxiety he didn’t often see in them. He was always so used to seeing her be confident, but he did his best not to think on all of the reasons that she currently wasn’t. Caelmer pushed and shook most of the sand around him off, enough that he could stretch his wings enough to take off.

  “Turi, now or never!” The small purple dragon shouted before taking to the air, quickly flying northward, making sure to stay lower to the ground as not to be so visible from the Aether.

  Turimiil took one last glance at Ahn’rah before nodding her head to him. “I love you.” she breathed out before stretching out her still-shaking wings and flying off, sticking close to Caelmer.

  “I love you, too.” Ahn’rah whispered into the air after her, watching them both go for a few moments before beginning to scan over the sand around the entrance. He used his tail to sweep the sand over any obvious prints or divots that indicated others were there. He kept glancing toward the planet, watching as the dark sea-green figure of his father and the smaller yellow-gold of the leader of The Thought-Bringers slowly drew nearer.

  Once he was done, he hurried back down into the Trove Moon, intending to make himself look busy once they got there. He descended to the bottom and double checked that everything would look like it was before they arrived. He quickly adjusted the now empty Golem back into its original position and picked up a few stray items that had fallen over when the Dullahan had attempted to run from them, putting them back where they belonged.

  Ahn’rah then searched through some spare supplies he left by the base of the steps, for when he needed another spare slate for logging. He plucked a slab from its box and made his way back toward the treasure. He followed a trail further into it, weaving around large piles of various bits and bobs before coming to a stop in front of a wall full of mounted weapons.

  Swords, daggers, spears, axes, hammers, maces and more were all hung from brackets or hooks. Some were bolted into place in the wall while others simply dangled from their hilts or scabbards. They all varied in materials, from steel, silver, and gold to blades made of gemstones or glass. None of them, however, were made of cold iron.

  Ahn’rah began to jot down notes on some of the newer ones of the collection, such as the hook-edged scimitar and dual-pointed halberd that now hung with the rest. He did his best to busy himself in writing a convincing list of details as to how certain weapons in the collection might be more dangerous to them if found more commonly on the next Dive.

  He busied himself like this for the next 40 or so minutes before he could definitively hear footsteps descending into the Trove Moon, and he did his best not to freeze entirely. Ahn’rah steeled himself, attempting to harden his resolve in the face of whatever mood his Father might bring down with him.

  “This, dear Lady, is the benefit you’ve been begging to see!” Hallath’s voice rang over the piles of treasure. Ahn’rah turned in time to watch from a distance as Lady Valluin descended the stairs and became witness to the Trove Moon for the first time. Her formal and somewhat snooty expression broke into one of wide-eyed shock. Her jaw hung slack in a mix of awe and what seemed like horror.

  “This is everything you bring back from the Dives?” Vaya Vulluin asked in a whisper of a voice.

  Hallath responded with a glowing pride about him. “Not quite. This is simply my share of the spoils. Of course, I get a bigger cut than the other Divers, but this certainly isn’t the entire haul.”

  Ahn’rah slowly stepped away from the wall of weapons, approaching them as calmly as he could without announcing himself or interrupting them. Hallath seemed to spot the movement after a few moments, and his head whipped over to look at his son with a look of rage. Ahn’rah froze entirely, watching as that look melted away to the proud grin he had before.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Ahn’rah, just what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the party, or in the war room?” Hallath asked, tilting his head slightly. While he bore a smile, Ahn’rah could tell there was an annoyance and suspicion behind it.

  “I wanted to take another look at the newest weapons, see if any of them could be a threat to our scales.” Ahn’rah stated plainly, showing the stone tablet to his father, who only scanned over the notes briefly before staring back up at him. He decided to ask a question in turn before his father could question him. “What is Lady Valluin doing here with you?”

  Hallath took a moment to respond, his eyes flicking over his son’s face as if looking for something. “Maybe it’s good that you’re here, son. Maybe it will remind you of just what The Trove Divers have been doing all of this for.” Ahn’rah had no time to process the shudder those words gave him before his father pulled back, turning to Vaya and motioning for her to come down from where she stood on the steps.

  The topaz-colored Dragon hadn’t moved since she saw the Trove, only now ripping her eyes away from it all to look down at Hallath. She gave a silent nod and descended with what grace she could muster, clearly attempting to reign in her composure. Ahn’rah never thought he would see a strong, composed leader such as her become so shaken.

  “Walk with me, both of you.” Hallath then led the way into one of the winding trails that surrounded the massive piles of treasure. Ahn’rah glanced at Lady Vulluin only to find her staring back at him, a strange expression on her face. He couldn’t quite place or distinguish the emotions she felt. Fear? Disappointment in him? Maybe relieved that she wasn’t alone with Hallath now? Before he could ask or find some sort of answer, she broke eye contact and started following his father, and Ahn’rah had no choice but to follow her.

  Hallath led them past piles of gemstones, ores, metals and fine fabrics. He began pointing to different things in his collection, sometimes describing how he got them, or where he had picked it up. Silk-woven cloths from Myrranthorian cattle-web, a group of gemstones held in metal bracketing that were used as temple windows on Glacora. He waved his hand to a collection of Relictumite brewing barrels filled with their signature ageing wines, and then to a large sandstone pillar carved into the shape of a Rathsahn bird, keeping watch over its domain.

  As Hallath spoke, Ahn’rah watched Vaya’s attention wander. The Lady’s eyes stopped on certain dark colored specks that adorned some of the golden goods, or tears and breaks in things that were clearly whipped from where they belonged. It wasn’t hard to tell that she didn’t share Hallath’s greed, at least not like this.

  “Ah, here we are. Lady Vulluin, take a look at these.”

  Hallath gestured to a wide stack of tomes, books, and scrolls. Some looked to simply be leatherbound novels or journals, while others faintly glowed or shimmered. Vaya stopped in her tracks and couldn’t help the gasp that left her. She approached and hesitantly began looking through the spines.

  “There are books here that haven’t been seen in decades.” Vaya muttered, gingerly plucking a glowing Spelltome from the pile. The leather was dyed a dark green with pink sakura petals embossed over it, shimmering with a glitter that caught on the assorted light sources in the cavern. She opened it gingerly with her smaller talons, carefully flipping through it. “These are spell treatments for healing certain sicknesses and rot in trees on Myrranthor.”

  “Do they no longer have access to these spells?” Ahn’rah asked. “It seems quite important for a planet of mostly forests.”

  “It’s a rare book currently. More often than not the Spring Court’s mages who know the spells have to go on pilgrimages to teach each other. Most of the Myrranthorian libraries are gone or damaged.” Vaya Vulluin answered, turning to glare at Hallath. “Why do you have these? Why would you need these?”

  “I don’t. But they do, don’t they? Am I just supposed to let them keep things like this, things that might make them strong enough to hinder the Dives?” Hallath shrugged.

  Vaya’s eyes widened and she carefully put the tome back in its place. “You truly don’t care at all about any harm you bring to them, do you, Hallath?”

  “Why should I? The system is owed to us by birthright, and they evolved from the system. The way I see it, they own nothing.” Hallath turned and began walking away. “But forget the books. I have something more important to show you. Follow me.”

  Lady Vulluin’s jaw clenched and Ahn’rah had to step in front of her to keep her from lashing out at his father. She was clearly shocked at this, looking up at him almost in disgust.

  “I know, Lady Vulluin. But it isn’t wise.” Ahn’rah whispered his warning before giving her a nod and allowing her to pass him. The smaller dragon stared at him for a moment as she continued on before fully following Hallath once more.

  Ahn’rah’s father led them through another winding trail, no longer pointing out any of his treasures. He eventually led them back toward the stairs, stepping behind them toward the Golem. Ahn’rah felt his nerves spike once more, suddenly anxious over them possibly noticing their tampering, but he did his best to keep his composure.

  “You have a Golem?” Vaya asked flatly, approaching it and quickly scanning it over. “It’s rather large.”

  “That’s because it’s not from Rathsah. The Relictumites made it.” Hallath took a step back, letting the other leader look at the large clay construct.

  “The Autumn Court had Golems now, too?” she muttered, now looking to its back and seemingly noticing its Runeplate.

  “I want you to help me get it working again. I want it to guard the Trove Moon.” Hallath stated plainly. He didn’t phrase it as a question, as though he simply expected her to do it for him.

  “Like hell I will.” Vaya snapped at him, narrowing his eyes on him and pulling away from the Golem to now face him. “You expect me to just do it for you? Why? I already made it clear I don’t want to help you or your Divers. Not when you’re stealing valuable knowledge and killing people who are doing nothing but trying to live.”

  “I’ll give you the books for it.” Hallath’s voice and expression didn’t change, not reacting to Vaya’s emotion.

  “I don’t believe that for a moment. You’re too proud to give away anything-”

  “Why not? I’m not using them, and you seem to be quite interested. Would you return them? Keep them for yourself to put in your little archives on Adatopia?” Hallath’s eyes narrowed. “Sounds like a fair enough deal to me.”

  Vaya stared back at him with a look of shock and disgust. After a few moments of silence, she shook her head and started walking toward the stairs. “I’m not willing to entertain this. I’m going back to Topavara and my group and I are going to begin our study. We leave in two days. I hope I won’t see you for the rest of the day.” She huffed before ascending the stairs.

  Ahn’rah watched her go until she was out of sight. Eventually, his eyes went to Hallath, who had apparently been watching him.

  “That is the benefit, Ahn’rah. We get what we want. For what she wants, she can’t afford not to take my deal. The power of The Trove Divers is not just what we take and have, but what we can give if there’s something worth the price.” Hallath hissed, his eyes staring daggers into his son. “If we stop collecting, then we no longer have anything others want, we lose out on bargaining chips and the ability to take power from those below us. If we grow stagnant, we lose our pace and they get the power to push back.”

  Ahn’rah stared at his father and watched as he left, climbing the stairs. His hearts were pounding in his chest.

  “Finish your work and rest. You’ll have more to do in the morning.” Hallath said before continuing to climb upward and out of his son’s view.