Arriving at the edge of the courtyard with a baby dragon perched on his shoulder, Leo took in the scene.

  Two of the fighters he had been training only yesterday, a mage and a warrior, lay sprawled out on the ground as Ashley worked them over, pale white light emanating from her palms. Both groaned in pain, their starting gear torn and bloodied with the marks of battle.

  “What happened here?” Leo demanded.

  Heads turned, but no one answered. Instead, all eyes locked on the tiny hatchling sitting proudly on his shoulder. Ellie chirped, eyes wide as she took in the crowd with curious excitement.

  Leo clapped his hands loudly, startling everyone. “Hey! I asked what happened.”

  Katherine, the archer, finally spoke. Her voice shook. “We went out to try and get stronger—try and catch up to you and the others, we wanted to contribute after you saved us. But the ants came, so many of them. We tried to run but got separated. We had to hide in a building… Then we heard more fighting. We didn’t help, couldn't. We just… ran.” Her words broke as tears fell. “I’m sorry.”

  Leo cursed himself internally, biting his lip. He’d inspired them to grow stronger, but hadn’t given them enough to survive, effectively just signing their death sentence. His urge to blame himself further for his failing clawed up from within before he suppressed it. Guilt wouldn’t help here.

  “Do you know if anyone else is alive?” he asked grimly.

  Katherine shook her head, unable to meet his eyes. “I’m not sure.”

  Mark, the wounded warrior, stirred. His voice was weak, but clear. “Jonah probably survived. I saw a sandy veil go up in front of a house as we were retreating.”

  “Where?” Leo asked quickly, a bit of desperation in his voice.

  He lifted a bloody, trembling arm and pointed. “Half an hour’s walk. That way.”

  Leo’s body tensed, ready to move out at full speed.

  But he froze.

  If he left, the camp would be exposed. Defenseless. Any raider or monster even remotely competent could tear through it. Indecision roared its ugly head. His nemesis.

  “Go,” Ashley said, voice sharp.

  “But—”

  “Go. Quickly. We’ll manage here.”

  She flexed her fingers. “I’ve got something ready if it comes to it.”

  For a split second, Leo thought he saw a shimmer around her hands, not the usual pale light of healing but something deeper, unfamiliar. He filed the image away.

  Her certainty pushed him forward, his trust in her hardening his resolve. Leo exhaled, rolled his neck, then glanced at Ellie. She gave a soft yelp, as if agreeing.

  “Alright then,” Leo said. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”

  Ashley nodded, giving him a weak smile.

  Feeling the surge of his increased Agility being pushed to its maximum, the streets blurred past him. A small jump, coupled with a few more from alley walls landed him in a better vantage point to scout.

  “See anything?” Leo asked.

  Ellie clung to his shoulder, swiveling her head, but her wide eyes were full of wonder. The newborn dragon was far too distracted by the chaos of sights and sounds to be of much help. Perhaps once she grew into her wings she would be a bit more of a scout.

  Maybe I’ll get dragon wings someday… Leo’s mind wandered.

  He shook off the thought. No sign of sand, no hint of a fight. Only silence and the steady rhythm of his own movement. He vaulted another gap, easily clearing three metres, Ellie yipped happily each time the wind rushed past them.

  Landing on a wide rooftop fifteen minutes from where Mark described, Leo froze at the sound of voices below. Creeping to the edge, he peered down at a group of ten in mixed class gear. In the middle of them were three of his own, currently being healed by a young man.

  “Shouldn’t we just get moving?” A mage in robes said. “I doubt their friends are alive with the state we found these three.”

  “Enough,” A Knight’s voice cut through, commanding respect. “We do not leave people alone to die out here to these ants. We will search until we find evidence of their deaths. Until then, I will hear no more talk of leaving. Am I understood?”

  Quiet nods and soft murmurs all round, Leo quickly identified him.

  Human - Level 16

  The rest hovered between twelve and fifteen. Not a group he wanted to fight head-on. Still, they didn’t sound hostile. He lingered, weighing his next step carefully.

  A mage stepped out of a nearby building, crimson robes flowing with her fiery hair. Her gear was far finer than the starter sets, intricate embroidery catching the light. The others shifted subtly as she joined them, straightening spines, giving her space. Respect or wariness—maybe both.

  One more Identify.

  Human - Level 19

  So the knight might not be the leader after all. Leo thought as he stared at her with mixed emotions.

  She was a higher level than even he was. Something he thought wasn’t possible until now, a little narcissistic but he’d worked for it.

  Her gaze flicked up, sharp as a blade, locking right onto his rooftop perch. Leo jerked back, heart sinking. Stealth had never been his strong suit.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “We’re being watched,” she said, a quiver of excitement in her voice.

  All hands moved to their weapons as the words came out. He could hear shuffling and hushed chatter.

  “Show yourself!” the knight commanded.

  Leo groaned and rolled onto his back, skull smacking the stone. Brilliant. Exactly the kind of entrance he wanted, one of a stalking predator…

  He didn’t have many options here. Hopefully these people were more agreeable than the now deceased convicts. He could get out on his own if it came to it, but dragging half-healed camp members along for the escape? That was a different story.

  “Ellie, think you can tuck yourself back in my soul-space like you did as an egg?” Leo said, voice barely a whisper.

  The little dragon tilted her head, then hopped onto his chest and vanished with a soft shimmer.

  Still works. Good. “You good in there?” Leo whispered.

  A warm ripple of safety and contentment answered back, making him smile despite the situation.

  Alright, time to channel some Cece. Don’t screw this up.

  Leo straightened, trying to look at least somewhat imposing as he came into view. He stepped clean off the two-storey roof as if he were just out for a casual stroll. Stone cracked faintly under his boots, but he didn’t so much as flinch. A brief pain shot up his legs, but he didn’t let it show.

  The group below reacted instantly, weapons snapping up into a neat formation. Knights held the front, ranged clustered in the rear. His own camp members were tucked into the middle like precious cargo.

  “Keep vigilant. He’s level eighteen,” the lead knight barked. His eyes didn’t leave Leo. “Who are you? What do you want here?”

  “Leo!” Jonah’s voice cut through the tension. The man had managed to get to his feet, now mostly healed.

  “You know him?”

  “He’s… part of my camp. He’s solid. I think.”

  “I’m only here for my people,” Leo said, voice steady. “I heard they were attacked in this area and came to find them.”

  “Katherine, Mark… did they make it?” Jonah asked, almost pleading.

  Leo nodded, which had Jonah almost crying.

  Then he addressed the knight, “Will you let me take them back?”

  A woman in crimson robes strode forward, fiery hair spilling past her shoulders. Her wand was already twirling in her hand, eyes sharp and appraising.

  “They’d be corpses without us—ant food,” she said, the words like a taunt. “That should mean they join us instead.”

  Her teeth flashed in a grin.

  Leo’s brow furrowed. While he didn’t like it, she wasn’t wrong.

  He wasn’t exactly the poster boy for reliability lately. But damned if he was going to let someone just strip people out from under him.

  “What are you, twenty-one? twenty-two?” The mage’s tone dripped with amusement. “We’ve got Gareth here, an ex-military commander. And me as his spear. What can you give them but an early grave?” She tapped her chin, looking up in thought.

  Her eyes suddenly lit with inspiration, lips curling into a grin. “Actually…why stop at these three? We should just take your whole camp. They’ll be safer with us.”

  Her wand rose, small embers igniting the tip.

  “Rub—” The knight started, but his words were swallowed in an instant.

  Pressure slammed into the courtyard like the weight of a storm. The air grew heavy, every breath thick as molasses. Mana crackled faintly, making the hairs on their arms rise as if lightning was about to strike. Multicoloured eyes burned as Leo’s Stormforged Presence rolled over them. Weapons wavered. A few stepped back. More than one trembled.

  And the mage?

  She smiled.

  A wide, predatory grin that said she wasn’t frightened in the least. She was thrilled.

  Her wand flared hotter, flame coiling the tip.

  Guess we’re doing this. Leo took a quick breath.

  Heat built up in his own body as Fuel the Fire answered, muscles swelling with power. He was already shifting his stance, ready to strike, when the knight shoved her wand down and caught her wrist in a white-knuckled grip.

  “Enough! We are not here to fight other survivors,” he snapped, though his wary glances at Leo didn’t ease. “This is a rescue mission.”

  The mage sighed, almost theatrically. “Fine. I was just having fun anyway.”

  Leo let the heat bleed out, steam curling softly from his skin as he exhaled. He’d been seconds away from doing something very, very stupid. And truthfully, it had been half a bluff anyway.

  “Uh,” Leo said, blinking. “What’s going on here?”

  “Apologies,” the knight, Gareth, answered. “She’s a maniac.”

  “Rude,” the mage said, but not denying it. She smiled sweetly at Leo as though she hadn’t been about to roast him alive.

  Gareth studied Leo carefully, the way a soldier measures a battlefield. There was no bravado left, only calculation, and the hard truth that if they should win, it would be pyrrhic.

  He ignored her musings and stepped forward, hand extended. “Let’s start over.”

  Leo moved to meet him, but before their hands could touch the mage shoved past, sliding into the space and latching onto him instead. Her hand caressed his like she was greeting a lover, not a stranger she’d almost just burned alive.

  “I wanted to be the first,” she said softly. Her eyes burned with excitement. “I’ve never felt anything like that power. That fear. That pressure! It was incredible.” She shivered, almost moaning the last word.

  Leo froze, completely lost. One minute she’d been trying to kill him, now she was acting like they were soulmates.

  “Uhhh.” That was all he had.

  Gareth gave her a wide berth like she was carrying the plague. “We won't force your people to join us,” he said carefully. “But tomorrow, meet us here. Let’s discuss an alliance. More numbers mean safety. Especially after the bloodmoon.”

  “Day after,” Leo countered. “Our leader should be back by then.”

  After a beat, Gareth nodded. “Fine. Two days. Noon.”

  Leo tried to tug his hand free, but the mage had both of hers wrapped around his arm now, stroking his skin with an almost hungry fascination.

  “You’re blazing hot, but it feels like stone,” she murmured. “Do you have a Lava Essence or something?”

  “Or something,” Leo said dryly, finally pulling free.

  She pouted, then her eyes locked on his, sharp and invasive. It was like she was trying to peel him apart. Leo didn’t flinch. He’d stared down a Dragon God. She wasn’t going to rattle him…

  Maybe a little.

  “Come on.” Gareth grabbed the back of her robes and started dragging her away like she was a petulant child. “We need to be back before dark. Be safe out there, Leo. We’ll see you in two days.”

  “Don’t die before then! And don’t forget me!” she called, laughing as Gareth hauled her along.

  Leo almost chuckled. From cold killer to flirt to punished child, she was all over the place. Definitely a character.

  “I don’t even know your name,” he called after her.

  She turned, blowing a kiss followed by a wide grin. “Ruby!”