I couldn't keep the smile from my lips as Nexxa floated back towards us. The panther lord had been very exacting in his rules, deciding to 'take it easy' on her instead of giving her the 'Claws Out' challenge she'd requested.

Limits on how hard any one spell or blow could hit. Limits on how fast they could move.

He'd broken them several times and Nexxa…

Nexxa had followed them to the letter.

Then she'd beaten him within an inch of his life with that letter, putting the fear of the reaper into him.

It was impossible to be certain, but I thought he might've been crippled during the fight. A hitch in his stride that hadn't seemed to be healing, even before she knocked him unconscious.

And if the fight itself hadn't crippled him, he'd definitely lost a lot of support. He'd promised the clans an easy win with easier loot.

Nexxa had just shoved that promise in his face and made him eat it.

And somehow, her performance wasn't the most impressive one of the day, though it was the only one most people would know about.

I didn't know how Bevel had done it, but she'd killed thousands of flying vipers. I'd seen a few of the ones she'd been catching out of the air. I'd even had a shock shield running, ready to fry them if they got close.

Never got the chance to use it.

Now that the fight was over, in full-on goddess-mode, Nexxa floated above us, holding her hands wide in a display of raw power.

Lightning filled the sky as far as the enhanced eye could see.

Laughing, Tillan hit my back with enough force to nearly send me sprawling. I turned a grin on him. "Figured it'd take you a sneak hit to land a blow."

He let out another laugh. "I was worried when your sister stepped forward, but I see you didn't exaggerate her prowess. I've seen Hydra-soul's fight before, and that was nothing like it. I doubt even I could survive such an onslaught."

"It seems the Magus is the real deal," Vergel said, an amused smirk still pasted on the serpent lord's face. Neither that expression, nor the hand stroking his goatee had shifted from their original position since he'd come up and revealed what Bevel had done.

Not that either he or Tillan suspected her.

And why would they? She'd done it while walking beside us, gawking at everything with her mouth wide open, pointing and laughing. I reached over and ruffled the little multitasker's head.

She grinned back, giving me an exaggerated wink so big I doubt anyone this side of the Wyvern Peaks could've missed it.

"He withstood me, outmaneuvered you, and has thoroughly stripped Arther of his so called easy victory," Tillan said, nodding. "I truly hope he is innocent, as he claims, for I suspect it will cost us our lives should he prove otherwise."

"Perhaps I should go in your place, Tillan," Vergel said, eyes moving towards me. "It would not do for our most powerful warrior to be put in such a compromising position."

"It is I who issued the Sovereign's Exchange. It is I who must complete it," Tillan said, shaking his head. "If you wish to extend one of your own, then I will welcome your company, but I cannot shirk my duty."

Vergel smiled at me, giving me a tiny shrug, as if to say, 'well, I tried.' He nodded, slowly, hand still attached to his goatee. "I think I shall, if the Magus Protectus accepts."

"Don't see why not," I said, though I could honestly see lots of reasons why not. Like not inviting a snake into your house where it could poison everything within reach. Honestly, even if Tillan did find some reason to declare war on us, I'd much rather have him there to do so. The fact he'd be there was half the reason I'd said yes to Vergel.

The other half was… well, between Bevel, Nexxa and myself, I was pretty sure we could handle either of them. Even though they were currently acting amicable enough, I still remembered Henri's gossip. These two hated each other more than anyone else.

What their history was, wasn't entirely clear, but it was violent enough they'd come to blows over it several times in the past.

Nexxa wrapped up her show, descending towards us slowly, likely using the opportunity to drain the mana-well for all it was worth, if I was right about the first spell she'd cast. An area version of Mana Draw, using aspects drawn from Curtain of the Everstorm. I so wanted to take a look at the design, even if I knew some of it would be impossible for me to grasp prior to Hydra-soul.

Looking at the empty space where Nexxa and the panther lord had fought, I shook my head. It was a good thing we hadn't hit the last mana-well on Bevel's list, since the entirety of the Unclean clans camp was centered around it. Despite only having a handful of ensouled, they had several enchanted items that drew upon the well to produce simple food. Basic gruel and one specific nut I wasn't familiar with.

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Both were something I wanted to study and copy, whether we brokered peace or not… in fact, "I don't suppose we could get a bowl of that gruel?"

"We have much better fare than that for our victors," Tillan proclaimed, attempting to clap me on the back again. This time his hand found only air, which only caused him to laugh once more.

"I can get you some, Papa," Bevel said, already starting towards one of the devices.

I whispered what I really wanted, knowing she'd pick up on it. She only paused for a half-second, glancing back and giving me a nod. Then she darted off across the crowd, leaping from head to head, laughing the entire way.

It seemed her aunt's performance and her own success had her feeling extra mischievous.

With her distracted, my gaze shifted to the collars around the ensouled's necks. They weren't the only people around the camp with slave collars on but theirs were more obviously enchanted.

Wasn't sure what I could do about those. Wasn't even sure if I should do anything about them. Nexxa had just beaten the Panther lord into the dirt, but unless she'd improved her precision by several orders of magnitude, taking out the clans without getting the slaves too would be… not impossible, but definitely tricky.

Was there some way Bevel could do something similar to her trick with the snakes? Or maybe we could buy the slaves? Would that just be encouraging them to take more?

I looked over at Vergel. He didn't seem like the type to give up his luxuries, no matter who offered to buy them. He met my gaze, giving me a small nod, as if some unspoken message had passed between us. Well, he could believe what he wanted.

Right as Bevel returned with a bowl of gruel, Tillan bellowed and brought us into a long tent full of food.

Nexxa, Bevel and I were sitting at a large raised table, as were both of the clan-lords and their advisers, such as Henri.

The panther lord hadn't been looking so great, despite the healing items that had been used on him, each of which had been consumed in the effort. Even worse than the ones I'd made on the Dauntless.

For some strange reason, Arther, the panther lord, didn't show up to the feast.

There was enough food to feed half the camp waiting for us, which had me questioning the purpose of the gruel outside. I picked at the selection, pulling out the best pieces. Some of it had been well prepared, but most was of middling quality at best.

Getting access to Spellford's herb and spice market, combined with everything I'd brought from the west…

Well, it wasn't the most flavorful meal I'd had in a while. Not terrible though.

"So, Tillan, you'll come visit us today then? Get this all out of the way?"

"Yes, yes. I have given my word, and I am a man of honor, am I not?" the big man asked of the table.

That earned a snort from Vergel, which I thought rather amusing, since he'd tried to poison my meal twice already by that point. The first attempt he'd had the audacity to hand me his own personal spice blend, claiming it helped with the bland food.

Which was probably true.

For the second, he'd offered his hand to seal the deal, confirming he'd accompany me to witness Tillan's great fears were false. At the same time he'd slipped several drops of something into my cup. They didn't make it into the actual drink though, ending up splashing on his sleeve. As if the wind had taken issue with him depositing them there. He'd pulled the arm back slapping at himself as if his sleeve had caught fire.

Vergel attempted to poison my meal three more times, but finally stopped when Bevel got pissed off and simply cut off all air around him.

He smiled, glancing over at me. He attempted to say something, then paused as no sound escaped him. A slight dimple appeared on his face as he reached up to his neck, drawing forth an amulet. He tapped it twice, looking between the jewelry and me.

Then he pulled it off throwing it to the ground. When that didn't seem to work, he looked back at me with a slight shrug, sitting back at his place.

For the next ten minutes, the feast continued, and he sat there, without any air. It was only around the half hour mark I detected the first signs of panic as he continued reaching for his throat, only to catch himself, flash another smile and continue eating in silence.

Tillan thought it the height of hilarity, pointing and laughing. And when he wasn't laughing at Vergel, he commended Nexxa and laughed about Arther's foolishness.

The large man did an awful lot of laughing, considering his stoic reputation.

Suddenly, in the middle of one of such jokes, Vergel collapsed, clutching at his throat. He tried to climb to his feet, but ended up only making it halfway to the exit. Even that wasn't enough to spare him from my daughter's wrath.

"That's enough," I said, laying my hand on her shoulder.

Bevel frowned, but nodded, throwing another chip into the air, following the other twenty that were there towards her mouth.

A lot of Tillan's cheer had gone out of him during the last of the ordeal, but when the other lord rolled onto his back, gasping in deep breathes, he laughed once more, a little more ragged than before. "You had me worried, Magus. I thought you may have decided we were too much hassle to entertain."

Which was when I realized his cheer and silence had been masking something else. Fear.

This man was terrified of us. Well, of Nexxa and Bevel, even if he didn't know it.

It brought me a grim satisfaction. These people had come to slaughter and plunder our lands.

A little fear was the least they owed us after all of the same they'd inflicted on mine and Vaserra's people.

Speaking of which, it'd been long enough since I'd sent the signal.

"Well, I think this is a perfect opportunity for you to visit my lands," I said, pushing to my feet nodding to Bevel with a flick of my hand. A sudden gust swirled past, ripping the side of the tent up as my gaze shifted to the sky high above us.

"I'm afraid it will take some time for us to make the journey. We have- drat it all, who was in charge of the tent? I told them to…" Tillan trailed off as Aeternia's Shield lowered from where it'd been hiding in plain sight. Without enchantments to protect them, there seemed to be a limit to how high the giant eagles flew. Or maybe it was just that flying any higher wasn't practical, since most of their opponents were landbound.

Either way, Aeternia's Shield had been able to cruise high above them, completely unnoticed, passing over the camp along with the clouds as they'd drifted in.

Inertia and Tresla were standing in the open hanger doors. Out of sight were the Tethered who would've released the Show Stoppers, if they'd been needed.

I patted the large man on the shoulder, hiding a wince at the solidness of his skin. It was like patting actual stone. Not letting it distract me, I grinned, nodding upwards.

"It's cool. We brought our own ride."

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