She was being carried by Dravin. Her tiny body pressed against his chest, still shaking slightly. A voice came from behind them, casual and familiar. "Hey, did you finish cleaning up?"
Dravin kept walking, his boots crunching over broken ice and scattered spider legs.
"Hey, I'm talking to you."
Still no response. Dravin looked down at her instead. "Why so silent suddenly?"
Because I'm still processing.
Leon appeared from the shadows behind them, his emerald coat somehow still pristine despite the cave environment. His expression was confused, eyebrows drawn together. "When did you—what—" He stopped walking, staring at Dravin's back. "Did you lose your mind from that bug's toxin?"
Dravin continued forward without acknowledging him. But Leon moved faster, appearing directly in front of Dravin, blocking his path. Then he saw what Dravin was holding. "Ahhhh—WHAT—" Leon's voice went up an octave. "Why is the baby here?!" He pointed at her accusingly. "You moron! Don't tell me you summoned her to this place! You absolute menace!"
"She came on her own," Dravin said quietly.
"Are you kidding me–," Leon stopped mid-shout. His golden eyes flicked past Dravin's shoulder, landing on the spider woman's dismantled body where the spider children were still feeding. His face went pale. "How can you show such a thing to a child! Look how terrified she is! Give her to me. Now."
Dravin shifted his grip, holding her more securely against his chest. He looked down at her. "Are you terrified?"
Well. Their mother invited them to a feast. She's just fulfilling her promise. Circle of life and all that.
She blinked up at him, not crying, not shaking anymore. Dravin looked back at Leon. "She isn't scared."
"Of course she's scared! She's a BABY who just witnessed her father kill a monster."
"I didn't splash blood in front of her," Dravin interrupted, his tone matter-of-fact. "Or burn them alive. That would cause breathing problems from the smoke. That's why I used ice."
Leon stared at him. "How... how considerate of you," he said flatly.
Before either of them could continue, the entire cave shook. A violent, earth-shattering quake that sent rocks falling from the ceiling. The sound was deafening—like a thousand thunderclaps happening at once, rolling through the cave system in waves.
She squeezed her eyes shut. Dravin's arms tightened around her immediately, one hand coming up to cradle her head, protecting her from falling debris.
Leon's voice cut through the noise, raised but strangely calm. "Looks like he's started hunting."
"Then go hunt with him," Dravin said.
"Are you insane?! You want me to go play with that brainless creature!"
The cave walls started to close in, the stone grinding and compressing, the ceiling lowering.
"We're leaving," Dravin said. He snapped his fingers.
The world twisted. They appeared outside the cave entrance, standing on a rocky outcropping. The night's cold air brushed against her face. Stars scattered across the sky above them. She opened her eyes, looking around, and then she saw a monster right behind them.
A massive raccoon-like creature, at least twenty feet tall. Matted fur, too many teeth, yellow eyes glowing in the dark. Drool dripped from its jaws, sizzling where it hit the stone.
She started kicking. Her little legs flailing against Dravin's chest, trying to get his attention, trying to make him look behind him.
Leon noticed immediately. "She's having a panic attack! Dravin, give her to me, you're holding her wrong."
Dravin didn't turn around, didn't even glance back. He just raised his free hand and said one word: "Vinculiridis."
Vines erupted from the ground. Thick, thorned, moving like living serpents. They wrapped around the raccoon monster's legs, its torso, its neck, constricting with enough force to crack bone. The creature let out a strangled roar as the vines pulled it down, binding it to the earth. Only then did Dravin turn around to look at what he'd just caught.
She stopped kicking and stared at the trapped monster. That was... actually kind of cool.
Golden lightning split the sky. It struck the raccoon monster dead core center, burning through the vines and the creature both. The monster convulsed once, then went still, smoke rising from its charred body.
"That's my prey." someone called out from the darkness.
A man stepped into view. He was tall, broad-shouldered, wearing clothes so expensive they made Leon's outfit look cheap. A coat of deep burgundy with gold thread, a cape that moved despite the lack of wind, boots that gleamed even in the dim starlight. His hair was golden, catching the moonlight. His eyes were emerald green, looking at us. He walked with confidence.
"Oh, Archmage," he said, his voice faintly amused. "You destroyed my cave. I wanted to play with that spider lady. Heard she was quite the beauty."
Leon stepped forward, bowing slightly. "Unfortunately, Your Majesty, that beauty has been eaten by her children."
MAJESTY. This is the EMPEROR?!
The Emperor's eyes flicked to Leon, then back to Dravin, more specifically, to what Dravin was holding. His eyebrows rose. "Hmm. But what's that in your hand, Archmage?" He tilted his head, studying her with open curiosity. "Is that the spider lady's child? I didn't know they could breed with humans. How fascinating."
EXCUSE ME?! Do I look like a monster?! How dare you?! I don't care if you're an emperor or not, that's rude!
"It's my daughter," Dravin said.
The Emperor blinked. "Ah... what? I think I didn't catch that, Archmage."
"My daughter."
Silence. The Emperor stared at him. Leon coughed.
"You mean you had a daughter with that bug?" The Emperor's voice was incredulous. He gestured vaguely at the cave entrance. "You should have told me. I would have at least provided you with a decent human partner. The royal court has several beauties. "
"It's actually his daughter with a human," Leon interrupted quickly. "I don't know the details, but I confirmed with my magic last time. The mother is indeed human."
Everyone fell silent. The Emperor's expression shifted from disbelief to intrigue. Then, without warning, he cast a magic spell, a gust of wind magic swept forward, and suddenly she was being lifted out of Dravin's arms, floating on currents of air into the Emperor's hands.
The Emperor caught her, holding her up to examine her face. "So you're the Archmage's daughter." His voice was thoughtful now. He looked past her at Dravin. "You should have introduced her to us, Archmage. Why did you hide her?"
"I didn't hide her." Dravin's voice had gone cold. "It just didn't seem important."
Before the Emperor could respond, Dravin snatched her back in his arms, pressed protectively against his chest.
The Emperor's eyes widened slightly. No one had ever snatched something from him before. Dravin met his gaze evenly. Then, slowly, he shifted his hold on her so she was cradled properly in one arm.
Leon watched this exchange with growing horror. Shit. No matter what, he's our Emperor. But Dravin doesn't even care. What is he doing? Is he going to introduce her? This bastard didn't even NAME her until an hour ago. Wait, is he going to introduce her as "The Daughter" or "Baby" or "Moon"? I don't know what this man is thinking. Just do it. Just mess this up. I'll take this baby for sure. Let the Emperor witness how incapable you are, Dravin. It's actually good for everyone.
Dravin straightened, inclined his head in a formal bow. The bare minimum of respect. "Your Majesty, allow me to properly introduce my daughter."
He adjusted his hold slightly, presenting her to the Emperor's view. "Hania Luxe Noctis."
It was the first time she'd heard her full name. Hania Luxe Noctis. Daughter of Dravin Kuro Noctis.
The Emperor's expression was unreadable. He nodded slowly. "Hania Luxe Noctis," he repeated. "A strong name. Fitting for an Archmage's daughter." His eyes gleamed with interest. "I look forward to seeing what she becomes."
Leon stood frozen, his mouth slightly open. He... he actually did it. He actually gave her a proper introduction with a full name, with his family name in front of the emperor. That means... She's... Oh, this changes everything.
Dravin didn't seem to notice or care about the significance of what he'd just done. He simply held Hania against his chest and said to the Emperor: "If you'll excuse us, Your Majesty, my daughter needs rest." And without waiting for permission, he turned and walked away.
The Emperor watched him go, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Fascinating," he murmured.
Leon hurried after Dravin, catching up just as he was about to teleport. "Dravin, wait—"
"What."
"You just—do you understand what you just did?"
"I introduced my daughter."
"You introduced her with your full family name in front of the emperor. That's a formal declaration. That means she's your official heir. That means every noble house, every mage council, every political faction is going to know about her now."
"Good."
Leon stopped walking. "Good?"
"If they know she's mine, they'll be less likely to bother her." Dravin looked down at Hania. "She's already problematic enough without adding political scheming to the list."
He snapped his fingers. They vanished and reappeared in the nursery where Kofery was still surrounded by floating books, looking shell-shocked.
Dravin walked to the crib and placed Hania down carefully. She looked up at him, her purple eyes wide. He reached down and touched her forehead one more time. The lingering traces of wild magic settled completely. "Sleep," he said quietly. "Tomorrow we start training."
Training? Tomorrow? But her baby body was already shutting down, exhausted from everything that had happened. Her eyes drifted closed. The last thing she heard was Kofery's shaky, confused voice, "Master... did you just say training? She's one month old! What are you going to train her in? She can't even hold her head up yet!"
She finally fell asleep, but for the first time since being reborn, she slept with a smile on her face. This is going to be interesting.