I wake up in the dark, not sure for a moment what has woken me. And then I feel it – the brooding presence of a Tier three who’s deciding whether I’m a threat she needs to remove or not. And this one is so familiar that I have no doubts as to who it is.

  Once that would have frozen me completely. Now, I just sigh slowly and almost silently, and push myself to sit upright carefully. It doesn’t feel like Kalanthia’s on the edge of attacking me, but there’s no point in testing her predatory instincts. I can’t see her, but she can probably see me. I decide to change that – I’ll need to be able to read her body language to have a chance in this discussion.

  Pulling a stone shape out of my Inventory, I trace the lines on it until I’m certain I know which one is the trigger rune. Feeding a touch of mana into it, the stone starts glowing. I continue feeding mana into it until it reaches a light level I’m happy with – one of Hunter’s creations, of course.

  I look up to see what I had expected – Kalanthia lying in the den with her head blocking the passageway between my bedroom and the main room. The expression on her face is not entirely friendly – her ears are turned fully towards me and her muzzle is tense, the tips of her teeth visible. But at the same time, she’s not actually snarling, so she’s not angry – yet.

  I knew this discussion was coming. I was expecting to have it before I went to sleep, but she wasn’t in the den – Lathani said she’d gone hunting. I would rather have done it then than now, woken out of a deep sleep. At least a shot of adrenaline sent into my system from the instincts which perceived the threat she poses has woken me up fully.

  “You want to talk about Lathani,” I say to Kalanthia. It’s not a question – why else would she wake me up in the middle of the night?

  You have not broken the chains you have wrapped around her.

  “Kalanthia….” I sigh and rub my eyes for a moment. I’ve been wondering how she would approach it, working out my responses to the different options I thought of. And all of them boil down to one single essential point. “Lathani has a Companion Bond. She’s the one who ‘wrapped’ the ‘chains’ around herself. Sure, I can break the Bond, I’m not arguing with that. But, as you know very well, so can she. And so far she hasn’t.”

  I look at the nunda squarely. I won’t deny that she’s still intimidating – her size, her intelligence, her control of magic – but I like to think I know her well enough to know that she won’t attack unless she feels that I’m being actively hostile to her. “Lathani is dear to me. And I know she loves me too. And that she loves being part of the pack. She’s thrived with us – you can’t deny that.” Already a quarter of the way towards her next Evolution, for all that she Evolved for the first time only a few months ago. “I’m not going to take that away from her. It’s her choice what she wishes to give up. So if you want an answer to your question, you need to ask Lathani. Not me.”

  Kalanthia growls, the rumble vibrating low in her chest, rattling my own bones in sympathy. I sense several more of my Bound rise closer to consciousness or wake entirely – I’m not the only one with instincts that signal potential danger.

  She’s my cub, Markus Wolfe! she practically yowls at me.

  “I know,” I tell her sympathetically. I have had no child of my own, but when I think about losing one of my Bound, about how I felt when Storm was killed…. I can understand. But understanding doesn’t mean that I’m going to take the choice away from the juvenile nunda who has proven herself fully capable of making it. “Speak to Lathani about it. Do your best to convince her. But in the end, it’s her choice.”

  Kalanthia snarls, but I don’t fear that she’s about to attack – she’s frustrated, but she’s not the kind to lash out because of that.

  I will travel with you until I have had her answer, she half-promises, half-threatens. I shrug.

  “We’ll be glad to have you with us.” It’s true, though if she’s going to be this almost-hostile presence, that might be more uncomfortable than I’d prefer. Still, I bet that the presence of a frustrated and angry Tier three will be even better at warding off potential attackers than her normal aura. We have a lot of ground to cover. Enough time to do it in, but without the kiinas to ride, it will take longer than I would prefer. Not having to fight will definitely save time.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Kalanthia gives another frustrated noise, but withdraws her head from the passageway. Around me, I feel my Bound relax, most drifting back to sleep. I wish I could say the same.

  After that discussion, I’m rather too keyed up to sleep. I walk to the entrance of the den and look up at the sky. Still a while until dawn. I sigh and head for the meditation chambers. I might as well use my time wisely then.

  *****

  We set off as the first rays of light are touching the sky. I didn’t get any more sleep, but I did manage to increase my Energy store by a few percent, so at least it wasn’t a total loss. Not enough to give myself another stat point, not even my lowest stat, but every little bit helps.

  I’m hoping that the portal will just open wherever I am. That seems to be the most likely option – if it opens in some random spot there would be no guarantee of me managing to get to it. And Nicholas didn’t indicate that finding the portal would be a task I’d have to do in addition to collecting the Energy for it. Of course, it’s also possible that it will open at the same place where I was dumped at the beginning of all this.

  Without any information at present, I decided it’s better for me to err on the side of caution and head that way anyway. With any luck, if it doesn’t just open wherever I am, there will be some prior warning as to where it’ll emerge and I’ll be within range to get there in time. The message I received when I reached a hundred percent in my Energy debt indicated it would only be open for a very short time. If I miss it, I’ll be stuck in this world, probably forever.

  I suppose if that happens, I’ll have to choose whether to return to the rest of the samurans or not. On the one hand, I’ve already put lots of time and effort into them. On the other, this valley is a big place and I’ve explored only a tiny fraction of it.

  But I think it’s unlikely. I don’t have any reason to doubt that Nicholas gave me those things as an investment – he’ll want to get that investment back. And since creating my own Skill stone, I have come to understand just how costly that investment probably was. Which means that the portal will probably open in my vicinity since that’s the only way of guaranteeing that I’m present for it. But there’s no harm in heading up mountain anyway. It’s meant that we’ve been able to have a clean goodbye with everyone not coming with us. Well, apart from Kalanthia, anyway.

  As I promised, we stop by Raven’s tunnel on our way. It’s not really a detour – it’s almost the route we would have taken even without the need to visit him. Outside stands Raven accompanied by all three of his hatchlings, the early morning sun making even Noir easy to see despite the gloom of the cave entrance.

  No words pass between us. Noir steps forwards, no hesitation in his movement. He almost runs towards me and nudges my shoulder with his head, expectation in his eyes. After so much practice with Companion Bond, I’m able to extend an invitation to Noir without any difficulty. He accepts without any hesitation and nudges me again affectionately. I scratch his jaw, relief and joy going through me as the Bond settles back into place, stronger and better than ever. One of the innumerable aches dies away, warmth replacing coldness.

  Noir moves away to greet the rest of his companions, my pack greeting him with just as much enthusiasm. They’ve become a group within a group, I’ve found – as I released Bonds one by one and added to my Companions with those who were determined to come with me, I noticed how they drew together and away from others of their kind. They, like me, realised that the break would hurt less if it was started ahead of time. Even if only a little.

  I look back at Ivor. The white hatchling seems more hesitant.

  “You don’t have to come with me,” I reassure him, using Animal Empathy to make sure that the meaning of my words gets through even without a Bond between us – I am familiar enough with alcaorises to guarantee that. “If you have changed your mind, that’s fine.”

  My words seem to decide him, but not in the way that I was half-expecting. Instead, he nudges his father and sibling in a final sort of way, and then steps towards me. He isn’t as enthusiastic as Noir was, but his body language is full of determination. I don’t do him the disservice of asking him if he’s sure – he’s clearly been carefully considering the choice. Possibly all night – he looks tired. Instead I just extend him a Companion Bond and, when he accepts, I let him know just how happy I am to have him. I feel the warmth of his answering joy, undercut by sorrow as it might be.

  I wait for a moment but neither Raven nor Daphne moves. I nod at them in a slightly saddened goodbye.

  “Be well,” I tell them. “I’ll remember you.”

  We’re already almost out of eye-sight when Raven responds.

  Be well. We will remember you too. And with a sensation which feels a little like breaking glass, only without any hurt, he breaks our alliance. I’m seized by a sudden sense of concern and I pause to look back. Is that a sign that he’s not going to hold to our bargain? Why would he break our alliance like that?

  Noir and Ivor both send reassurance. Though the mixture of images and emotions is a little confusing, especially since both of them are sending slightly different ones, I am able to get the idea that neither of them believes their father is about to go and attack the village or something. I can only hope that they’re right and, more, that Raven will protect them as he’s promised. I guess he just wants to make sure our ties are broken.

  I take in and then release a gust of a breath. I can do nothing more about it. I turn and lead my companions up the mountain. A door has closed; another is opening. There’s no point in wondering what might be happening behind door number two when I’ve chosen door number one.

  here!

  here!

  here!

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