When we—Thera, Daewon, and I—came to Nikator, who was waiting near the entrance of the palace, my eyes were puffy and red. It was clear to see that I wasn't in the best of moods. When I strained a smile on my face, it must've been terrifying because Nikator winced back and quickly glanced at Thera, as if wondering what was wrong. When we were in the market, I had grabbed Nikator's arm and vomited in the corner of the street.

The stress was straining me, but at the back of my head, I couldn't stop thinking about what Jia had said.

I couldn't possibly be pregnant, right?

"Empress, there's so many people, right?" Nikator said lightly. I was resting my hand on the crook of his arm and was leaning against him. Even though he had asked me if I wanted to head back, I had told him that I wanted to stay and walk with him, Daewon, and Thera.

"Yeah, there's so many people, right?" Thera said to Daewon, who was clutching her hand tightly while he searched through the thick throng of people for something familiar. People were everywhere, in every nook and cranny of the street. Venders were screaming out prices while women were walking around with baskets of vegetables.

Daewon bobbed his head and pointed at one of the stands. "They're selling pretty necklaces."

"Hmm, they are," Thera noted. "Do you want to see them up close?"

"Yes, please."

While we aimlessly walked around the market, Nikator and Thera talked to Daewon and me. They offhandedly talked about our surroundings and said distracting things, both of them knowing that I wasn't fairing all that well.

"Hey, pretty lady, why don't you try out jewelry from Arile, the kingdom of Gold! It would look beautiful on you!" a vender said to me as he waved at the gold necklaces dangling on the racks he had set up on the counter of his stall. They were glittering in the sun and they were beautiful, but it only made me think back to one of my first encounters with Meilin and how he had told me he preferred silver over gold.

I don't like gold, it's too gaudy. But silver, silver is elegant.

His words echoed in my head and I gripped onto Nikator's forearm tighter. Why was Meilin going to leave once again? I knew it was necessary to finally take out Keung, but why did Meilin have to personally go himself? Couldn't he have sent someone else? I didn't want to think about what would happen if he didn't return home safe.

"Empress, maybe we should head back to the palace," Nikator said, eyeing me worriedly. His sapphire eyes darted from me to Thera, who wore an equally anxious expression on her face. Even Daewon was staring at me oddly. "You look pale."

I shook my head, forcing a smile on my face as I looked down at Daewon. "Daewon wanted to go to the market, I can't possibly ruin his fun."

"It's alright," he said in a polite tone. "I can come again a different day."

"I'm so sorry," I said, my smile slipping away. "I am a bit tired."

"We should head back now," Nikator said as he pulled me along. "Do you want me to carry you, Empress?"

I shook my head. "No, that would draw too much attention and—"

"Empress, we're already drawing a lot of attention as it is," Thera said with a smile, her lightly colored eyes twinkling. "A red haired boy, a foreign woman, and an exceedingly beautiful woman dressed in fancy clothing? Not to mention the little prince, who's also dressed nicely."

"Empress, I may look lanky, but I'm stronger than I look."

"Speaking of which—" Thera narrowed her eyes at someone in the crowd before her lips tugged up into a wide grin. She nudged Nikator's abdomen and pointed at the crowd. "Isn't that Minos over there? He's talking to a pretty little lady."

I followed their gaze and saw Minos laughing while a young woman was talking to him. His blue eyes and tan skin were as beautiful as ever and the way he was smiling was making him appear even more attractive. Women that were passing by were glancing over at him with the corner of their eyes before whispering to each other, giggling all the while.

"All those girls flock around him and boost his ego." Thera clucked her tongue before she slapped Nikator's shoulder. "Go call him and have him carry Empress. He's stronger than you."

Nikator scowled at her. "I'm strong."

"You're fast, Nik, not strong."

Nikator ground his teeth together and gave her a dark look before sighing and trudging over to where Minos was at. I was still holding onto his arm, while Thera and Daewon trailed after him. When Nikator was in front of Minos, he gave him a soft punch to the shoulder. "Minos, what a surprise," he said dryly, glancing at the woman he was talking to before turning to him.

Minos' easy going smile was set on us. "Hey, guys—" His smile slipped away when his gaze landed on me. He stepped forward, his brows coming together. "Empress, are you ok? You look sickly and pale. Nik, Thera, why is she outside—"

"We came here because Daewon wanted to come and see the market, but Empress became sick along the way," Thera explained.

"Since I'm apparently too slender," Nikator grumbled. "Thera suggested that you carry her."

"Gladly," Minos said without missing a beat. He pulled away from the woman he was talking to and gave me a small bow before easily scooping me up into his arms. He was leaner and more muscular than Nikator, who was slim, but he wasn't as strongly built as Atreus. Still, he was tall and strong. "Empress, I'm sorry for any discomfort this may cause."

I rested my head against his chest, too tired to protest. I had a pounding headache at this point. "Not at all. I'm sorry to trouble you like this, Minos."

"Please don't apologize."

"Let's head back to the palace," Nikator said as he walked to the right of Minos, while Thera walked to the left. He was scanning the crowd thoroughly, his expression cool while his pretty sapphire eyes were darting all around the vicinity. "Master Drakkon will be alright, Empress," Nikator said offhandedly as we continued our way. He was being considerate of my situation and Thera must've filled him in about the exact reasoning for my sudden stress. "He'll have Vita and Bolin with him. Bolin is annoying, but he's strong and smart."

I swallowed back the lump forming in my throat. "I don't want him to leave. We just started to—" My voice broke off and my face crumpled, tears welling up in my eyes.

"Master is strong," Minos said. "He has the blood of a dragon coursing through his veins."

As we continued on our walk, we were pretty silent, save for Daewon's occasional questions about certain stalls or venders. After a long moment of just walking, Nikator tapped Minos' shoulder. "Hey, who was that lady you were talking to? Another woman you're trying to bed?"

Minos scoffed. "I don't ask the women for anything, Nik, they ask me to bed them."

He scrunched his nose. "Ew."

"You're just jealous that you haven't found anyone."

"I'm still young," he butted in, making a face. "Women would only hinder my progress towards becoming a great warrior. It's unnecessary to focus on something so trivial. I still don't understand why you would waste your time like that, Minos."

Thera laughed and gave Nikator a sidelong look. "Nik, once you've tasted that pleasure, then maybe you'll change your mind."

Nikator raised an incredulous brow at her, not buying whatever she was saying.

"Let's just focus on our task at hand," Minos said. "Taking the empress back to the palace is our number one priority right now."

"I know that," Nikator grumbled.

"Nik, you're so cute, I want to hug you," Thera said with a laugh, causing Nikator to shoot her a glare, which she easily ignored. She looked down at Daewon, smiling at him warmly when she spoke. "Daewon, you have to become as cute as Nikator, ok? You're already ten times cuter than he is right now, but when you're older, you have to be just as cute, ok?"

Daewon bobbed his head. "Ok."

"Don't call me cute! That's . . . insulting." Nikator made a face. "Cute is for children." He turned to Daewon. "Don't aim for cute, Daewon. Aim for strong and fast and big."

"No, Daewon, you have to be cute."

"Strong."

"Cute."

"I said strong."

Minos rolled his eyes. "Both of you need to shut up." He grinned at Daewon. "Aim to be strong and cute."

Thera wacked Minos upside the head lightly. "We don't need you teaching him anything. You're a bad influence."

Even though I was feeling nauseous and overall sick, I couldn't help but laugh at their banter.

***

"Remus, you can't eat all the snacks."

"But I'm hungry . . . "

"Don't listen to Nikator, Remus, eat as much as you want."

"Don't listen to Minos, Remus. Don't eat all of them."

"Nik is stupid, so don't—"

"Minos is stupid—"
Somehow, all the members of the Peccata were in the emperor's room while I was lying on the bed. Lanfen, the only family member in my family that had decided to stay in the palace with me, was sitting down next to me while the Peccata were in the farther corner of the room fighting over the snacks that were brought over. The rest of the family had gone back home to take care of the land.

Vita was staring at the scene expressionlessly, while Thera looked amused and Atreus looked peeved. Nikator and Minos were still arguing with each other while Remus was confusedly looking between the two. It was funny to see how they were all acting with each other, and even more funny to see their expression.

"Daiyu, it's hard to believe that these people are all elite killers," Lanfen murmured to me, watching as Nikator had jumped onto the short table in front of the couches and was pointing at Minos while saying something to him in their native tongue.

I smiled softly. "It is, isn't it? Though, you also have to realize that they're still young. Even though they might be skilled with weapons, they're still young."

Lanfen eyed Remus for a moment before looking away. It was clear to see that she was still terrified of him, though I couldn't blame her. The first time she had seen Remus, he was covered in blood and he had just finished killing someone. News of him and the people he had killed during her stay in the palace had no doubt reached her.

"Lanfen, Remus is a sweet boy," I said. "He won't hurt you."

She flinched at my words. "I-I—"

Before I could further question her about the mater, Bohai entered the room casually, yawning and running a hand through his hair. He gave a lazy smile at the Peccata, who glanced over at him and gave words of acknowledgment, before he settled his gaze on me.

"Lady Daiyu and Lady Lanfen, nice to see you both doing well," he said. His brown hair was tousled ever so slightly and he looked like he had just woken up from a nap. He was dressed in his usual military attire, with his weapons strapped to his hips. "Lady Daiyu, I heard you weren't feeling good—"

"You just said that it's nice to see them doing well even though you know that Empress isn't feeling well," Nikator said as he took a bite into the apple that was resting on the table with the rest of the snacks. He chewed and swallowed, pointing a finger at him. "You contradict yourself."

Bohai raised a brow. "It's called being polite."

"Dummy," Nikator said slowly, stretching out the word while smirking.

Minos tapped Nikator on the side of the head and huffed out loudly. "You never change."

"Why'd you hit me?"

Remus swiped the apple out of Nikator's hand and took a bite of it, causing Atreus to laugh and Nikator to stare at him in shock. While they all continued their banter once again, Bohai frowned and turned away from them. "Anyway," he said. "Meilin should be coming here pretty soon. He heard that you weren't feeling well and the meeting with the Generals and Commanders is over. I came here to drive these idiots—" He jerked a thumb at the Peccata, "—out of here."

Thera's lips curved up into one of her seductive—though unintentional, I came to realize—smiles. "Bohai, don't call me an idiot."

"Whatever. Get lost."

"So mean."

Minos sighed and rose to his feet, dusting off his pants and motioning towards the rest of them. "We should go."

"I'm not going." Nikator shrugged. "I'll leave when Master comes."

"Then I'll stay too," Remus said cheerfully.

"Me too," Atreus said uncharacteristically.

Thera wrapped an arm over Minos's shoulder and beamed at the three of them. "You guys should listen to Minos and Bohai."

"Honestly." Vita was standing next to Minos and Thera as well. Her sharp gaze cut across the room to where I was at before shifting over to Lanfen, who stiffened under her scrutiny. Vita's face was expressionless when she turned to Remus. "Remus, are you staying because—"

"Vita, darling, don't mess with sweet little Remus," Thera chided as she reached down and pinched Remus's cheeks. "Our little boy is finally growing up."

Remus frowned, his eyebrows coming together in confusion. He tugged at the ends of his gray hair and looked between everyone and then to Lanfen. He turned back to Thera, his frown deepening. "Thera, I don't think I'm growing up. I think I'm still little."

"Hmm, you're so adorable." Thera chuckled.

"I'm still scary."

"You're not—"

"I am." He looked serious, his skin pale and his red-black eyes as fierce as ever. A heavy silence fell around the room and Minos shifted on his feet uncomfortably, no doubt thinking of a way to change Remus's thoughts. "I'm a demon, I'm not human. It's natural for humans to fear us." Remus pulled his sleeve up and traced one of the black markings on his arm. "I can feel when people fear me. Many people fear me." His gaze flicked over to Lanfen and he looked down at his hands.

Atreus's green tinted eyes fell on Lanfen before he turned back to Remus, his voice cold when he spoke. "You have us, so you don't need—"

"Your name . . . " Lanfen's voice was soft when she spoke, but everyone silenced and turned to her abruptly. Her hands were pressed firmly against her knees as she sat down, her shoulders tense. "Your name is . . . Remus. I-If you want to be friends, you should ask."

"You're scared of me, though." He tilted his head to the side in confusion. "I don't understand."

"Just because you're scary doesn't mean I won't try to understand you." She glanced at me for a moment. "Right, Daiyu?"

I blinked back in surprise before smiling. "Yes."