Julian took a deep breath and pulled us close to him again.

  “Ready?”

  “Yep.”

  “I’m as ready as I can be!”

  Julian stepped back, crouched, and launched us toward the first skyscraper. This jump was different from the previous ones.

  When we launched Julian took us straight up.

  Past the height of the target building, Jashen was already screaming.

  But me?

  I was closely studying Julian.

  He looked to be struggling badly.

  Not just with the force of his magic, but the way his eyes darted in their sockets suggested he was calculating everything.

  So it wasn’t just automatic?

  Interesting…

  Julian controlled the descent to the first tower, though the landing was a little rough.

  Julian dropped us both as he stumbled forward and gripped his knees.

  Jashen and I rolled along the roof.

  His body rocked with heavy breaths as he raised a hand to tap his chest.

  “You’re at your limit,” I stated plainly. My voice was barely audible over the chaos below. I stood to my feet and dusted myself.

  Julian wasn’t looking at me, but instead at one of the airships that were departing from the tower.

  He coughed dryly as he wiped blood from his nose onto the back of his hand.

  “This is merely a warmup, the RBA was worse in its training.” He forced a confident smile.

  The dragon grumbled. “He’s not going to make the next jump.”

  Agreed.

  Julian straightened up and extended his hands. “Come on, I’ll be able to clear this no problem.”

  Jashen looked hesitant to accept his hand this time, her tail between her legs. “Perhaps the other human could use his water?”

  I glanced at the skyscraper.

  I wouldn’t be able to clear it either.

  I was at 10% capacity, and I would need more water than I could even produce at my personal peak.

  The only water user I could think of that was capable of making that kind of jump would be Lilith.

  Julian chuckled softly as he pulled us close. “I said I will do it and I will, never underestimate me.”

  Jashen held onto him tightly.

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  “Okay…”

  I was already preparing for an emergency landing. Even if I couldn’t make the jump I’d definitely survive it.

  Julian launched us up with a sudden and powerful jump.

  This one was a lot more violent than anything we’ve previously experienced. It felt less casual and calculated and more like we’d been shot out of a cannon.

  Not to mention we were approaching the target skyscraper way too fast and dropping dangerously low.

  “Oh, dear…” Julian whispered as he realized we’d missed the roof and were about to smash into a window.

  On the bright side, we'd only missed it by six floors. On the downside, it was packed with at least six guards.

  We smashed through the window and rolled onto the glass-covered carpet.

  The six dwarves stared at us in disbelief for about two seconds.

  I used that to my advantage and immediately summoned a chaoticly charged whip.

  I spun it around the room and sliced through about five guards.

  The sixth one raised his gun but I had already raised my palm and fired a chaoticly charged waterball that shot a whole throw into his chest.

  The guard dropped to his knees and fell face-first.

  Luckily for me, these guards were dressed in a white ceremonial uniform rather than the heavy armor of the border guards.

  I took a controlled breath to maintain my whip without draining my core. Jashen was just rising while Julian took a breather on the floor.

  “Nicely… done…” he said breathlessly.

  I ignored him and turned towards what looked to be the elevator shaft.

  But it was empty.

  I turned towards the stairwell and narrowed my eyes.

  “Let's go.”

  Julian stood up and approached one of the fallen guards to retrieve his rifle and bandolier.

  “Right behind you.”

  The three of us raced up the floors with me taking charge. Those same ceremonial guards littered each floor we climbed.

  I cut through them effortlessly and the ones I missed were shot down by Julian.

  He may have been drained but he was still extremely lethal with a gun.

  When we finally reached the rooftop we were greeted by the final airship. Its ramp was down and several dwarves were loading cargo onto it.

  At the top of the ramp was a dwarven woman in a fur coat and hot, red lipstick. She smoked a pipe and looked completely unbothered.

  Who the hell is that?

  The guards turned their weapons on us but were stopped by the woman.

  *“Ah, the humans and the beast woman… I saw your little escapade.”*

  I had no idea what she was saying, but I was about to kill her when Julian stepped forward.

  *“Madam, perhaps you can spare a little space and conversation?”*

  The dwarven woman huffed. *“Now why would I do that?”*

  Julian holstered his rifle on his back.

  *“Don’t you recognize me? I’m the Black Knight, your friend from the other side.”* He winked and spread his arms.

  The woman raised her brow. *“You, you’re the man they sent to pick up the assets?”*

  Julian bowed. *“I am indeed, madam.”*

  She crossed her arms and scoffed. *“You’re late, any later and I’d have decided to leave.”*

  She turned on her heels and stepped into the airship. Julian chuckled, *“My apologies, I didn’t expect this chaos to unfold so soon.”*

  He then turned to us. “Well my friends, our ride is secured, follow me.”

  I dispelled my whip.

  What a curveball.

  We walked past the armed guards and onto the ramp of the airship. The rumbling from its engines traveled up to my teeth.

  Inside the airship, there was a bunch of scaffolding, crates, and guards.

  But what was most interesting of all were the purple flags that hung around.

  I glanced up at Julian as we walked through the crowded hall.

  “What is this?”

  “This is the start of change my friend.” He sounded all too happy. “See, Lady Sofia has wanted the world to advance into the future just as we humans.”

  He raised a finger.

  “But, the royal families did not like that one bit and have shut down every attempt she’s made at exporting dwarven technology to the wider world.”

  I blinked.

  Hold on, “So you mean to tell me she started this war?”

  Julian shrugged. “That’s what I hope to find out, though if I had to guess I’d say no. From what I know, she doesn’t have the forces to sustain such a war yet.”

  We stopped near a door where two guards stepped aside and opened it.

  Inside was the woman from earlier, still smoking that pipe.

  She turned to face us and finally spoke in imperial with a thick and heavy accent.

  “Hurry up and close the door, there is much to discuss.”

  The three of us stepped forward. The steel door behind us immediately shut and muffled the sounds of the engines.

  The interior of the room was very cozy compared to the utilitarian exterior.

  Dark wood floors, large windows with a wide view of the city, and leather couches.

  With a chandelier that hung from above.

  Julian was the first to speak. “So, what went wrong?” He stated it more like he knew it was a fact rather than a guess,

  Sofia narrowed her eyes.

  “Everything. I told Dimitri not to escalate.” She tightened a fist. “But of course he didn’t listen, he got too caught up in the cause and set everything I’ve planned ablaze!”

  She slammed her hand on the table.

  “I’ve had to sell out my own people to avoid suspicion from the loyalists. Dress my men as royal guards and have them slaughter their kin, this day… it cannot get worse.”

  Julian nodded. “Ah, so if that’s the case then what were you doing here for so long? I’d figure you’d have left by now, no?”

  Just as he said that, the airship shuddered and rocked. A voice echoed through the intercoms.

  *“Departing from the tower and heading west…”*

  Jashen pressed against me on the couch as the airship detached itself.

  Sofia looked up, then down to meet Julian’s gaze. “I couldn’t leave without securing my assets and burning my estate to the ground.”

  She huffed.

  “Besides, now that all of my plans are up in smoke I’m practically homeless.”

  She placed her hands together.

  “When I saw you jump through the city, part of me had hoped it was truly you. Because now we can renegotiate…”

  Julian blinked. “Renegotiate?”

  Sofia nodded. “Those assets I was securing are what you were looking to buy, yes?”

  “Perhaps…”

  “Don’t play dumb, yes is yes, say it.”

  Julian’s playful smile faded as his shoulders dropped. “Yes.”

  Sofia reclined in her seat and crossed her arms. “Good, because I don’t want your gold anymore. It’s useless to me now.”

  “Then what do you want?”

  “Sanctuary in your kingdom.” She stated flatly.

  “In addition to that, I want complete and utter immunity from any extradition demands from whoever takes over this federation. Do we have a deal?”

  Julian spoke with a tiredness that stripped all of his theatrical flair. “I don’t have the authority to make that kind of decision.”

  “Then you'd better find it. I would sooner crash this vessel into the side of a mountain than accept anything other than that.”

  Julian ran a hand down his face and sighed deeply. “Okay, okay, can we at least just get to Kotal and let me check in with my people?”

  Sofia nodded.

  I raised my hand. “Hey If we’re heading back west can I get dropped off in the empire?”

  “No,” Sofia answered immediately. “I can’t risk anything happening outside of my control. The moment this vessel lands it cannot be risen again.”

  Oh, that’s just great.