It was a ferevious when Jirot had revealed her sensibilities as the Little Boss.

  “Mummy, we must go now,” Jirot said from within the carriage. She held out her hand to assist her mother into the carriage.

  “I must stay.”

  “Stay?” Jirot replied, raising her brow. “Mummy, you ot stay. It is time to go to Front Iyr now.”

  “I must stay to work.”

  “Okay,” Jirot said, beginning to climb down from the carriage.

  “Jirot, you must go to the Front Iyr,” Sonarot said, causing the girl to gnce back trandmother.

  “Nana, I must protect mummy,” the girl replied, still climbing down until she was beside her mother.

  Sonarot’s face turaut as she tried not to smile. “You must protect mummy?”

  “Mummy is pregnant, so I must look after her.” Jirot then gnced around. “Where is kako?”

  “Kako is going too,” Sonarot assured.

  “Good! I must look after mummy and kako! Kako is fortable?”

  “Kako is fortable,” Sonarot replied, only to realise which aunt Jirot was talking about. She tilted her head slightly, before looking down at the girl, who stood so defiant, reag up to hold her mother’s pinky finger.

  Dunes watched from the side. He had enced Vonda to send the children back with Sonarot and Lanarot, except the Ray would stay here with Virot, and Pam would stay with Damrot. That way the business would uand it was only because they o send the children most in danger, but made sure some remaio not decrease morale, or cause a panic.

  Except, Jirot would not leave without her mother or auually, Save in, staying with Lanarot, while allowing Vonda, Pam, and all their children to return back to the Iyr.

  Upon hearing the tale, Adam resisted the urge to burst out into ughter. “Of course, since my daughter is the most sensible.”

  “Didn’t you tell me Jirot caused you the most trouble?” Bael asked, having listened ily to the tale.

  “What are you talking about? Jirot? Troubling me? She only troubles me because she’s so cute!” Adam sat, brimming with pride. ‘How I worry about my children when Konarot and Jirot are so sensible?’

  “Where is Lanarot?”

  “She has returo the Front Iyr,” Sonarot informed, having only realised her mistake the day after. “It is best she is raised with her nieces and nephews.”

  Jurot stared down at his drink, unsure of how he felt with all this politig. He sipped the water, before returning to his bread and jam. He had returned, excited to reveal the trikro he had assisting in sying, but Damrot was gone. His nieces and nephews, gone. Even his sister, who would smile so gleefully at his stories, gone.

  Lucy could hear the words within her mind, the sweet joy of the little girl who loved to tease her, weling her back, eager to listen to her tales. ‘Jirot.’ She sighed, mixing her pe together. The girl, too, loved her pe, not as much as her potatoes, but she wouldn’t refuse a spoonful of pe from the demon, nor her brother.

  “I should take my walk before it rains,” Bael said, hoisting himself up, rolling his shoulders before he sauntered off. As the others spied him, Bael stepped up onto the wall, and before the Iyrman called out to him, he hopped off the wall and casually walked out of the business.

  “What are you doing?” Kamrot asked, his hands csped behind his back.

  “I heard so much about the Iyr,” Bael admitted, his eyes sing across the woods, then along the distant hills. “I just wao look at it properly.”

  Kamrot allowed Bael to reminisce as he stared at the nds of the Iyr, taking them in as strangers often did.

  ‘Don’t cause a mess in the Iyr!’ Bael recalled the words as if they had been said a moment ago. He could feel it within his heart, the urge to cause just a little trouble. Then he gnced aside, noting all the figures focused upon him, many of whom remained unseen.

  The day, Bael uood part of the Iyr’s ridiculousness. The valley before the gates of the Front Iyr caused him to raise his brows in surprise. He hadn’t seen such a thing in the mortal nds. He stared up at the sky, eyes gng about for a moment as he imagined a flying army, though recalled the Iyr’s sky defences. ‘The Front Iyr, was it?’

  “Hoh!” Jirot gasped upon seeing the returning group, her eyes darting to her mother for a moment, her mind processing what she was seeing, before she charged her father. She stopped, her eyes darting to the ure, adorned in full pte. “Oh! Nano! Nano!”

  “Nano!” Little Jarot squealed, rushing up to Gangak.

  Gangak scooped the pair into her arms, their squeals like music to her ears, soothing her ag heart. She pnted firm kisses upon their foreheads, feeling the warmth of their skin against her own, the woman clutg at them greedily. ‘Oh, how I’ve missed you, my greatchildren.’

  Konarot narrowed her eyes at Bael, smelling a familiar st on the man. She hid behind her mother, her siblings behind her. Larot pletely ighe returning group, while Lanarot rushed up from the side to tackle her brother, leaving her uncle behind.

  Bael she air lightly, noting the vaguely familiar st on the children, before his eyes fell down to the green skinned children with their ad amber eyes. “Goblins?”

  “My children,” Adam replied, reag out to brush his children’s hair tenderly, but leaving them with their nano, befoing to greet his wife. Adam held her hands for a moment, squeezing them gently, before he smiled, though the smile said more than anything he could say. He dropped down beside his wife, allowing Konarot to climb onto his p, the girl cuddling his chest.

  “Nano, I miss you so much!” Jirot said, nuzzling intreataunt’s neck. “When yone, my heart is so cold.”

  “I miss you too, my Jirot,” Gangak assured, bringing the pair closer to her chest, before carrying them to one side.

  ‘sidering how tehe Iyrmeh me around the children, they must be Iyrmen,’ Bael thought, deg against causing any trouble. ‘I should inform the Chief.’ Bael frowned, feeling an awkwardness within his gut. ‘What am I thinking? I should make it with my own strength.’

  “Look,” Jirot said, holding up the tiny pebble. “I found stone for you.”

  “Speaking of stones,” Adam said, reag into his tunic. “Jarot, Crowseer found a stone for you.”

  “Stone?” Jarot asked, his ears perking up.

  “Crowseer?” Jirot asked, narrowing her eyes. “So suspishus.”

  “You’re right, but it doesn’t seem like it’s magical or cursed,” Adam said, pg it within Jarot’s palm.

  “My stone?” Jirot asked, holding out her hand.

  “Crowseer said he was going to find a special stone for you soon,” Adam said, ruffling her hair. “Share with Jarot for now.”

  “No stone for me?” Jirot huffed. “I do not like Crowseer.”

  “Well…” Adam smiled. “Larot, Crowseer sends his regard.”

  Larot made a Larot kind of face, the kind that made it appear that he had bit into a raw lemon.

  “There is nothing for me?” Jirot pouted.

  “Who said there was nothing? I brought baano, and…” Adam reached into his tunic. “Guess what I have?”

  “Scale?”

  “Huh? How did you know?”

  “Daddy always bring back scales!”

  “This time they’re special scales!”

  “Hydra?”

  “No, no, that’s to. We fought a trikro!”

  “Oooh! Nano fight trikro!” Jirot’s eyes beamed pridefully.

  “Nano? Whiano?”

  “Nano Monagek.”

  “Nano Monagek killed a trikro?” Adam asked. “Amazing, will you tell daddy the story?”

  “I tell you,” Jirot replied, the girl’s smile growing wider.

  “First, meet mister Bael. He’s a new worker that’s joined our business.”

  “Hello,” the girl said.

  “Hello,” Bael replied, smiling warmly towards the girl.

  “This is Jirot, obviously, and my little Jarot, and Larot. Konarot, Kirot, Karot. Virot isn’t about, but presumably she’s sleeping peacefully, or she’s been spoiled by her elder sister and is causing a bit of a mess?”

  Jirot puckered her lips, as though she were i, but she retty sure whatever it was, she was responsible. “No.”

  “So you’re Ray Vonda?” Bael asked.

  “I am. Ray Vonda of Life’s Rose.” Vonda bowed her head lightly towards the drakken, who seemed vaguely familiar, though she couldn’t quite pce it.

  “I have heard the stories of Life’s Rose,” Bael said, smiling politely, though there was something deeper within his smile that Vonda noted.

  “Mister Bael is strong?” Jirot whispered to Gangak.

  “He is.”

  “Wow! Mister Bael, you are s?”

  “Some people have called me strong,” Bael replied. “I’ve defeated my share of great warriors.”

  “I always share too.”

  Bael smiled wider. “How well behaved.”

  “Yes,” Jirot replied, smirking even wider before sitting up taller.

  “I’m strong too, aren’t I, dear?” Adam asked.

  “Daddy is s!” Jirot held up a thumbs up for her father. “First pce. Uncle is s too! Uncle is first pce two times!” The girl held up a pair of her fingers. “Two times! Uncle Jurot does not share first pce, he keeps it all for himself, smelly papo!” She cackled with delight, hugging her nano tight to hide.

  “Daddy eve Bael,” Adam said, mirr his daughter’s smirk.

  Jirot’s eyes fell onto Bael, judging the man within her gaze.

  “I’m strohan you at least,” Bael said.

  “No!”

  “No?”

  “I am strong!” Jirot flexed her muscles. “I am Demon Lord!”

  “You’re the Demon Lord?” Bael asked, tilting his head slightly. ‘Do children behave like this here too?’

  “Yes!”

  “Then you must be very strong,” Bael said, gasping lightly.

  “I am s! I protect mummy and I protect daddy!”

  “What about your brothers and sisters?” Adam asked, eating all this dessert for his heart.

  “I protect Jarot and Larot and Virot.”

  “What about Konarot?”

  “No!”

  “Why not?” Adam asked, w if her answer was the same as his thoughts.

  “Kaka protect me because I am little sister,” Jirot said, as though it were obvious, and for o was.

  “If you’re the Demon Lord, then I want to fight you too,” Bael said. “I want to fight all the stro people.”

  “I am to, so we ot fight,” Jirot said, letting out a small sigh. “Oh dear, oh dear.”

  “I see. If you’re to, it ’t be helped.”

  “How I help it?” Jirot shrugged her shoulders, letting out another small sigh. “I am just too cute.”

  ‘When did she bee aware of how scary she is?’ Adam thought, crossing his arms in order to stop himself from ag ge.

  Though Jirot had softehe mood, the awkwardness staihe air, like undry that o be washed sooner rather than ter. As the purple hue of the sky weled them, Adam and Vonda walked around the perimeter of the Front Iyr, before slipping into another building. Vonda listened ily to her husband’s words, holding her hands within his own.

  “I’m sorry, Vonda,” Adam whispered, bringing the backs of her hands to his forehead. “I shouldn’t have pyed with Fate so much.”

  “How could you have expected one of the Thirteen Stars to hunt you?” Vonda asked, doing her best to keep her heart calm.

  “I should have knower. I mean, as far as I know, he’s probably really close to the Lord of Order, and…” Adam inhaled deeply, rubbing her knuckles against his forehead, before he kissed the back of her fingers. “It’s going to be okay, though. You don’t have to worry.”

  “I knew when I married you that I would worry at least this much.” Vonda’s gentle smile radiated towards the half elf. She could see how he was still stressed, but he tried to push it away to not worry her. She held his hands, allowing him his silence.

  The Front Iyr remained both busy a so calm, with a particur Iyrmaing with the Front Iyr Elder. The Front Iyr Elder listeo the Iyrman’s words ily, taking them seriously. He wondered how Bael could seem familiar to the young Iyrman, before a thought popped into his mind. He wrote onto a piece of paper, and phe way to firm the matter.

  Lykan retty sure Bael was one of them.

  I'm beginning to think Bael is one of them.

  Jirot is growing up too quickly! How she do this to us?