“Nana, e, nana,” Jirot called, holding out her free hand hand, being her grandmother with her fingers as though she wao fight. “e, nana, e.”

  Sonarot approached her granddaughter, who beed her down, before bringing a sliced peach to the woman’s lips.

  “Is peach, okay? It so yummy and you eat it, okay?” The girl said, before rubbiomach, an affirmative grunt esg her lips.

  “Thank you,” Sonarot said, brushing the girl’s hair.

  The girl smirked, allowing her grandmother to brush her hair. “Nana!”

  “Yes?”

  “I do not like you!” the girl waited to see if she would get into trouble, her brows raised expetly, before cag as she bounced away oiny legs.

  Sonarot swallowed the peaoting the way the other children looked at her, ea shock. Even little Jarot was looking back towards her as he slowly shuffled away to follow Jirot, before Sonarot pointed for him to look forward, the boy pouting, thinking he was in trouble.

  “Do you like me?”

  “Yes!” the triplets replied, still in shock by her younger sister’s words, before Konarot hugged her grandmother’s leg. She stared up at her grandmother, still waiting expetly to see what she would do. Kirot and Karot stared expetly too, Karot slowly bringing a cup to his lips, his eyes wide like a deer in headlight.

  Sonarot smiled, brushing their hair tenderly, before returning back to the others who were watg after the you children. The other younger children were currently too busy amongst themselves to be paying much attention, though she could feel the expet gazes of the other adults around.

  Sonarot did what Adam could not.

  Keep her mouth shut.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Adam said, holding up a hand towards the Fourth Hope. “Hold your horses.”

  ‘Mine does not o be held, for it is a magical steed.’

  “We o finish our checks first, so let’s take a moment.”

  “We should leave earlier,” Hope Willow said, unsure of why they had waited so te in the day to leave. It was still a couple of hours before noon, but that was still far too te to be leaving the town.

  “I appreciate your advice, but we’ve got our system, and it’s worked out so far.”

  ‘Were you not hunted by the Marquises’ guards?’ her look said.

  ‘That doesn’t t, I’m talking about preparing to leave without missing anything, obviously,’ his look replied.

  “I’ve double checked the food,” Korin said.

  “Okay,” Kitool replied, tig off the little box.

  “Arrows seem full,” John said.

  “Okay,” Jaygak said, tig off a box, before adding in the ent.

  Seem full.

  Ohe list was checked, the Iyrmen ha to one another, cheg the other’s work, before cheg the list together. With the list dohe group began to make their way out, the children in each of the wagons.

  The Hope and Rays rode upfront, while Ray Vonda rode with the children up front, with Nobby and Fred, and Cobra and Julia. She kept Max beside her, her presence able to calm him somewhat, keeping him from stantly heaving.

  ‘I hope the journey goes well…’ Adam thought, sitting at the front of the wagon, beside Nirot. Every so often, Adam would freeze in pce.

  An owl flew overhead.

  There were other birds flying too, especially within a distant nd, tiny little birds which cheeped towards a little girl with tiny horns and silver hair.

  “How she say that?” Konarot asked. “She ot, she ot.”

  “She ot,” the bird replied affirmatively.

  “You must watch, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Unfortunately, Konarot had mostly fotten about the matter a few hours ter, up until she heard Jirot’s voice cut through the air.

  “No! Not weading!” Jirot pointed up trandaunt. “Nana is weading to me.”

  “Jirot, sit well, I will read,” Citool said.

  “No! I will not! You, you are not weading to me! I want nana!” Jirot huffed, inhaling deeply, ready to cry.

  “Jirot…”

  “Jirot,” Sonarot called. “Bring the book you wish for me to read.”

  Jirot stood up straight, a smile encroag across her lips, before she darted away with Jarot.

  “Will you spoil her today?” Mirot asked.

  “She often sits and grumbles about her father,” Sonarot replied. “I will see if she tio misbehave.”

  Jirht back a book, climbing onto Sonarot’s p, opening the book. “Look, nana, look.” The girl poio a particur word. “Jiwoh. Is my name, nana, is my name, but it is not me, I am not in book, I am your p, okay?”

  “Yes,” Sonarot replied, brushing her hair, before beginning to read the tale to all the children in front of her, from Jarot to Inakan, though Inakan barely paid attention, busy focused on the piece of cloth before her, rubbing it against her faow and again.

  Ohe tale oken, the children made their way to eat dinner.

  “Nana,” Jirot called, smirking up towards her nana. “I do not like you.” The girl cackled and rushed away, but stopped. “Nana, thank you, okay?” She gave the woman a thumbs up, before rushing away to eat.

  “…”

  ‘Of course she is his daughter,’ Sonarot thought, gng up towards the sky, the same sky which had already darkened miles away, where a group made their way southward.

  “Of course she’s my daughter,” Adam said.

  “You said she was cute, so how she be your daughter?” Vasera replied, riding up beside the half elf. “This does not seem to make much sense.”

  “She causes as much trouble as me, so of course she’s my daughter.”

  “She sounds so intelligent.”

  “That’s right, she is.”

  “Then how she be your daughter?”

  “Vasera, you think I haven’t heard these jokes before? Who do you think I am? I’m Adam, you know? I’m Mister Boss, Mister Boss. My daughter’s going to be the best boss in the world, better than me, because she’s smart and cute, and she’s my daughter.”

  Vasera let out a snort before riding away slightly.

  “What do you mean, gruh?” Adam called out as she rode away. “Yeah, that’s right, that’s what I thought.”

  “Adam,” Jurot called, his eyes towards the sky.

  Adam followed his eyes to watch as something in the sky fell, burning from the heavens. “Whoa. Isn’t it ing awfully close to us?”

  “Yes,” Jurot replied, noting its trajectory. “It may nd a few miles away.”

  “Should we go check it out?”

  “We ,” Jurot said, motioning his head to the nearby wolves.

  “Alright, go ahead.”

  Jurot whistled, motioning his head for the others to ride their wolves and follow him out.

  “You didn’t want to send us out?” Vasera asked. “Don’t trust us?”

  “Of course I don’t trust you,” Adam said. “If you ’t uand the greatness of my children, then how I trust you?”

  Vasera cackled, the group tinuing along their way until they found the outpost a short while away.

  Fourth Hope Willow’s eyes remained glued to the half elf. She gnced around. ‘Three?’ Her eyes fell to Ray Vonda, who didn’t seem at all bothered by the fact Adam had cast three Third Gate spells, each to form a tower for them.

  “Adam,” Jurot called, leading the wolf riders back, with a severely annoyed Lucy, though she avoided the gaze of the Hope and Rays, which often fell upon her.

  “If you tell me you’ve found another kid I o take as my own…” Adam began, eyeing up the buhey had brought back.

  “You do not o take the child as my own.”

  “I don’t need oxygen in my lungs, her, but I would rather like not to die.”

  “…”

  “sidering how you’re carrying it, doesn’t look like a kid. What is it?”

  “Nightsteel,” Jurot replied, revealing the small rock within the bu was about the size of a fist, whio doubt caused a crater to form. “There were others which fell, but we left them.”

  “Why did you leave them?”

  “This one ot be demanded of us since we have left some behind.”

  “Is that how that works?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh. Cool. How good is nightsteel anyhow?”

  “Aren’t you a smith?” Lucy joked.

  “Yeah, well…” Adam shrugged his shoulders. “It’s just like that, right?”

  “Right…”

  “It is good.”

  “Nice. Well, let’s put it in the cart.”

  “Nightsteel is wonderful steel,” Fourth Hope said. She he way Adam was looking at her. “Yes?”

  “No, no, tinue…”

  “…”

  “…”

  Hope Willow decided against saying anything else, not liking the annoyed look he held within his eyes. ‘What?’

  As night crest over Aldnd, the children were bathed by their elder siblings, while Fred watched ee. Fred recalled the way Adam had informed him previously of how to handle Gee. There was a threat within Adam’s eyes as he had spoken to Fred.

  ‘Let the kid wash himself, just make sure he doesn’t drown,’ Adam had said.

  Fred wasn’t sure if Adam was trying to ihat he was going to do something untoward towards the boy, but the look in Adam’s eyes, and the intense pressure had caused his too dry up. Ever sihen, however, Adam had been rather polite and respectful, to the point Fred wasn’t sure if he had imagi.

  Night had already taken the Iyr so many miles to the west.

  Jirot stared up at her grandmother, who had asked her to brush her teeth. As she was about to dee, she he look in her nana’s eyes, and decided against causing trouble, brushieeth lightly.

  “Mama,” Lanarot called, holding up her brush, allowing her mother to help her brush the back of her teeth. Lanarot the on to kiss and hug each of her nieces and nephews, making sure to say she loved ead every one of them, and they returhe se.

  Sonarot did the same, though one smirked up at her.

  “I do not like you, nana.”

  “Okay,” Sonarot replied, kissing her forehead, brushing her hair.

  “Daddy ing baow?” Jirot asked.

  “No.”

  Jirot pouted. “I do not love daddy.”

  “…”

  “Jirot, no!” Konarot said.

  Jirot huffed, before dropping into the er, sug her thumb, with her youwin brother settling himself beside her, his eyes wide.

  “I will speak to her ter,” Sonarot assured the eldest of the siblings, ruffling her hair gently, feeling how cold she had bee. She lifted Konarot up, holding the girl close to her chest. “Nana will deal with it, okay?”

  “Okay…”

  Sonarot nuzzled the girl’s neck gently before letting her down, allowing the children to sleep in their own ers. She also kissed Gurot’s forehead, the boy squirming slightly, already half taken by slumber, before she stepped away. She made her way to the others, who were speaking quietly in the courtyard of the shared estate.

  “Will you allow her to keep behaving this way?” Mirot asked.

  “What way?”

  “The words are nht.”

  “She brings peaches to my lips. She sits so quietly on my p. She kisses me before it is time to sleep. Her words may be Aldish, but her as are those of we Iyrmen.”

  “I would not go so far to say her words are Aldish,” Mirot stated firmly.

  Sonarot shrugged her shoulders, before the sounds children brought the Iyrmen to attention. In the blink of an eye, Sonarot and Mirot were at the Rot estate, where Gorot had appeared from another room, cheg to see what was wrong too. The other Iyrmen had darted all around, cheg on their owes, while Citool had leapt up onto the roof, just in case.

  The children were all g, from Gurot to Konarot.

  “What is the matter?” Sonarot asked.

  The children all whimpered and cried before looking over towards Jirot, who was g the hardest.

  “Nana! Nana!” The girl held up her hands, before she was swept into the woman’s arms. “Oooo! Oooo!” the girl whimpered and cried.

  “What is the matter, my Jirot?”

  “Ay di noh seh I wub you, nana.” The girl tio shake as she sobbed, while her grandmother ed her fabsp;

  “Yes?”

  “I did not say I love you, nana.”

  “Okay,” Sonarot said, kissing the girl’s forehead. “I love you too, Jirot.”

  “I do not like you nana, I love you, okay?” Jirot said, hugging her grandmht, before sug her thumb.

  Sonarot’s breath tickled the girl’s neck, w how she could cause so much trouble. “Why must you be as troublesome as you are cute, Jirot?”

  “Mmm,” the girl replied, sug her thumb still, before the other children were soothed by their baba and nanas.

  Thankfully, Adam wasn’t causing as much trouble as his daughter.

  When the sun rose to high noon, Fourth Hope Willow gowards Adam in fusion.

  “My children must be missing me so much,” Adam whispered, letting out a soft sigh.

  ‘Why is he mentioning his children now?’ Willow thought, drawing her bde, hearing the roars of dozens of serpentine heads.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Adam thought. ‘One hydra for eay kids, that should be okay, right?’

  Our Jirot is certainly the cutest.