The chamber doors opened.
Lenora stepped in first.
Lewd right behind her.
Ace followed, calm and observant.
Mia padded in low to the ground.
Sphinx’s tail flicked like a drawn blade.
And then—
They saw him.
Derpy.
Curled.
In Vaeloria’s lap.
Wolf ears out.
Red-and-blue tail moving in slow, restless beats.
Vaeloria’s fingers were still in his fur.
Lenora stopped so hard her boots scraped.
Lewd stopped with her.
Ace blinked once.
The silence cracked.
“…Excuse me?” Lenora said.
Vaeloria looked up pleasantly.
“Oh. Good. You made it.”
Lewd’s eye twitched.
Derpy lifted his head.
“…Hi.”
Lenora’s voice rose.
“WHY are you in her lap?!”
Vaeloria blinked, innocent.
“He fainted.”
“I did not—” Derpy started.
“You steamed,” Vaeloria corrected. “Then you fainted.”
Lewd walked forward slowly.
“Why,” she asked very calmly, “does the Queen of the Elven Empire have her hands in my friend’s fur?”
Vaeloria tilted her head.
“Because it is soft.”
Ace crossed her arms.
“This is… unexpected.”
Lenora marched forward.
“You said you were under her protection—not being used as a pillow!”
Derpy pushed himself upright fast.
“It’s not like that!”
Vaeloria’s tone stayed smooth.
“It is not.”
She stood and set Derpy on his feet like she was placing a piece back on a board.
“Though he calms quickly when stroked behind the ears.”
Derpy went red.
“Please stop saying it like that.”
Mia barked sharply.
Sphinx stared at Vaeloria with clear suspicion.
Vaeloria’s gaze flicked to the animals.
“So these are the pets.”
Mia growled.
Sphinx’s tail puffed.
Derpy stepped between them.
“They’re family.”
Vaeloria’s eyes softened a fraction.
“…Noted.”
The tension didn’t cool.
Lenora still looked ready to draw steel.
Lewd’s fingers twitched near Mia and Sphinx—habit, not threat.
Mia and Sphinx answered with low, protective sounds.
That’s when Lieam stepped forward.
She adjusted her frilled maid uniform, posture sharp.
“You may lower your hostility,” she said coolly. “If we intended harm, you would not be standing.”
Lewd narrowed her eyes.
“And you are?”
Lieam gave a slight bow.
“Lieam Vaelthorne.”
She straightened.
“Sister to Lirael and Sylara.”
Ace’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Another princess.”
Lieam’s voice stayed even.
“Yes.”
Her gaze slid to Derpy’s collar.
“And unlike some bearers, I do not lose control when emotional.”
Derpy coughed.
Lenora crossed her arms.
“You mean like your dolls did?”
Mk3 stiffened.
Mk1 tilted her head.
Lieam’s jaw tightened.
“They are evolving.”
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
Lewd snorted.
“Under Derpy.”
That one landed.
The dolls shifted closer to Derpy without thinking.
Mk1 held his sleeve.
Mk2 stood slightly in front of him.
Mk3 subtly blocked angles.
Mk4 stayed centered.
Vaeloria noticed.
So did Lieam.
And neither missed what that meant.
Lenora stepped closer to Derpy.
“You look comfortable.”
Derpy raised both hands.
“I was negotiating!”
“In her lap.”
“I passed out!”
Vaeloria’s voice cut in, perfectly calm.
“You did.”
Lewd rubbed her temples.
“I leave you alone for two days…”
Ace finally spoke.
“Derpy.”
He looked at her.
“Yes?”
“You need to explain everything.”
Derpy nodded quickly.
“The King is accelerating something underground. The Queen and King are fighting. The dolls are splitting in loyalty.”
A beat.
“And I agreed to a dual-book ownership with Blight and Lewd.”
Lewd froze.
“…You did what?”
Blight’s voice hummed inside her mind.
Confirmed.
Lenora stared.
“You are making contracts mid-captivity now?”
Derpy winced.
“It made sense at the time!”
Vaeloria’s expression sharpened.
“Dual ownership,” she repeated.
Lieam’s eyes widened.
Mk3 looked directly at Derpy.
“You are expanding influence.”
Derpy blinked.
“No—I just—”
Ace stepped forward.
“This is escalating.”
Vaeloria agreed quietly.
“Yes.”
Lewd’s voice came out tight.
“Why would you agree to that?”
Derpy swallowed.
“Because I needed you inside.”
Lewd’s hands curled.
“So you traded me.”
“No.” Derpy shook his head fast. “I traded myself. I agreed because it was the only way to get everyone through the gate without a fight.”
Blight’s presence pressed against Lewd’s thoughts like a velvet weight.
I asked for what I wanted.
Lewd’s jaw clenched.
“You asked for ownership.”
A pause.
“And you didn’t care what it did to me.”
Derpy’s voice went low.
“I cared.”
Lewd’s eyes burned.
“Then why does it feel like you decided for me?”
Derpy’s ears flattened.
“Because I didn’t have time.”
The words hit like a confession.
Lenora watched, arms crossed, not interrupting yet.
Ace watched too—quiet, assessing.
Derpy exhaled.
“I’m not asking you to like it.”
A beat.
“I’m asking you to understand why I did it.”
Blight’s voice slid in again.
You are not property.
You are leverage.
You are movement.
Lewd’s throat tightened.
“I don’t want to lose him,” she said, frustrated—like the words hurt to admit.
Derpy’s eyes lifted.
Lewd kept going, voice shaking with anger she didn’t know where to put.
“I’m upset because I care. I’m upset because I don’t want you to disappear into another contract and leave me behind.”
Derpy’s tail stilled.
“I won’t.”
Lewd scoffed.
“You can’t promise that while you’re wearing a collar.”
Silence.
Then Derpy said it anyway.
“Then we learn each other’s movements.”
Lewd blinked.
Derpy’s voice steadied.
“If this is going to exist—if Blight is going to be shared—then you and I need rules. Signals. Boundaries.”
Blight hummed.
Acceptable.
Lewd’s eyes narrowed.
“And what do I get?”
Derpy didn’t hesitate.
“Training.”
Lewd’s breath caught.
Derpy continued.
“I teach you how to use the calamity book. Properly. Not like a panic button.”
Lenora’s head snapped up.
“No.”
Derpy flinched.
Lenora stepped forward.
“You are being reckless.”
She pointed at Derpy.
“You’re making deals you can’t fully control.”
Then she pointed at Lewd.
“And you’re not ready. You need more training before you touch that power like it’s a tool.”
Lewd’s face tightened.
“I’m not helpless.”
Lenora’s voice stayed hard.
“I didn’t say helpless.”
A beat.
“I said not ready.”
Derpy’s ears lowered.
“I’m trying to keep everyone alive.”
Lenora’s gaze didn’t soften.
“Then stop doing it alone.”
Lewd looked between them.
Derpy looked back.
Blight waited.
Finally Lewd exhaled.
“Fine.”
A beat.
“I’ll train.”
She looked at Derpy.
“But we do it with rules. We learn each other’s movements. No surprises.”
Derpy nodded.
“Yes.”
Lenora cut in.
“Under supervision.”
Derpy nodded again.
“Under supervision.”
Ace stepped forward.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” she said, flat.
A beat.
“But I want to help.”
Lenora looked at her.
“You’ll follow the plan?”
Ace’s eyes stayed steady.
“I always do.”
Lewd’s shoulders loosened a fraction.
Derpy exhaled like he’d been holding his breath for hours.
Vaeloria watched them with quiet interest.
Lieam watched too.
The dolls stayed close.
And the room felt, for the first time since the gate opened, like it had a shape.
Not safe.
But structured.
Vemis and Vambasta’s inn wasn’t fancy.
But it was safe.
Safe meant routines.
Routines meant predictability.
And predictability was the first thing that died when the rune flared.
A messenger seal burned itself into the air.
The King’s mark.
Seraphine stood by the hearth with two guards at her shoulders.
Vemis was mid-sentence.
Vambasta was mid-step.
And then the door opened.
Amy walked in like the room belonged to her.
Frontier hat tipped low.
Black shirt with the red skull emblem.
Utility belt lined with spell cartridges.
Magic focus pistol resting easy in her holster.
Lyn followed, quieter.
Earth-toned tunic.
Rune-stitched apron.
Living-bark staff humming faintly.
Satchel of herbs brushing her hip.
Amy held up the seal.
“Reckon we got yanked,” she said.
Seraphine’s eyes narrowed.
“By him?”
“By him.”
Vemis swore under his breath.
Vambasta’s ears twitched.
“They’ve been calling for you,” she said gently. “We can—”
Seraphine cut in.
“You’re not going anywhere without—”
Amy’s hand moved.
Not fast.
Not frantic.
Just decided.
The pistol cleared leather.
A click.
A thin rune-line lit along the barrel.
Lyn didn’t flinch.
Amy didn’t look at Vemis.
Didn’t look at Vambasta.
Didn’t look at Seraphine.
She looked at the whole room like it was a single target.
“Sorry,” Amy said, voice flat.
Then she fired.
The shot didn’t boom.
It snapped.
A bright, tight pulse—like lightning forced into a needle.
It hit the air and spread.
Not a blast.
A net.
Runes spidered across the room in a clean circle.
Everyone inside it locked.
Vemis’s knees buckled.
Vambasta’s breath caught.
Seraphine’s guards reached for steel and found their arms refusing.
Seraphine herself stiffened—posture steady, eyes furious—then her body betrayed her and dropped.
The hearthlight kept crackling.
The room didn’t.
Silence.
Bodies on the floor.
Only Amy and Lyn still standing.
Lyn stepped over a guard like she was stepping over a puddle.
She walked straight to Seraphine.
Kneeled.
Tilted Seraphine’s chin up with two fingers.
Lyn’s mouth pulled into something wrong.
Too wide.
Too pleased.
A crazy, insane smile that didn’t match her calm eyes.
Seraphine’s pupils tightened.
That word—Dad—hit her like a key turning in a lock.
Not a nickname.
A lineage.
A crown.
A man who didn’t ask.
A man who pulled.
“How can you tell us what we’re doing,” Lyn whispered, “when we’re heading home?”
Seraphine’s eyes burned.
She couldn’t answer.
Couldn’t move.
Could only listen.
Amy’s voice cut in from behind Lyn.
“Lyn.”
A beat.
“Stop.”
Lyn didn’t look back.
Amy’s tone sharpened.
“Dad’s calling for us.”
Lyn’s smile held for one more breath.
Then she stood.
The smile vanished like it had never existed.
She stepped away from Seraphine.
Amy re-holstered the pistol.
No flourish.
No apology.
Just the sound of leather and finality.
The rune-seal in the air still burned.
The King’s mark.
The order.
The pull.
Vespera’s voice hit the room like a thrown chain.
“STOP.”
Not from the floor.
Not from the doorway.
From somewhere else.
From a ring.
From a distance.
From a link that shouldn’t have reached this far.
Amy paused.
Lyn paused.
For half a heartbeat, it looked like they might listen.
Then Amy’s eyes went hard.
“Can’t,” she said.
And they were gone.
Not out the door.
Not down the road.
Gone.
Like the inn had never held them.
Like the room had never been safe.
The stun field held.
Seraphine lay on the floor with her composure still on.
Vemis couldn’t move.
Vambasta couldn’t breathe right.
And the hearth kept crackling like it didn’t care.
Elsewhere in the castle—
The King had already been informed.
Outsiders.
Inside his capital.
He sat calmly.
But the air around him burned.
“So,” he said evenly, “she has brought foreign calamity bearers into my kingdom.”
An advisor swallowed.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
He stood slowly.
“Plan B.”
The advisor hesitated.
“The knockoff program is not fully stabilized.”
“Then stabilize it.”
He struck his staff once.
“Summon Amy and Lyn.”
Back in the underground war office—
Two books rested on a table.
Unstable.
Cracked.
One sparking violently with artificial lightning.
The other rumbling faintly with forced earth-shifting magic.
Human catalyst signatures embedded within.
Not elven.
The King watched the energy distort.
“They will test them at dawn,” he said.
“And if they fail?”
The King’s expression didn’t change.
“They will not.”
In Vaeloria’s room—
Tension still hung heavy.
Lenora crossed her arms.
Lewd stood rigid, but not alone.
Ace studied everything.
Lieam stood opposite them.
Vaeloria remained composed.
Derpy looked between both sides.
He exhaled slowly.
“This is bigger than me,” he said.
Vaeloria’s eyes shifted slightly.
“No,” she corrected.
“This is exactly about you.”
And somewhere below—
Artificial calamity power screamed.
End.
