‘Nyx?’ Dominic said, approaching the massive ameshek female. Though, Dominic was interested to note, she seemed just slightly smaller to their eyes than she used to be. Even though he hadn’t chosen to increase his size recently, perhaps he’d still grown a little. She was lying under the tree in the centre of the clearing, her chitin gleaming in the light of the sunlight dappling through the canopy above. Sirius and Procyon were lying near her head; they twisted around to look at Dominic’s approach. Nyx, however, just twitched her stubby antennae towards him, showing that she was aware of his presence.

  ‘Dominic,’ Procyon greeted even as he and Sirius stood up and came to rub heads with the larger lion. After everything they had gone through together, the two amesheks had adopted some of the lions’ mannerisms. Dominic noted with amusement that it wasn’t that different from how he had picked up some leonine behaviour despite being human in origin.

  ‘How are you both doing?’ Dominic asked them warmly. ‘Telling Nyx about our adventures?’

  ‘Yep,’ Sirius chirped happily. ‘Though she doubts us that we faced water-beasts at least three times as long as we are. Tell her that we’re being honest, would you please?’ As if trying to keep his next words quiet, Sirius leant towards Dominic and huffed as close to his ear as he could. ‘I’m hoping that impressing her now might mean she gives me the best mating times during her next heat.’

  ‘I can hear you,’ Nyx rumbles with amusement, making Sirius jump a little. It was a testament to just how much Dominic had got used to ameshek body-language because he could tell by the quiver in his antennae that the other male was suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. Fortunately, Nyx apparently decided not to dwell on it. ‘Our illustrious leader evidently needs to speak to me. Go and rest both of you; eat. You can continue telling me of your adventures later.’

  Her slightly harsh words were belied by the tender way in which she nosed at both of them, brushing her antennae gently against their own in a caress which Dominic interpreted like one of his lionesses licking at his face. The two male amesheks returned the gesture and then brushed against Dominic in a wordless goodbye as they departed. Dominic found himself looking at Procyon as he left – had his fur become even more like chitinous plates than it had been before?

  Then he shook his head, his mane ruffling around his ears, and lay down in front of Nyx.

  ‘They weren’t exaggerating – there really were massive crocodiles infesting an underground lake,’ he confided through Telepathy to ensure privacy. Nyx let out a huff which seemed to be a sound of amusement if the emotions she projected over the link were anything to go by.

  ‘I believe you – and them.’

  ‘Then why did Sirius seem to think that I needed to back him up?’ Dominic asked with a bit of confusion.

  ‘I would not want him to become too convinced of his right to the prime times of my heat,’ Nyx admitted with that same amusement. Dominic found that more than a little unfair, considering everything. And abruptly, he wondered whether it was just Nyx who held that opinion, or perhaps some of the lionesses as well. Then he remembered that Sekhmet had never turned him down for a round, and he immediately felt better. ‘But I doubt that you came to speak to me about that. Tell me, what do you wish to discuss?’

  ‘Group Enhancement,’ Dominic declared, deciding that it was better to be straight with his vassal and increasingly friendly ally. ‘I’m interested in getting that from you. I notice that all of your amesheks have it – is there a way for you to share it with me too?’ He had the Pride Points for if he needed to use Pride Tribute a second time but if he could save those points, it would be all the better. And he had been curious for a while now about why all the amesheks had the same Abilities except for Nyx herself.

  Nyx was silent for a moment, but Dominic sensed that it was a considering silence rather than an immediately rejecting one.

  ‘I do not think it would work,’ Nyx said finally. ‘Early on, I received a gift from the rock which sits at the centre of the territory. We were far less aware of ourselves at that time, but even then we knew that this was a place to protect; the rock a special object that only I should touch. The gift was an Ability which recognised that the strength of our pack is in our cooperation. The only use of that Ability was to ensure that all those within my pack could use the same attacks. It has had the cost that none of my pack has gained any Ability other than those I have already gained, but the sacrifice seemed worth the power it has offered my pack when we work together. It is for that reason that they all gained the Ability to enhance each other’s attacks, increasing immensely the impact of our powerful cries for every additional pack member who joins in.

  ‘I have never attempted to share it with one not of my kind. No longer the guardian of the rock, I do not know whether I can,’ she finished thoughtfully.

  ‘Would you be willing to try?’ Dominic asked hopefully. It was rather interesting that the Ability Group Homogeneity seemed to come from the Place of Power. He wondered why that had been her reward when he’d had such a different experience. Then again, maybe that was the difference between making a deal with the deity, and not. Or even the difference between being recognised or not by the System as a sapient being.

  Nyx didn’t respond verbally, but he felt her concentrating. Dominic waited expectantly, but nothing seemed to be happening. After a little longer, Nyx relaxed again and her side of the link felt a little apologetic.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  ‘I am unable to sense you as a valid recipient of my Ability. It will not even let me give it to you as a potential for the next time you are due to receive an Ability.’

  He was a little disappointed, but maybe the failure was because he was the leader of the Pride – maybe it could only be given to followers. Or perhaps because he was a chimera – he had never received any Abilities automatically given by the System. Though what if it could be given to others of the Pride....?

  ‘What about one of the lionesses? Like Sekhmet, for example. Are you able to give it to her? Or at least the potential for her to gain it later?’

  Once more Nyx concentrated hard before once more sending a sense of apology across the link between them.

  ‘It appears that I can only share with others of my kind,’ she explains. ‘I know how it feels to share my Ability even with those who are not yet able to gain it – I have already shared my newest defensive Ability with all my pack members, though they will not receive it until the next time they are due to receive one.’

  ‘It’s fine,’ Dominic dismissed, though he couldn’t deny that he was disappointed. Then again, if the sacrifice was that they would only be able to have the same Abilities as Nyx, maybe it wasn’t as good a solution as it seemed. Certainly, the ability of the lions to advance independently and to develop a range of Abilities had stood them in good stead, as his most recent acquisition of Healing Cloud had shown.

  Mentally sighing, he checked whether her level was high enough for him to be able to copy it with Pride’s Tribute without endangering her grasp of it.

  (Nyx: Sonic Attack level 9, Group Homogeneity level 3, Group Enhancement level 5, Vibrating Body level 7, Pack Defence level 1)

  Fortunately, it was, though Dominic was a little surprised that she too had Skills at significantly higher levels than his own. Though perhaps he shouldn’t be – he had so many Abilities that he didn’t necessarily use all of them all the time. It made sense that those with fewer Abilities would take them further than he could in the same amount of time.

  ‘Alright, let’s do this the way I was originally intending on doing it, then.’

  *****

  Dominic checked the timer on the Place of Power again. Five minutes left. He huffed a little, glaring at the large chunk of obsidian. Five minutes wasn’t enough time to do anything but wait, though his impatience wanted to say otherwise.

  After leaving Nyx, Dominic had given the lion control of their body for a bit. Leo had wandered around the Pride, mated with at least three lionesses who had just come into heat – not Sekhmet who had threatened to attack him and asked for Dominic every time he approached – and generally caught up with the others in a leonine way.

  When their following check in with the Place of Power had revealed two more hours left even after all of that, Leo had chosen to go for a quick patrol in the forest, clearly wanting to know whether any strange males had been lurking around. He’d wanted to go further but Dominic had convinced him to return after some time. Leo had decided to give control back over to Dominic when they’d seen that there were only ten minutes left.

  With his excitement over soon learning what would happen once the Place of Power had fully processed the dungeon Core, Dominic found that the minutes were crawling by like hours. Only two minutes had elapsed since the last time he’d checked, but he’d been sure that he’d been waiting for at least fifteen! He felt reminded of every time he installed something on a computer and time seemed to warp. Ten minutes left…five minutes left…three minutes left…two hours left….

  With nothing else to do, Dominic found his thoughts wandering to what Leo had said about him being extra antagonistic towards Selessa. That wasn’t right, was it? The goddess was a far more powerful being than him; she’d said that herself. Wasn’t it only natural to be wary of her? To question her ‘gifts’? She had tried to trick him before, so why trust her now? If he hadn’t been suspicious at the start, he’d have had no idea that she wasn’t who she said she was.

  Then again, she’d also made it clear that she needed him and the Place of Power, and that her deception had been for good reason. The first aspect, Dominic had little reason to doubt – if she didn’t need him, he doubted she’d waste her time on a being as weak as he was. So was he being over-suspicious?

  He didn’t want to consider whether Leo had had a point with suggesting that he might have ‘mummy issues’ but…well. Dominic couldn’t deny that there was still a well of hurt within him over what she had done. His dad had done a really awesome job – especially considering that he wasn’t even Dominic’s biological father. The fact that he’d been abandoned by his sperm-donor had been largely assuaged by the very obvious evidence that his dad had not only loved him, but had chosen to do so.

  But his mother…no one had ever filled that hole. His aunt had tried, but she’d lived too far away and hadn’t really been maternal enough. Worse, though, was how his mother had got his hopes up time and time again, only to repeatedly prove herself selfish and narcissistic in the end. Every time, he’d regretted giving her the opportunity to hurt him again, yet…he hadn’t been able to stop himself from hoping that maybe this time….

  Dominic pushed the memories away, Leo thankfully staying silent if he was paying any attention at all. Maybe he really was being more mistrustful of Selessa than he should be. She wasn’t his mother. She might be a powerful being who he’d allowed to have some measure of authority over him, but she needed him at least as much as he needed her, regardless of how their relationship had started.

  Maybe it would be better to consider her like…one of the lionesses. Not that she was part of his Pride – and Dominic was pretty sure Leo wasn’t listening because otherwise he’d have had something to say about that – but his Pride depended on him leading them to help them to become strong. Apparently, so did Selessa. Perhaps he should give her the benefit of the doubt – if she lied to him again and he found out about it then he could justify mistrusting her again. But if she was honest with him going forward….. Everyone deserved to have a second chance.

  Feeling slightly lighter for having made a decision, Dominic pushed himself to his feet again and checked the Place of Power. This time, the notification that appeared was different. Excitement rising within him, Dominic checked it.

  [A Place of Power under your control has finished processing: F-Grade Savannah Plains Abandoned Temple dungeon Core. The following gains have been processed:

  Level 1 -> Level 2 (progress 83%)

  2 x dungeon seed Cores spawned in the area of influence of the Place of Power

  1 x Special benefit (all beings within the area of Influence of the Place of Power)

  1 x Special benefit (all recognised affiliated denizens and owner only)

  1 x Special benefit (owner only)

  1 x Special benefit of choice

  Choose your special benefit?]

  here!