Trafalgar stepped outside with Caelvyrn.

Inside the old bar, Vivienne stayed with Dravok and Rhosyn. The moment Trafalgar left, Dravok turned his full attention to the girl and began asking about her first day of classes with the exact expression of a proud father trying very hard to act casual.

Vivienne answered at first with some hesitation.

How the academy looked. What the classrooms were like. Which professors she had seen. Whether the other students had seemed strange. Dravok nodded through all of it, his face serious, though the small warmth in his eyes betrayed him every time she mentioned something as simple as finding her seat or following the schedule without trouble.

When the topic shifted to people, Vivienne’s expression changed.

Only a little.

Dravok noticed anyway.

"Did you meet anyone interesting?" he asked, tone still calm.

Vivienne’s fingers tightened slightly around her cup. "A few people. Trafalgar introduced me to his friends."

"Friends," Dravok repeated.

"Yes."

"Any boys?"

Vivienne’s face changed in a way that answered far more than her words would have.

Dravok’s eyes narrowed.

"I see."

"There is nothing to see," Vivienne said quickly. "He is just someone I met not long ago. He is Trafalgar’s friend."

"His name?"

Vivienne hesitated.

"Xavier."

Dravok leaned back slightly, already memorizing it. "I would like to meet this Xavier."

Vivienne’s face tightened with instant alarm. If Dravok wanted to meet Xavier, even Althea herself would have trouble preventing the man known as the God of War from doing exactly that.

"He is only a friend," she said, trying to calm the situation before it turned into something impossible to repair. "And barely that. We only know each other a little."

Dravok accepted the answer on the surface.

Internally, he made himself a quiet promise.

When the time came to train Trafalgar inside the separate dimension, he would make sure the boy had a very difficult time.

Rhosyn slept through the entire father-daughter conversation.

She had leaned against the side of the booth at some point, eyes closed, her breathing slow from exhaustion. Whatever Dravok and Vivienne discussed, none of it reached her in any meaningful way.

The owner of the bar was less fortunate.

Behind the counter, only his upper body was visible, which meant no one could see how badly his legs were trembling below. He could not hear a word from the table because of the invisible bubble covering their conversation, but that did not help much. Words were hidden. Aura was not.

The pressure coming from the people sitting there was enough to make his stomach twist.

A sleeping woman who felt like darkness given a body.

A man with war buried under his skin.

A dragon in human form who had once looked at the ceiling as if it had offended him.

The owner had served criminals, drunk soldiers, smugglers, and people who carried knives under coats. None of them compared to this table. He decided, with great wisdom, to clean the same cup for the fifth time and avoid breathing too loudly.

Outside the bar, Trafalgar and Caelvyrn finally reached the street.

The air was cooler there, less stale than inside. Velkaris had begun sliding toward evening, with mana lamps slowly waking along the road and shadows stretching between the old buildings.

Trafalgar glanced at Caelvyrn’s horns as they came out.

"Careful with your head. We do not need a repeat of last time."

Caelvyrn ducked slightly, though by now the ceiling near the entrance had already suffered enough that the shape of his horns could almost pass through without issue.

"That ceiling learned its place," Caelvyrn said.

"It has scars."

"A good lesson leaves marks."

Trafalgar gave him a dry look.

Caelvyrn smiled, clearly pleased with himself, before his curiosity returned.

"So, what do you want, Trafalgar? You are killing me with curiosity."

Trafalgar’s expression changed.

The casual tone left him.

Caelvyrn noticed immediately. For all his constant amusement, the Wise Dragon had lived for millennia, and there were things even he did not dismiss once the air shifted. His smile faded, and his violet eyes focused more fully on Trafalgar.

Trafalgar spoke in a lower voice.

"Do you remember what happened with the Gluttony Dragon?"

Caelvyrn’s brows lifted slightly.

"Difficult to forget. From what I know, your father killed him, and you were present." He tilted his head. "Why bring him up now?"

"Because he left descendants."

Caelvyrn’s expression sharpened.

"The Gluttony Dragon had a child?" He crossed his arms, gaze drifting for a moment as if searching through old knowledge. "That is rare, at the very least. Dragons do not reproduce often with other bloodlines. It is one of the reasons we are not as numerous as other races. If a dragon chooses to have a child with someone outside our kind, the other bloodline must be able to endure what is placed inside them."

His mouth curved, though there was no humor in it.

"And knowing that bastard, I can imagine the methods were far from pleasant."

Trafalgar’s jaw tightened slightly.

"I know what you are trying to say. But I have the child. He was in Velkaris."

Caelvyrn went fully serious then.

"Oh."

That single word carried more weight than usual from him.

"That is a serious problem," he continued. "If the child loses control, he could cause quite a mess. Young dragons are destructive at the beginning, especially when no one teaches them what their body is doing. Instincts arrive before judgment."

"Do not worry. He is in Euclid now. I had one of my subordinates adopt him formally, away from Morgain paperwork." Trafalgar met his gaze. "But since you are a dragon yourself, your help would be useful. Can you teach him?"

Caelvyrn stared at him for a moment.

Then his irritation showed.

"You know I am not a babysitter, right?"

"I know."

"And asking me something like this is a bold move." Caelvyrn leaned a little closer, his voice still calm, but the old pressure behind it became easier to notice. "Remember, Trafalgar, I like you. That does not make me your subordinate. Helping Dravok is one thing. That project benefits all of us, one way or another. This is different."

Trafalgar said nothing.

Caelvyrn continued.

"I could solve your problem by killing the child."

The street grew quieter around them.

Caelvyrn did not say it cruelly. That made it worse. It was the kind of answer an old dragon could give because, to him, it was practical before it was monstrous.

Trafalgar’s eyes hardened.

"You will not."

Caelvyrn held his gaze for a long breath.

Then the corner of his mouth rose slightly.

"Good. There you are."

Trafalgar did not relax.

"I will owe you a favor if you help him."

That changed the shape of Caelvyrn’s interest.

"A favor from a Morgain," he said slowly. "And not just any Morgain. You, specifically." His eyes glimmered with thought. "That is a good offer."

"It is."

Caelvyrn looked toward the old bar, then back at him.

"Fine. I will do it. But only after we stabilize what we are making. Until then, I cannot afford to divide my attention more than I already have."

"That works."

"When the time comes, I will appear in Euclid. Warn the man managing your city so your guards do not start doing something stupid when they see me." He paused, considering the details. "Close the forest beside the city when I arrive. That will be the best place to teach the child the basics. Somewhere open enough to survive mistakes."

Trafalgar nodded. "I can arrange that."

Caelvyrn’s expression softened slightly, though the word barely applied to him.

"And besides," he added, quieter now, "I do not feel like killing someone of my bloodline unless there is no need for another choice. There are few of us as it is."

Trafalgar accepted that for what it was.

Not kindness in the simple sense.

Something older.

A dragon choosing patience.

"Then it is a deal," Trafalgar said.

Caelvyrn extended one hand.

"Good. A deal."

Trafalgar took it.