"I didn't expect you to help them like that," Jeanne said, looking at Reed as they walked side-by-side. Her voice carried a hint of genuine surprise.
Jeanne knew all about the burned message hidden inside the cloak. Reed had scorched the letters into the heavy fabric right before her eyes, completely untroubled by the fact that Jeanne knew her plan.
The strategy was simple: Reed would pretend to remain near Jeanne in hopes of winning her over. If Dublinn could use Jeanne to control Talulah, they would gain something far more valuable than a puppet figurehead—the inheritance of the Artorius bloodline, including the ancient key that opened the resting place of the kings, which currently rested in Talulah's hands.
The key had been brought back by Nine on Wei Yen-wu's recommendation. The lungmen leader had ultimately chosen to return the relic to its rightful heir, leaving it in Talulah's safe keeping.
"I just want to save as many people as I can," Reed murmured, her voice growing fainter with every word. She bowed her head, her gaze fixed on the dirt below. "I'm powerless within Dublinn... but here, maybe I can do something. Even if it's saving just one child."
She felt almost ridiculous voicing such lofty hopes, expecting Jeanne to laugh at her naivety.
Instead, Jeanne offered a soft, warm smile. "Then work hard at it. I hope you get your wish."
Without another word, Jeanne led the shadow-laden Draco through the back alleys, heading straight for their hidden safehouse.
"So... care to explain why you brought home another dragon?"
The moment they stepped through the doorway, Talulah was waiting. Sitting on the edge of the bed with her legs crossed, she glared at Jeanne and Reed with a dangerously cold expression. She looked for all the world like a suspicious wife catching her spouse bringing home a second partner.
Her eyes practically screamed: You went out and found a new dragon behind my back?!
Jeanne stared at her disgruntled friend, mentally scrambling for a way to cheer up the moody Draco. What was she supposed to do—kick Reed back into the street?
"Look, she's a prisoner!" Jeanne patted Reed on the shoulder, trying her best to look innocent. "You have to trust me, Tal! I'm not dragon-hunting on the side! Trust me, my dear Tal-rua!"
Jeanne pulled a face of absolute, unblemished sincerity. The ridiculous nickname hit Talulah so hard her annoyance vanished, replaced by sheer embarrassment, though she tried desperately to keep her scowl intact.
Meanwhile, Reed sat quietly on a nearby stool, trying her best to blend into the woodwork. Watching the two friends banter back and forth, a quiet ache of envy blossomed in her chest.
When was the last time I had a friend like that? she thought bitterly. Never. The burden I carry wouldn't allow it anyway.
The thought weighed heavy on her heart, turning her quiet envy toward Talulah into a bittersweet sting of jealousy.
"Stop calling me that!" Talulah snapped, her face flushing as she gestured toward their guest.
Back before Talulah became a leader, Jeanne used to mess with her name all the time, slurring it with some strange foreign accent that Talulah could never quite break her out of. When Jeanne finally started using her proper name in public years later, Talulah knew the troublemaker had been doing it on purpose the whole time—a realization that nearly prompted her to tackle Jeanne into the dirt back then.
"Aww, look who's blushing~" Jeanne teased smoothly, expertly diffusing the tension.
Truthfully, Talulah hadn't been genuinely angry. If anything, bringing in a captive Dublinn Draco was a major tactical win. Letting Jeanne tease her was just a much-needed outlet to release the crushing fatigue of the past few weeks.
Dealing with the Infected in Victoria had drained Talulah to her core. Beyond the usual misery of Oripathy, the region was rotten with deep-seated racial prejudice. Trying to organize the Infected to act in their own self-interest required navigating a maze of ancient grudges.
The feud between the Tarans and Victorians was so bitter that neither side would agree to cooperate if the other gained even a single crumb of benefit from the deal.
Messing around with Jeanne was the only time Talulah could turn off her brain, drop her guard, and let her friend handle the heavy thinking without worrying about a single mistake.
"So, you're the Draco from Dublinn," Talulah said, turning her attention to the silent captive once the laughter faded. Her eyes held a deep, complex swirl of emotions. "If I had to guess, there's another Draco behind the curtain, isn't there?"
"I never imagined I would meet another of our kind," Talulah continued softly. "Under any other circumstances, I would welcome a fellow Draco with open arms. But given the situation, I need to know everything you can tell me about yourself—and your organization."
Facing her own kin felt heavy. The Draco were an Elder race verging on complete extinction. By all rights, they should have been embracing each other for warmth, not standing on opposite sides of a bloody war.
"I didn't expect to meet you either, Talulah Artorius," Reed replied quietly. "You may call me Loughshinny."
"Hey! You didn't give me your real name when I asked!" Jeanne pouted, crossing her arms in mock outrage. "How come she gets it so easily—mph!"
Before Jeanne could finish her complaint, a thick, scaly dragon tail whipped up from behind Talulah and wrapped tightly around her mouth, cutting her off instantly.
Talulah's tail might have been slightly shorter than Loughshinny's, but her control over it was absolute. Within seconds, Jeanne was pinned helplessly behind her friend, flailing her legs in dramatic silent agony.
Loughshinny blinked, a tiny bead of sweat forming on her forehead as she watched Jeanne's kicking boots behind Talulah's back. These two... really have a unique dynamic, she thought, marveling at how versatile a dragon tail could be.
However, Talulah had made one critical tactical error: she had stuffed her tail right against Jeanne's face. To Jeanne, that was no different than dangling a chew toy in front of a energetic hound.
"You guessed correctly," Loughshinny continued, forcing herself to look away from the struggle. "There is another Draco leading Dublinn. She is my older sister."
Talulah's entire body went rigid for a split second.
Though her tail thrashed slightly as Jeanne clamped her teeth down on it, Talulah ignored the sharp sting, maintaining her calm facade as she processed the revelation. She had long grown immune to Jeanne's antics anyway.
"An older sister... I see," Talulah murmured, the pieces falling into place. "That explains why they put you on display as a puppet."
She fell silent for a moment, her gaze softening. "Will you tell me about your family? I want to know... what happened to your house when the tragedy struck all those years ago?"
It was a painful question, and Talulah hated asking it. She knew better than anyone how bitter those memories were.
As the gravity of the topic settled over the room, Talulah unconsciously loosened her tail. Jeanne stopped biting, releasing the tail with a quiet sigh as she looked at her friend with silent sympathy.
Neither of them spoke. The events of that bloody night were a dark stain on history, costing both families dearly.
A look of profound grief washed over Loughshinny's face, raw and unfeigned.
"If it hurts too much, you don't have to speak of it," Talulah said gently, changing her mind. "I don't need to pry into your wounds."
"No," Loughshinny lifted her head, her gaze locking onto Talulah's eyes with quiet resolve. "I'll tell you. But when I'm finished... you have to tell me your story too."