"Please, don't go! We're all here for you. We'll miss you too much," Freya entreated, her voice choked with emotion as she clung to me. I tried to soothe her, "Hey, don't fret. I'm not leaving forever. I promise I'll be back." She looked up at me with tear-filled eyes, pleading, "Really, I hope so. Please return sooner rather than later." I offered her a comforting smile and gently caressed her neck, "Again, don't worry. I'll be back before you know it. And remember, you can always ask Akira to make a vision connection with me if you need to talk."

Akira, standing nearby, snorted in indignation. "I'm not a tool! Don't treat me like one." Fyrenthos, who held her hand, attempted to placate her. "Akira, please." She shot him a glare, retorting, "What? I deserve respect." I quickly apologized, "I was merely asking for a favor, nothing more. My apologies if that upset you." She huffed in annoyance, pulling Fyrenthos away, "Come on, let’s go. I don’t want to see this." Fyrenthos cast an apologetic glance our way, "I’m sorry, I’ll take care of her," before following her out.

Zephyrion, now the only one remaining with us, cleared his throat, "I know that perhaps this isn't the best time to bring this up, but… will you be back within a couple of months?" I raised an eyebrow in question, "I believe so. Why do you ask?" He shifted nervously, admitting, "Well… I've met someone special, and I think I might need your approval for something important." Intrigued, I probed, "Who did you meet? Are you engaged?" He blushed, confessing, "Well, maybe. We’re still getting to know each other, but yes, I might be."

 

Freya gasped in surprise, "Oh, I can't believe this! My son, Zephyrion, the prince, is seeing someone. It’s a wind dragoness, isn't it?" He shook his head, revealing, "Actually… I’m not sure if she’s a dragon." Bewildered, I pressed, "What do you mean? Is she a shapeshifter? Impossible." He bit his lip, hesitating before admitting, "She’s a wyvern." I stared at him in disbelief, "What?!" My eyes widened as I processed his words. "I have to meet her before I leave. I didn’t even know there was a female wyvern around. She is female, right?" He nodded sheepishly, "Yes. She’s my age too." Stunned, I muttered to myself, "Where in the world did this come from?" He heard me and asked anxiously, "Sorry… Is something wrong, dad?" I quickly reassured him, "No… no… nothing’s wrong. I’m happy for you. I just need some space." I started for the door, but Freya stopped me, asking Zephyrion one final question, "Who are the parents of this wyvern?" He hesitated, then confessed, "I don’t know her mother, but her father might be your friend Leo." In shock, I dropped everything, shouting, "WHAT?!" Then, transforming into a shadow, I flew off in search of Leo.

The revelation that Leo had encountered a wyvern and fathered a child with her struck me like a lightning bolt. He had never mentioned it, and I had never suspected it. I discovered this shocker when I visited him at his place. As I entered, I called out his name, "Leo!”

He emerged from behind a heap of books, looking startled and out of breath. "Nox, what is it? Is something wrong? Are they after me?"

I greeted him with a broad smile and a question, "Hey! Since when did you become a dad?"

He froze, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and guilt as if he wished he could turn back time. He stuttered, "How…how did you find out?"

 

I raised an eyebrow, pressing on, "Do you have any idea who your daughter is dating?"

He nodded slowly, his expression solemn. "I do. It’s your son, right?"

I confirmed his guess, "Exactly. How long have you had a daughter? I had no idea you had met another female wyvern. I thought they were extinct."

He shook his head, "Not all wyverns are registered or have IDs. There are still some females out there, one of whom is my soulmate."

Intrigued, I asked, "Could you introduce me to her someday? And where is your daughter? I've never seen her around."

He sighed, "She doesn’t live in the city. She prefers to stay outside with her mother or your son. I hardly ever see her."

Frowning, I pressed, "I don’t understand. Where do they live?"

He looked at me with a pleading gaze, "If you promise not to imprison me or them for this, I’ll tell you."

I gave him my word, "You have nothing to fear from me. I won’t use this as an excuse to arrest you. I promise."

He seemed reassured and disclosed, "All right then. They live outside the city limits. They’re a bit wilder than us, but they’ve made their home in the forbidden city, my old home."

I gasped in realization, "No way! That’s why you kept leaving, then. You were chasing her."

He shook his head again, "No, I leave the city often to travel to the kingdom of Aura. I met this wyvern years ago, and I was surprised to learn that your son was actually dating my daughter. I thought they were just friends."

I nodded, "I see. He’s trying to figure out if they’re meant for each other. I think he loves her." I added, "I really want to meet the mother of my son’s girlfriend. I’m so curious. Where are they?"

He shrugged, "I’m sorry, but I don’t know. We could go and look for them together, maybe."

I agreed enthusiastically, but then remembered an appointment with the Water dragons before dusk, and it was already late afternoon. I cursed under my breath, "Damn it! I almost forgot! I have to meet the water dragons soon! Maybe we can do this another day. Sorry for disturbing you."

He smiled reassuringly, "No problem. I’ll keep an eye on this for you. Maybe I’ll persuade her to move to the city with me."

I wished him good luck and bid him goodbye, "See you soon! Have a good afternoon!" and then I left.

En route to the gates, I felt a flutter of wings behind me. It was Freya, who had been flying around in search of me. She called out to me, "Wait, don’t leave yet," but I ignored her and quickened my pace. I wanted to avoid a scene in front of my daughters, who were waiting for me at the gate. They greeted me with cheerful smiles, "Hi dad, so you’re leaving?" I hugged them and reassured, "I’ll be away for some time. I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry."

Suddenly, I felt a thud on my back and a pair of arms around my neck. Freya had crash-landed on me, knocking me off balance. I groaned, "What the hell are you doing? Don't hurt me now that I’ve got to leave." She whispered in my ear, sounding desperate and angry, "That was the intention, actually." I knew she hated the idea of me leaving her and the kids for this mission.

I transformed into a cloud of shadows and slipped out of her grasp. I reformed in front of her, "Please don’t be afraid. We’ll keep in contact, okay?" Juno, hearing this, chimed in, "Contact? Do you need help with that?" She had inherited my ability to make vision connections with anyone I wanted; of course she could help. Freya looked at her, pleading, "Hunt your father. Convince him to not leave, please." Juno shook her head, "Sorry, mom, I still can’t do that. I can only talk to him while he’s away."

I smiled at her, "That is really nice. Juno and Luna, please contact me for your mother if she ever wants to talk. You’re allowed to make vision connections with me." Luna nodded, "Yeah, this’s going to be really nice. I can’t wait." She was always the optimistic one. Freya tried to mask her worry, not wanting to appear distraught in front of them. She offered a weak smile and kissed me goodbye.

I finally managed to leave the gates and head for the kingdoms of the Water dragons. Upon reaching the meeting point, the so-called “Twin Domes”, I shapeshifted into a Water dragon. Hydra was already there, waiting with the others. Leader of the group. She greeted me, "Greetings, King Nox. I see you’ve arrived. Are you ready? Can we go now?" I replied, "Sounds good. Ready for a long swim?" She said, "I was born ready," and we set off on our journey.

Despite the distance from my family, I was filled with hope for this mission. The prospect of understanding the Water dragons better was exciting, almost enough to make me forget about my son’s unexpected revelation.

I remembered that I forgot to say goodbye to Vesper before I left, so I rectified the oversight by establishing a vision connection with him. "Hi Vesper, I’m your stepdad, Nox. I’m already on my way with the Water dragons. Sorry for not bidding you goodbye earlier. I hope I didn’t upset you." He responded warmly, "No problem, dad, I forgot about that too. Otherwise, I’d have been there for your departure." He sounded sincere and friendly.

 

I chuckled, "Right, you had to see how mad your mother was, ahah." He laughed along, "I can imagine. Good luck anyway. Have a nice trip. And a little tip: Come back with something for Freya. She’ll love that." With that, we ended the vision connection.

With the last loose end tied up, I felt a sense of liberation. The start of my new journey was imminent.