”Gods above, give me the strength, the power. Take my sacrifice. Aid me in war and bloodshed.”

The gods were his last resort in this losing war. His last man–his right hand–carelessly sacrificed for even the slightest bit of leverage from any higher power that listened. Tenebris had unadulterated desperation at this point. Nothing could win this war, nothing but a tool of mass destruction. Tenebris was helpless enough to beg the gods for a dragon. His wistful dreaming was somehow given a chance. Tenebris was given the life of a dragon, the one being that could give him a possible upper hand with his soldiers dying out like flies. There was no chance in hell or heaven that Tenebris would win this war. But the shining scales and large wings gave him the slightest hope.

And, to Tenebris’ absolute disbelief, Guest was actually useful.

Very useful.

Annoyingly useful.

The first time Guest took flight, Tenebris genuinely thought they were going to crash into a mountain. Instead, Guest dove straight into the enemy formation and sent an entire row of soldiers flying like bowling pins.

Guest quickly became a nightmare for the opposing army. They could tear through barricades, carry soldiers across the battlefield, scatter entire formations with one sweep of their wings, and breathe enough fire to turn enemy weapons into useless lumps of metal.

They were, by all accounts, a weapon of mass destruction.Unfortunately, they were also an idiot.

Despite their ridiculous behavior, Guest’s presence changed the entire course of the war. Enemy troops learned to fear the sound of their wings. Fortifications that had taken weeks to build were destroyed in minutes. Supply lines were burned. Scouts were terrified to approach the camp because Guest had apparently decided that chasing them for fun counted as “reconnaissance.”

Tenebris finally had the advantage he’d begged the gods for.

He just hadn’t expected that advantage to constantly steal his food.Or sleep on his maps.Or bite his generals.Or occasionally use his horns as a coat rack.

Still, Tenebris couldn’t deny the truth.

Guest was the strongest asset his army had.

They were also the biggest pain in his ass.