Cimmeris walked back into the house empty-handed, shaking his head for what must have been the tenth time in an hour. It turned out that Emily was right about the shopping trip turning into a bit of a nightmare because of Zara.

Emily had acted just like Cimmeris thought she might, having a mental list of the things that she wanted before she got to the mall. Zara, on the other hand, had run from store to store like a chicken with its head cut off, trying on different shoes. And, to make matters worse, at the end of a couple of trying hours, she decided that nothing she found was "really her thing," even after trying on each pair and modeling it to the tune of several positive compliments.

The shopping trip had been a form of torture. After the first hour, Cimmeris stopped giving compliments altogether, and, in the end, he treated the excursion like one of his early bodyguard missions, choosing to focus on who was around the women.

Cimmeris saw Veilios, Corrus, and Penum seated around the kitchen island, no doubt debating who should cook what. In his opinion, none of them was a particularly good cook, and so it didn't matter, but he kept his mouth shut.

Before Emily disappeared upstairs with Zara, who'd stuck to her like glue, Cimmeris tugged on her wrist.

"Hey."

"Hey," she said, smiling back at him. Her eyes were open, her face relaxed, and it seemed like the latte she'd drunk earlier had added color to her cheeks. In other words, Cimmeris was once again struck by the womanly beauty before him.

"Um, can we chat after lunch?"

"Sure," she said. "Just let me get all this stuff put away."

"Cool."

Cimmeris watched Emily and Zara head upstairs before he walked into the open-plan kitchen on his left.

"Can we chat after lunch?" Penum imitated in a high-pitched voice.

"Stop it," Veilios admonished, but Penum barked out a laugh, as Corrus looked at him with an indulgent smile. The two cousins were so different, not only physically, but regarding personality. Corrus was quiet and level-headed, Penum a hothead with a vicious streak. Corrus had black hair which he wore in a man-bun, and forest green eyes. Penum had ash-blonde hair and bright green eyes. The combination of which could, frankly, be disconcerting when they glowed in anger.

Cimmeris didn't understand how Corrus put up with Penum, but, then again, he'd never had blood relatives as an adult.

"Don't act jealous just because your cousin's your only friend," Cimmeris responded.

Penum's face didn't fall. Instead, he hooked an arm around Corrus' shoulder and beamed. "That's not even a downside. Corrus is the best friend a guy could have."

"Ugh, you're right. You are a pretty great guy, Corrus."

Corrus merely shrugged, and, as always, he chose to use his words sparingly.

"I'm glad to see all my boys getting along," Veilios said, and the group rolled their eyes. Veilios was undoubtedly the father figure of the group, kind and friendly with everyone, but he was closest to Narchis, which was a little weird.

"Okay, guys, the most important thing we need to talk about is what we're doing for lunch," Veilios said.

"I'm afraid you're wrong on that," Penum piped up. "The most important thing we need to talk about is our mysterious guest, the sexy Emily."

"Don't call her that," Cimmeris said, clenching his fists. Usually, he liked to joke around with Penum, even though he could be a little crass. But Emily was off limits, both for Penum and anyone else, male or female.

"Why? Is she your girlfriend?"

"No. Emily's a childhood friend."

"Now that I think about it, I don't know much about your background," Veilios said, leaning forward. "This would be a good time to share."

"True. Especially because I know my cousin. He won't let up," Corrus said.

Cimmeris sighed and leaned back in his chair. His past was something he preferred to forget for the most part. For one, it made certain people look down on him. After all, what contacts, power, or money could an orphan bring to the table?

Joining the army so young had forced Cimmeris to grow up quickly, learning that the discrimination he’d faced while living on Emily's vineyard didn't only exist among nobles. No. It turned out that, in Brevia, at least, class would always be a driving factor as to who one associated with.

"Fine. I'll tell you how I know Emily."

"I love a good story," Penum said, leaning in.

"Sure you do," Cimmeris responded dryly.

"Just get on with it," Penum said with a flick of his hand.

"Okay, so I never knew my father and my mother never told me anything about him. I assume he was a married man or just some jerk who wanted a bit of fun. Anyway, it was just my mother and me, and she ended up working for Emily's family. Emily's father is Heitor of Eneghar in the East."

Veilios whistled. "That means she's rich."

"Yeah. Isn't Eneghar the most prosperous part of Brevia, outside of the capital?" Penum asked.

"Some would consider that to be Abrithan in the south. But anyone who understands the importance of natural resources would disagree."

"Well said," Veilios responded.

"Anyway, we lived on their vineyard while my mother worked for them. Then, when I was ten, my mother went to sleep and never woke up." Cimmeris drew a deep breath and looked at his hands folded before him as he continued. "Emily and her family took me in, and I lived with them until I was fourteen when I joined the army."

Silence filled the room, and Cimmeris folded his arms and stared at the table. He couldn't bear to see a single look of pity on his teammate's faces, or worse, a look of judgment. One of the few people he told about his past in his first year at the academy told him that no respecting dragon male would accept charity.

"Fourteen is pretty young to join the army," Veilios said.

Cimmeris looked up and saw no pity in the eyes of any of his teammates. Only respect and awe.

"It was, but I needed to make my way."

"We joined the army at eighteen, and someone here cried on their first night," Corrus said, clearing his throat and pointing at Penum. The fierce glare that Penum turned on his cousin confirmed the statement, and Cimmeris and Veilios burst out laughing.

"Not so tough, are you, Penum?" Veilios said.

"Oh, he's tough. Tough as a schoolboy on his first day at boarding school!" Cimmeris chimed in.

Penum got up and ran around the island, chasing Cimmeris. Cimmeris, who had expected the move, leaped, and enjoyed taunting Penum as he made circles. Penum could never turn his anger on Corrus. And Veilios' age and Narchis' seniority disqualified them from his rough and tumble sessions. And so, it was Cimmeris who enjoyed the occasional wrestle and chase with an angry Penum.

As Cimmeris ran around the kitchen island, changing direction now and then, a memory of watching a cartoon with a matador and a bull came to mind, and he laughed.

"Too big to catch me?" Cimmeris taunted. While all the dragons were tall and built with muscle, only Penum and Veilios carried bulky frames. Their big bodies helped them in hand-to-hand combat, but not during a chase.

"Enough," Veilios said, standing up and blocking the path between the two men. By that point, any anger had worn off Penum's face and, instead, the hungry look of a predator had settled on it.

"You ruin all our fun," Cimmeris teased.

"You can play later. I just don't want you causing a scene and scaring Emily."

"You're not worried about Zara?" Corrus asked.

Veilios chuckled. "Now you know as well as I do that she would have jumped in and joined these two."

"That she would have," Cimmeris said, taking his seat.

"We got distracted," Penum said, settling down. "You were supposed to tell us exactly who Emily is to you. Is she like a sister or an unrequited love?"

"All you need to know is that she's important to me."

"Also, she's a diplomat who could get you kicked off the squad," Veilios said, sipping his glass of water.

"Is that true?" Penum asked, facing Corrus.

"It is."

"That means she could secure a trip home whenever she wants. Why is Emily here?"

"We'll get to that later," Emily said, walking into the kitchen. Penum immediately shut his mouth and leaned back, disengaging from the team. Cimmeris chuckled to himself. Emily would never get another person fired, but it didn't hurt that Penum had backed down, for now at least.

"Did you get settled in alright?" Veilios asked.

"I did."

"And do you like the color of your bedding?"

Emily cocked her head, and Cimmeris smiled. "When Zara first came, Corrus got her pink bedding, and almost pink everything. He's since learned that not all women are girly."

Emily chuckled. "Well, I don't mind pink, but the gray in my room is calming, so thank you for that."

Corrus beamed. "That's what the store clerk said."

"She was right. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and for coming to my rescue. I know that we didn't start off on the right foot, but I just want to make it clear that I appreciate you all sticking your necks out for me."

"It was a pleasure," Veilios said.

"That it was, and we're a team. We had to support Cimmeris," Corrus said, and Cimmeris felt a tingling sensation in the back of his neck. Once his mother died, he knew that he would never have a family, for many reasons.

First, very few Brevians adopted. Secondly, Cimmeris knew of no living relatives he had. And thirdly, he knew that his position in life would make finding a wife difficult if he didn't meet his true mate, something that rarely happened.

"Thanks, guys," Cimmeris said, ducking his head, not wanting them to see the vulnerability on his face. For an orphan, hearing a group of people say that you are one of them, that you belong somewhere, meant far too much.

"Okay, enough of this mushy stuff," Penum cut in.

Cimmeris rolled his eyes before Emily spoke up. "Now that we're starting on a new foot, I'd like to be introduced to you all properly. Zara I already know, and Narchis, too, because of how much she talks about him."

"Aah, young love," Veilios said with a wistful tone.

"More like obsession. Yeah. An unhealthy obsession," Penum said, sniffing.

"Just wait until you meet your mate," Veilios said. "Anyway, I'm Veilios, Narchis' second. This is Penum, our most brutal fighter. Beside him is his cousin Corrus. He's skilled with fire daggers among other things. And you already know Cimmeris, who gets very creative with the weapons he creates with his fire. Welcome to our base."

"Thank you for having me. To answer your earlier question, Penum, I'm here on a private matter, and I'll be staying until Colonel Soros secures safe passage back to Brevia."

"And can you get me fired?" Penum asked, raising his eyebrow, a challenge in his voice.

"Of course I can," Emily deadpanned, and the group drew a collective breath and held it. "But I won't. I'm not that type of person."

Just then, Zara walked into the kitchen with Narchis at her side. The possessive way he put his arm around her waist had Cimmeris shaking his head once more. He couldn't understand why Narchis felt any bit of jealousy toward anyone. Zara was so obsessed with him that almost every conversation they had included Narchis in some way. If Cimmeris had someone like that by his side, who was so in love with him, he would give her everything she wanted, even if it included time away from him.

"I'm getting pizza, guys. I'm starving, and lunch will take forever to cook. Don't get on my case, Vay," Zara announced.

"Not this time around. This is Emily's first day here, and I want her to have a good first meal."

"Are none of you good cooks?"

"We're decent at best."

"I happen to be an excellent cook, and I look forward to giving you a break from your own decent fair and takeout."

Zara squealed and threw her arms around Emily, kissing her cheek. "You're the best. I'm going to make the order," she said, running back upstairs.

"You hear that, Narchis," Penum teased. "Someone else is the best now."

"Watch it," Narchis warned with a smile on his face. He really had come a long way now that the team could joke with him.

"We were just getting to know more about Emily," Veilios said to Narchis. "Why don't you tell us more about your work."

Emily rubbed her neck. "There's not much to tell."

Hmm. She's shy about her accomplishments. How cute, Cimmeris thought.

"Okay, then why don't you tell us the name of the biggest deal you've worked on," Penum said.

"Penum!" everyone yelled.

"What? It'll help us cut to the chase, won't it?"

"Forgive my friend," Cimmeris said. "He's not used to having an intelligent conversation that doesn't center around war tactics.”

Penum merely shrugged.

"He does have a point," Emily said, and Penum smacked the table and grinned.

"Well, that's the first time I've heard that," Cimmeris said under his breath.

"I heard that," Penum said, pointing at him.

"The biggest deal I've worked on was the Nyra treaty."

Cimmeris' eyes widened, along with all the other dragons’ eyes. Zara ran back in and sat on Narchis' lap.

"What did I miss?"

Narchis shook his head and smiled. "Emily just told us that she negotiated the Nyra treaty."

"It was a massive step in securing Brevia's security," Corrus spoke up. "It ensured that all the planets in the League of Cerberus were allied to Brevia, where, before, they’d claimed neutral status."

"Wow. It looks like you're a big-time diplomat," Zara enthused.

"I just do my job," Emily insisted.

The conversation carried on, with all the dragons asking for inside information on how and why treaties that affected their involvement in various battles got established. Emily sat in her chair with all eyes focused on her, happy to talk about her colleagues’ work, and Cimmeris beamed as he watched her.

It looks like Emily has become every bit of a success as I imagined, Cimmeris thought. I wonder if she has anyone to share it with.