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Slate did not miss that show of silent devotion. Süren seemed to be devoted to his sister, but it was still early days yet.

He needed to continue to keep an eye on the man to make sure she was not used as a hostage to take down the Erenveil Empire.

"You Reptilians have kept to yourselves all these centuries. Why the sudden insurgency?"

"The cessation of infighting." Süren clicked his tongue. "Tch. We have been constantly bickering among ourselves, fracturing our individual races into small sections with the constant low-level fighting and tussling that goes on between the various groups of reptiles."

He shook his head with regret.

"We don\'t have the same camaraderie as other species have with each other. Snakes fighting against turtles, who fight against crocodiles, who battle the dragons."

"But—" he held up a finger. "Once we combine into a cohesive unit, we reptiles are a force to be reckoned with."

Lyra\'s eyes widened. "Wow. How so?"

"All of Reptilian space combined take up one-third of the entire galaxy. It would not be a stretch to make a mad grab for the Empire and have my father be the next ruling Emperor."

His eyes grew cold. "We reptiles are no joke."

He splayed out his hands. "However, I am not part of their game plan. As you can see, I barely managed to escape from their clutches, thanks to your sister." He glanced at Lyra again with tender eyes.

"Lyra?" Slate turned to his sister.

"Yes Brother?" Lyra responded.

"What did you do?"

"Only what you taught me, Slate." She grinned like a monkey and made a chopping motion with the blade of her hand.

"Good." Slate\'s eyes twinkled. "I expect you to continue to train in the manner I have taught."

"I will, Brother." Lyra blew a kiss at her brother.

Slate turned back to Süren. "So what are your plans now that you have escaped from Avalia?"

Süren\'s eyes were bleak. "I need to stop my father and the Grand Duke from adding more misery to the war that\'s still raging around the galaxy. We already control one-third of the galaxy. He is far too greedy."

Slate rubbed his jawline. "What is the size of your personal military?"

Süren shook his head. "Not much. I have only a few hundred warships that I personally control."

The man sitting next to him shook his head. "Your personal guards only number 407 warships, but if you add the fleet that is under my control, that total number swells up to 750, give or take a few."

Süren glanced at his great uncle.

"750 is less than a third of what father and the Grand Duke both control."

"Still, it is considerable." Slate responded. "Especially if we augment what you have with Emporian warships."

"Emporia has warships?" Süren\'s eyes widened with incredulity. "Since when?"

"Since Mattheus Cordera returned to power." Slate smiled. "We can leverage his forces to augment where we are short of manpower. All we need is funds to support his troops. Do you have funds?"

Süren nodded. "Funds, I have plenty of. Time, I\'m short on. My father plans to strike Erenveil within the next seven days."

Slate smiled. It did not reach his eyes.

"I need to talk to King Mattheus Cordera. You will hear back from me within the day. How far are you from pirate space?"

"We are about half a day away."

"Good. When you reach pirate space, I will have a delegation meet you at the border between dragon space and intergalactic deep space."

A few more details went back and forth, most of which went over Lyra\'s head, and then Slate signed off.

Duke Erden sighed and stood up.

"Looks like I have a lot of work cut out for me within the next few weeks." He turned to Süren. "Your ships are coming within the hour so you can transfer there and give the Lady and her daughter decent accommodations."

He looked around. "I\'m afraid I don\'t have much in the ways of feminine luxuries to offer the Ladies."

"We haven\'t noticed anything missing." Gwendolyn spoke up with firm conviction. Did he think they were soft kittens unable to handle the rigors of war?

Duke Erden glanced at her with appreciation.

"You and Lyra have been troopers. I simply prefer to surround you and your daughter with more luxuries than this poor warship can offer."

Gwendolyn nodded her thanks for his considerate thoughts.

By this point, she had finally realized he was no mere bodyguard who had accompanied Süren to Erenveil that fateful day even though he wore the same warrior clothing that they wore.

For starters, the man carried himself differently than his troops. His muscular 6\'2" body was leaner and less bulky than Süren\'s body-builder, but he was also quicker because he had less mass to move around.

In his razor sharp intelligent grey eyes were wisdom and strength that could only be garnered after many years of being in command. It showed in his long silver-grey hair and the various lines on his face.

His tone of voice was strong and unwavering and his courage and bravery was unparalleled. His steadfastness was the real reason why Gwendolyn instinctively trusted him with her life.

She turned away from Duke Erden.

Although she had left her husband, she was still legally married to the Emperor. There was no escaping the fact that those ties that bind were still very much bound.

Süren\'s quick eyes missed nothing.

"Uncle, why do you use this bare-bones ship as your primary residence? It\'s not as if you can\'t afford better. You\'re one of the wealthiest dragons I know."

Duke Erden smiled. "I like to wander throughout the galaxy and explore what\'s out there. After awhile, the luxuries get in the way of me enjoying the raw beauty of the universe."

He did not expect anyone to understand, least of all his grand-nephew who had grown up in the royal palace and was tied to that throne, with all the trappings that the position necessitated.

It was freedom he was speaking of. Freedom from the shackles of attachments to things and people and places.

"But you can still explore the galaxy without having to forego your little luxuries." Süren pointed out.

"Not if I have to base my journeys on whatever port of call that has the luxuries I want." Duke Erden smiled. "To truly be free, you need to drop your needs down to what is absolutely necessary."

"There are many places out there that have so few people, it would be impossible to obtain anything but the barest of necessities."

He shrugged. "Less wants means less needs, which allows me to travel wider and experience far more than the luxurious mundanity."

"That sounds so exciting." Gwendolyn smiled. "The galaxy is so large, and all we ever see are the half-dozen worlds we go to every year for pleasure trips."

Lyra shot her mother a startled glance. That did not sound like the woman she knew who lived in the lap of luxuries.

Süren cupped his mouth with his fist and gave a surreptitious smile.

His great uncle had been along for so long, he had no idea that the tiny luxuries that women wanted were so easy to obtain.

If one had a ship this size, it was simple to carry enough of the small luxuries to make a woman happy and still be able to roam wherever the heart desires.

Perhaps he should have a quick private conversation with Great Uncle Erden…