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n“I have a feeling that these people do not trust us” Rita whispered as she took a seat adjacent to Aurora. Aurora still had the kid tucked at her side as an assurance and her arm paid the price in form of a huge bite mark.

nThe kid didn’t have the decency to even try and be gentle at all. He had gone full feral even after Aurora had handled him with care. She had no other choice but to knock him out for the time being.

nStill, she had to give it to the child. He really was resilient and kept on trying to flee till the very end. It was a miracle he has not managed to injure himself.

n“We will have a talk with our leader. He’ll see you in a short while. Kindly handle our young master with care” the woman who had led them to the base replied before disappearing behind the gate.

nIt was brave of her to reveal the identity of Aurora’s charge like that and the young goddess found herself impressed at the tactic. Normally, this kind of information would be thought of as a liability but in the current situation, it was a burden.

nHad Aurora not already known the identity of the child as the next clan head, she would have panicked a little. But Rita had that part covered for her.

n“This child? The next clan head? Isn’t it too early to decide? Or is it something hereditary?” Rita seemed interested in the customs of these people and Aurora counted it as a success on her part.

nShe could see the group around her tense up at the question, not willing to expose any more information than they already had. So it fell on Aurora to break the awkward silence.

n“It’s the golden eyes. It is said to be a blessing from the goddess of victory and marks the next leader for these people” her words caused everyone to look startled. And Aurora understood why as well.

nThese people had gone a long way in order to hide that information from becoming public. They had not expected someone to just walk in knowing this knowledge. And as one, everyone stared at Aurora in warning, daring her to hurt the kid in her arms.

nAurora raised her hand in a ‘mock surrender’ kind of way to let everyone know that she had no intention of hurting the kid. It did not help the others feel safer around her but she could feel them relaxing a little.

nAnd then Rita opened her mouth to make the situation worse.

n“Wow. So he’s really important? I guess we got the right bait?” In her defense, Rita had not thought over her words. She also did not have enough social experience to remember that some things did not need to be said out loud.

nAurora did not even have the heart to scold Rita for her mistake. Nor did she even have the time to do so. Before she could make a move, the other warriors around her had Rita in their grasp.

n“I said I’m not a danger. If I really wanted to hurt the kid, I would have done it by now” Aurora recalled, but it did not help. The group looked back at her as one but they had a hostage this time.

nIt was at this moment that the gate opened and the first female exited out. It did not feel like it had been that long at all. The female just raised her eyebrow at the scene but chose not to comment on it.

n“Master says that he’ll see you now. Alone” Rita, who had been about to stand up and join Aurora as well, was stopped in an instant. And as much as Aurora wanted to help her out, she knew she could not.

nNot if she wanted the negotiations to go well. She needed to show that she was harmless and had come in good faith.

nBut Aurora also knew that the outlanders were not nice people. They were loyal to a fault and talented as well but only to those that were deemed as ‘acceptable’ in the clan.

n“Will you be holding her hostage to try and make me behave?” Aurora asked as she tensed.

n“Hostage? Now, why would we do that? It’s just insurance since you’ll be bringing our young inside with you” the lady did not give Aurora an option to talk back.

nAnd they both knew that she was right anyway. The golden-eyes youth was a significant piece of Aurora’s plan.

n“Rita, stay here and behave. I’ll be back soon” Rita watched Aurora pick the kid up with resignation. However, there was no resentment on her part.

nIt did warm Aurora that Rita trusted her enough to know that she would not be risked. As long as Aurora behaved, Rita would be alright as well.

n“Fine. Throw me to the monsters but know that I’ll be back” her theatrics brought a smile to many faced but the outlanders’ guard did not drop. Nor had Aurora expected it to but it did feel good to know that Rita was not feeling down.

n“Once you enter the gate, follow this token. Do not lose it or you’ll lose your protection as well” the woman warned as she handed Aurora the token.

nThe faint shiver the token gave off categorized it as a magical emblem or even akin to a ‘key’. It was likely a trigger to prevent the defense mechanism inside the domain from enabling.

n“I understand. Also, take care of my companion in my absence. She’s somewhat of a fool but she means well” not that Aurora was counting on these people to help her out. They had their own priorities to look after.

nBut the woman in front of her was kind enough to nod in agreement and gestured to the kid in her arms.

n“You take care of him, we’ll make sure your companion doesn’t get a scratch. But know that the goddess is always watching with her ‘golden eye’. She’ll know about this and ask retribution” the woman warned before she walked away.

nAurora felt equally amused and tired at those words. She did know that it was an option but she had weighted the risk vs reward spectrum and thought this risk to be worth it.

nThe goddess of victory was an odd one who favored humans. Aurora had never met her but she felt like she could get along with her if they did happen to meet in the future.

nAnd if not? Then it didn’t matter since Aurora was a goddess as well. She’ll do what she would need to to survive.

nAnd she’ll hopefully also have a powerful army by then. One that could even trample the goddess of victory and bring her to her knees.

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