A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Their goal was Milford Haven in Wales. This was the place Erik had told Nora and Anna to take the boat to, so that they could meet up there and travel south as quick as possible.

It would take them at least six hours to reach the place, considering that they also had to avoid any populated areas, lest news reaches Alexandre regarding their trajectory.

Not long after they left, Erik got a new message from Katya, saying that Alexandre had left the Council in a hurry after receiving some news from his guards.

She didn't ask after the mission's success, however, because she continued by saying the Council would continue its deliberations, and she had to continue attending, lest she call any suspicion on herself.

Then, she finished by confirming she'd be waiting at the agreed upon meeting place in ten hours.

Erik nodded contently, and decided to have a little mercy on Katya for once, rather than tease her about this, by sending a message saying the mission was a success.

While they ran, the two men also started talking, and quickly realized they had a lot in common. They even bonded a little over their mutual love for women, which immediately led them to make a pact, saying they'd never go after anyone the other was interested in.

Naturally, Erik immediately laid a claim on Seraphina—something she'd likely attempt to kill him for if she overheard it—based on the fact that he'd known her longer.

Erik had to admit that Dimitri truly was pleasant to interact with. He was laid back, friendly, and easy going, but there was also an inner strength there. Erik realized that, beneath this jovial exterior, was a core of iron that wouldn't bend or break easily, or at all.

Perhaps it would just compress.

Regardless, they managed to travel the entire way without interruptions. Thus, six hours later, they were greeted by Nora and Anne, waiting in front of the ship.

Of course, Dimitri was amazed by the invisible ship, but had no time to admire it, because Erik quickly ushered him inside. He wanted to make use of the invisibility as an extra precaution, even though it probably wouldn't help much.

After all, the displacement of water was pretty easy to spot for a human, especially so for one with omnisense.

Regardless, after they were on board, the ship immediately took off in the direction of France.

It was time to finish this, so they could start the search for Erik's mother.

* * *

Eight hours later, their ship sailed into the harbour of a small, abandoned French town by the name of Le Conquet.

This town was on the very edge of the north-western French coastline, and perfect as a stop between the UK and Afrika.

Unsurprisingly, Erik had spent most of that time sleeping and resting inside his dimension. Setting aside all the running and fighting he'd done in the last two days, he'd also emptied out the aetherium storage he shared with Elora. Honestly, he deserved some rest.

As for the others, most of them had spent their time training and resting. Dimitri was, once again, forced to remain outside the dimension, and had spent his time on the boat. Fortunately, he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed happy to stay out in the open, after being locked inside the same castle for two years.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

On the harbour stood a lone woman. She was tall and muscular, but in a way that complimented her beauty, rather than taking away from it. Her muscles were sleek, rather than bulging.

Short brown hair framed her angular face, and her arms were crossed in front of her large chest, while she tapped her foot nervously.

The boat was still invisible, so she didn't notice it at first, but then her omnisense picked up the disturbance in the water, and her eyes widened.

"What the…" she muttered with confusion, while pushing her omnisense to the limit. Yet no matter how she tried, she was unable to find the cause for the disturbance.

She followed the moving water with a suspicious eye, until it appeared to come to a stop right in front of her. "Erik?" she muttered cautiously, while slowly rolling her muscles in preparation for a fight. Grey metal coloured runes appeared on her skin, and power reverberated in the surroundings.

For all she knew, this might be some kind of powerful, mutated, invisible sea beast making its first appearance.

Fortunately, that was when Erik suddenly appeared in front of her, and she sighed in relief.

"Don't worry, it's just me," he smirked at her. "It's not time for our duel yet, you know? Also, why do you look so nervous? Where is the confident, powerful Katya I've come to know and love?"

With his appearance, Katya quickly relaxed and grinned at him, "Oh, you love me now? I don't really like to get romantically involved with anyone I can easily fold into a pretzel, though."

Erik laughed heartily, before grinning wildly and releasing some of the strength he'd gained in the last year, "I'm afraid you won't find me such an easy target anymore."

Katya blinked in surprise at the power she felt coming from this arrogant second ranker. She actually felt a hint of a threat from him now.

Yet, when she fully realized that fact, the corners of her mouth curled into a wild grin to match her opponents. Suddenly, in a move faster than any mortal eye could follow, she punched forward, straight at Erik's face.

Boom!

A deep rumbling reverberated in the area. But when she saw the result of her attack, Katya's grin widened. Erik's arms trembled as they blocked Katya's fist by making a cross in front of his face. He'd skidded back a meter or two, but he was clearly fine, and his grin was undiminished.

"Are you sure you're still a second ranker?" she asked Erik with amusement, without taking her fist away. "Last year that strike would have knocked you halfway back to England."

"Things change…" Erik smirked while he locked eyes with her. "Tell me, are you still so sure of your victory when it comes time for our duel?"