DPOV

We flew back in silence. I had taken a leisurely pace while flying towards Arthur's cave but was hurrying home, flying as fast as I could and still maintaining that pace for the entire ride.

But nonetheless we flew in darkness for the most part, and arrived in the dead of night. I hadn't even brought up the fact we could have stopped and made camp. It hadn't crossed my mind, and I don't think it did for Rose either. I think both of us just wanted to get home, hoping the familiarity and warmth of my chambers would chase away this cold and depressing feeling. But I knew it was impossible because every time I closed my eyes, I saw Arthurs lifeless ones stare up at me.

I walked Rose to my chambers.

"Why don't you try and get some sleep. I have things I need to take care off."

"In the middle of the night?"

I nodded. Rose's face fell. She knew that if I had to wake Tatiana in the middle of the night, it was serious. I had figured she would want to stay with me, but she was dead on her feet. Honestly, so was I. I was the one doing the flying after all. But in the end, Rose chose the bed instead of arguing with me or trying to go with me. Not just because she was tired, but because she understood; this might be the last quiet night of sleep in a long time.

She settled in quickly - she was asleep in seconds. I stayed behind for one more moment, gazing down at her. She looked so innocent when she was asleep. But tonight was a harsh reminder of reality. Since Rose had met me, she had seen more death than she had in her entire life. She had caused death, seen death and now charged herself with avenging death. I admired the strong warrior she had become but regretted the loss of her innocence.

I brushed her hair away from her face with my claw and put it behind her ear before I walked out of my chambers towards Tatiana's private rooms.

Once I got there, the guards stationed at the door stiffened, but didn't stop me. They knew that if I willingly came to her chambers, in the dead of night, something must be wrong, very wrong.

Once I stepped inside, I moved over to her bed and nudged her awake. She growled and nearly dropped off her rock, but once she saw me and the look on my face, she woke up quickly and she went from sleepy to regal in a second. She really did live up to her name.

"It's time?"

I simply nodded. Neither one of us needed words, we both knew it had been coming. We'd just hoped we had more time. But time had run out.

"I'll give the order. Get some sleep, looks like you could use it."

I left her room as she gathered some messengers to get things moving. I set some things in motion myself too, but we wouldn't be able to do much until first light. So after I had done all I could, I joined Rose in bed. I transformed into human and snuggled against her. I wrapped my arms around her, and she wiggled herself against me even if she was fast asleep. I fell asleep hoping in the morning our futures wouldn't look so bleak and violent.

I hadn't slept well, but at least I had slept some. I knew it would only get worse as the war progressed, but luckily I didn't need much sleep and could handle sleep deprivation very well. Rose, on the other hand, would have a hard time if her current condition was any indication. I had tried to nudge her awake a few times, but she just snuggled deeper into my chest and sighed deeply before returning to a semi-unconscious state.

After a few tries, I was finally able to get a response. She opened her eyes, blinking a few times and rubbing her eyes. She yawned and stretched her arms. She looked over at me and smiled. Then her face fell as she remembered why I was waking her up.

I wish I could have let her stay in that blissful moment, just as she were waking up. That moment where she could still believe her dreams were reality, and all the troubles of the world hadn't reached her conscious mind yet. But they were back now.

"We need to get up," I said apologetically.

"What is going to happen now?" Rose asked as she got out of bed and started to dress. Once she had her undergarments on, and binds around her chest, I handed her some clothes I had also commissioned along with her sword.

Dragons didn't wear armor or colors. We had our scales to protect us, and although we were proud to serve our queen, most Dragons were too arrogant to actually wear any colors. Something about not belonging to anybody. When we would fight in human wars, we would occasionally wear colors, but it could be the colors of one opponent one day and the colors of the enemy the next.

So I had some sturdy battle clothes made for Rose, with a Dragon emblem on them. Nothing fancy, but it would protect her from some of the damage at least.

"We rally the troops. There are some general things I will have to do, but I will leave you with Christian, Eddie, and Mason. Christian will prepare our squad, while I am occupied elsewhere. By my calculation, we will leave for the Northern Mountains around midday. We will fly as far as we can before we make camp. The army is divided into different battalions, divisions, and squads. I need to give orders to some other squads within my battalions, but after that we will work mostly independently."

"So you'll be with me in the squad most of the time?"

I smiled as I gently touched her face. Maybe I should have discussed this with her before. I could tell she had been worried. I knew she got along fine with Eddie and Mason and tolerated Christian, but I knew she would prefer to be around me. And of course, I would be.

"All the time, except this morning. After we are deployed, I will communicate with other divisions through messengers and scouts, but we will each focus on our own squads."

The news of Arthur's death and the coming war had spread fast, and I saw many people walk petrified through the corridor as Rose and I made our way through. I had a meeting with Tatiana and the other Generals in half an hour, but that gave me just enough time to say goodbye to my mother, grandmother, and sisters.

The moment I walked into the chambers, my mother hugged me. I saw she was in human form, no doubt expecting Rose and me. After she had hugged me, she moved on to Rose, who was very startled. I didn't even tell her she would be meeting my mother and sisters. She'd already met Yeva, so she had already been through the worst. I didn't think meeting the rest of the family would be such a big deal. Besides, we hardly had time for pleasantries.

"It is good to meet you, Rose. Maybe after all this nasty business is done, we can have a proper introduction."

My mother meant it very nicely, but I could tell by Rose's face, she was already dreading the proper introduction. Karolina also hugged Rose and me.

"Thank you for treating my wounds, earlier. I mean this is the right sister this time, or do you have any more?"

I laughed. Sonya was standing next to Karolina, and she was the last sister I had. Viktoria had already gone with Lissa.

Karolina smiled indulgently too, acknowledging Rose's gratitude for treating the whip wounds. Sonya just rolled her eyes.

"Do you have a little time?" my mother asked expectantly.

"Of course not."

My grandmother waggled into the room, and she too was in her human form. I just stared at her. I don't think I had ever seen her in her human form. I was actually surprised she had clothes that fit her. But I smiled. It was a clear sign of respect towards Rose, and from Yeva, that was very high praise.

Babushka seemed to notice my proud face at her acceptance and she whacked me.

"You can drop the smug look. You didn't do anything."

I rubbed the spot on my arm but didn't stop smiling.

I sat down with Rose next to me, a little uncomfortable. Usually meeting the in-laws is quite the rite of passage, but now it was shadowed by the fact we were here to say goodbye.

"I am sorry to hear about Arthur. He was a good man," my mother said and all of us nodded in agreement. Everyone, bar Rose, had met Arthur and dealt with him in one way or another. We all agreed he had been a good Dragon to have around. He would be dearly missed.

It was quiet. Nobody knew what to say. They didn't want to say goodbye because it felt like they would be saying goodbye forever, but they also didn't want this moment to pass as this may be the last time they got to see us.

I knew I should be going soon. I had asked Christian to come and collect Rose, but he wasn't here yet. I wanted her to have someone who would show her where to be if I were not around.

We talked about nothing for a little while, pretending this was Sunday afternoon tea. Rose was highly uncomfortable; I think she actually preferred war at this point. I knew having a family was strange to Rose, who grew up without her parents. She wanted to support me. She had placed her hand in mine, and both were resting on my thigh.

When Christian came in it was almost a relief. I loved spending time with my family, but this limbo was awful.

Christian greeted each one of us and took my place sitting beside Rose, but without the hand holding.

"I have to go."

This made the whole room stiffen again, and my mother practically threw herself at me. I had been to war many times, and I had fought Snow Dragons before, but we all knew this time it was different.

"Be careful, Dimka. Come home safe and take care of Rose."

I heard my grandmother snort and say something about it being the other way around, but chose to ignore her ramblings.

"I will. I promise." Stupid promise to make, but one I intended to keep.

With a final hug from my mother and sisters, I left the room. Not looking back to see my mother shed the tears she had been holding back.

The war council was held in a dark room deep inside the mountain. I wondered if it was designed to reflect the things discussed in here because it looked absolutely dreadful. I had changed to my Dragon form and found the room to be even more oppressing. Was it just me, or had it always been this way?

Around the table, all the Generals were gathered. I took my place - the spot next to Tatiana. I saw some of the older Dragons narrow their eyes, but they all knew my place was there.

Despite my age and background, they couldn't argue with the results. I had the most strategic mind here, and Tatiana trusted me the most.

"Nice of you to join us, General Dimitri the Honorable. Have a nice sleep in with that little hybrid of yours?"

I knew some people would take offense to Rose in general, and some would take offense to our relationship specifically, but to point it out so blatantly here was rude and a clear indication that some still hadn't accepted me. I was already missing Arthur.

"Actually, I used the last few spare minutes I had to say goodbye to my family. We all know the dangers of war. We did try and sleep as much as we could seeing as we came back early this morning from Arthur's cave."

And just like that all the attention on Rose and me was gone, and everyone was reminded of why we were here.

"Arthur was a good man. I fought many battles beside him. It is tragic that he met his end in this way."

"…and intentionally," I added.

"I think they specifically targeted him to provoke us. They were threatening near the border, but that didn't elicit the response from us that they wanted. So they made sure we couldn't ignore them any longer. But that is their mistake. They will find out that if you mess with a Dragon, you get their flame. We outnumber them. We are better trained, and we will show them who they are messing with."

The other Generals nodded. On the one hand we were playing into their hands, responding to a taunt like a four-year-old. But I thought of it differently. They were getting restless. They needed to progress to war to satisfy their desire for blood. Their allegiance was falling apart, and they were trying to salvage their attempt by moving up the timetable. They were vulnerable now. We, as a well-trained military, were able to respond at any time. Our mobilization speed was high, and it wouldn't have mattered if we attacked now or in a few months. Maybe Rose would have some more training, and some young recruits could have benefited, but we were built to be solid at any time. We trained to respond at any time.

I looked over at the map and saw the distribution of battalions and squads. I agreed on almost all fronts. I started to reach for my piece, indicating my battalion and specifically my squad. I had half a mind to place the piece further back, so Rose would be safer. But instead, my hand moved the piece closer to the border. My grandmother had said that Rose was vital in winning this war, and I had seen what she could do. I needed to trust her, trust them both. I certainly knew that I could utilize my skills to their full potential when I was on the front line.

So it was decided. Our squad would move in deep into enemy territory and locate and destroy the root of the problem, while the others would hack away at Snow Dragons, killing as many as they could. In a way, this was safer. We shouldn't be encountering as many Snow Dragons as the others, but on the other hand, if we got stuck there, all would be lost.

After the plan had been made, I made my way to the courtyard where my squad was waiting. We consisted of about fifteen Dragons and Rose, my battalion was larger, but each sub-unit had their own leader that would handle the day to day instructions. So for the most part, I would deal with these fifteen.

But before I could make it that far, Tasha was moving towards me.

"Hey Tasha, You got your orders?"

She nodded. She was with a different battalion, so she would get her orders from someone else.

"Yes, I am in the fifth. I was kind of hoping I would get to join your squad actually."

She put one claw up to my chest and actually batted her eyes at me. I so didn't have time for this.

"Allocations were made a long time ago. Besides, I have Christian in my squad already. I don't need any more fire experts."

"And yet, you placed Rose there. I doubt she can kill any Snow Dragons with those tiny human hands, so I assume she has a flame as protection?"

I smiled. Rose did have her flame. A very powerful and hot flame. So hot it even affected some Dragons if we weren't careful. But she would kill Snow Dragons with those tiny human hands, because those tiny hands would be holding a sharp blade and those hands were attached to an agile body with a devious mind.

"Rose is special."

"I don't understand why you are taking her at all. I have no love for the hybrid Dimka, but you are deliberately putting her in danger."

Even if Tasha was jealous of Rose, and overall was a pushy Dragon, I did appreciate this. She wouldn't stand by and simply watch as someone got hurt, for no good reason. Deep down Tasha had a good heart.

I softened my gaze at her, and I saw hope reflected in her eyes. I immediately regretted it and placed my General mask over it.

"Rose is very capable of taking care of herself, you'll see. I would never put her in a position I knew she couldn't handle. Now I have to go to my squad and so do you."

She nodded as she took a step back.

"Be careful Tasha. Come back safe," I said as I moved past her.

"You too."

I walked the distance to the field where my squad was located. It was a bit tricky navigating, as many other squads were waiting for their leader to show up.

Once I reached my own squad, they fell into position. I saw Rose look a little confused but joined them on the line. It was almost comical seeing her in between two Dragons ten times her size. But it isn't your size that determines your worth; it is the content of your heart. Although it is easy for me to say that as one of the largest Dragons.

"We won't be on the front line battling the line of Snow Dragons."

I saw a few faces fall. It was testimony to the arrogance of a Dragon that glory earned in battle meant more than possible safety. But I also noticed Rose looked a tiny bit disappointed. I tried very hard not to smile. She would fit in here perfectly.

"We won't be killing as many Snow Dragons as we can find."

Again confusion and disappointment.

"We will move beyond the front line and infiltrate enemy territory. We will find the ones responsible for this incursion, and we will eliminate the source of the threat. We will find those responsible for the order of Arthur's death, and we will take them down. If Snow Dragons think they can come into our territory and terrorize us they shouldn't be surprised we do the same. We will make the Snow Dragons fear us now, by killing their strongest and most feared. They will know who we are and they will scream our names in their nightmares."

My voice was picking up with each syllable I uttered. And I saw my squad was getting more and more excited.

"Dragons. Now we ride!"

I heard loud agreements and battle cries from my men.

I bent down so Rose could get up on my back. Once she was fully seated, I took to the skies in one fell swoop, the Dragons of my squad following close behind me.

Other squads were taking to the skies with us in the lead. When I turned around, after we had a nice cruising altitude, I saw the sky was almost black with Dragons. This was the biggest war we had ever fought, and I was proud to lead the charge. Because for better or for worse, this war would never be forgotten.