"If I can interrupt you, Alex," the man said, putting his hands on our shoulders and pulling our heads closer. "A dragon is not something you can prepare yourself for. They are beasts of cunning and raw power. They can't be tricked by spells and illusions. I won't stop you from throwing yourself into a dragon's lair but know this..."
He pulled our necks even harder, his forearms barely flexing at all as Leo's and my heads almost collided.
"You are weak," he said, yet there was no edge behind the words. It was cold and steady, merely stating facts. "You cannot fight a dragon, so make sure you have an escape plan in place. Buy some resurrection insurance or, better yet, settle for something easier to prove yourselves."
Without a hint of emotion, Leo's father softly patted our cheeks and walked away, downing the wine he was holding. Now I understood why Leo changed every time his father was around. If the man was as cold and disheartening as he was toward me, I could only imagine the kind of standards he held his son to when he was growing up. Leo was stunned from the exchange and was now just staring at the floor, oblivious to the party that was taking place around him.
"Hey, man," I said and shook his shoulders. "We're going to be fine. We'll train and prepare for this. He doesn't know what he's talking about."
"No, Alex," he said and looked me dead in the eye. "The problem is that he knows exactly what he's talking about. We're weak and we've never even seen a dragon, let alone fought one."
"So what? I was weak when I entered the Chroma Warehouse dungeon. But I came out alive and stronger. I was ignorant of what to expect when I entered the Faery Queen's palace but left wiser, or at least I think I did. I was unprepared for what we encountered in Abrathion's headquarters, but lived to tell the tale."
"That doesn't mean anything, Alex," he said and looked away. "It only takes one time to fail and die."
"Look, man," I said, deliberately putting my face in front of his. "I'm not gonna force you to join us, but you can't let what he said get to you. You once told me what the number one rule for a good spellcaster is..."
"Being prepared," he replied, without thinking about it.
"Exactly. We'll make the first move and prepare for all possible scenarios," I explained. "We can't not succeed. Or at the very least, we can't fail."
"You really think so?" he asked, and looked at me hopefully.
Oh, fuck me. Why did I just do this? I don't want to be responsible for anything if we fail.
"Of course I do." I told him what he needed to hear. "Between your knowledge, Ommanth's plan, and Louie's alleged superior intelligence," I said the last part mockingly, "I don't know how it can be any more possible."
"I guess so," he said and grinned.
"Leo," I said seriously and looked him in the eyes again. "You don't need to do it though. Nobody's going to blame you if you back out."
"I know," he said, still smiling. "But I want to."
"You don't have anything to prove to him," I said finally, reaching as far as my relationship with him would allow.
His smile faded, but he didn't look upset with me. Instead, her looked rather apologetic. He pursed his lips and swallowed hard before opening his mouth again.
"I know you believe that," he said, "and I know it's probably the truth. But I feel like I do. Perhaps it doesn't make sense to you, but it's something I need to do. If not for him, I have to prove myself to me."
I looked at him for a long second and nodded. Whatever his motivations were, I wasn't the right person to judge them. What he needed was support, something that he would obviously not get from his father. So I put on my best smile and wrapped my arm around his neck.
"Then let me help you with that," I said and took a first step toward the bar.
Walking with him like this felt right. It reminded me of the times we'd gone to meet Rhiannon after getting drunk beyond our minds. The times she'd herded us like drunk sheep to our old apartment, letting us sleep in the bedroom while she crashed on the couch. It didn't just feel right, it felt good. I may have lost her, but I hoped it wasn't too late to get my friend back.
The party only grew wilder with each passing minute. Much to my initial dismay, I drank everything Rory handed me and was soon struggling to keep my body upright. However, be it because of the clan buff or the quality of the drinks, I was in the most pleasant drunk state of my life. For the first time in years, I felt light. The thought of the impending fight with a silver dragon did nothing to bring me down. Louie was essentially immortal, Leo and I were safe from Abrathion, and Rory was on the track to get his ancestral home back. It felt like I had it all figured out.
When Louie had had his fill of sausages and I'd endured my fair share of meeting and drunkenly talking with what felt like hundreds of Leo's cousins, we searched for Yelena and Rory, and made to leave. Neither of them looked particularly drunk, which probably said a lot about my drinking capacity in comparison with theirs.
Just as we were about to leave, Leo approached us. He wasn't wearing his formal robes anymore, but rather a new set that I hadn't seen before. I tried scanning them and realized he was now wearing D-grade equipment.
"You leveled up?" I asked.
"I did," he replied. "I was almost there actually. It only took an hour or so."
"Good job, Roman," Rory said, tapping Leo's shoulder, and continued toward the elevator room.
"Wait, I'm coming with you," Leo
