Soren crouched beside Maeren, his knives dripping with ichor that hissed as it burned into the soil.
“Shit,” Soren muttered. “Her leg. We need Bryn.”
Jakobav was already on his feet, staggering toward them, still unsteady but commanding all the same. “Thane. Take Maeren. Now.”
Thane crouched and gathered Maeren up with surprising care, his usual grin gone, jaw tight. She hissed but did not protest, only drew her blades closer to her chest, as if she refused to let even her weapons leave the fight.
Soren rose smoothly at his side, eyes like knives themselves.
Jakobav turned to Savina. “Do you need to be carried?”
Her head snapped toward him, eyes blazing. “Touch me and die.”
Even bloodied, she stood tall, defiance burning through every line of her body.
Thane’s grin flickered back, crooked despite the blood running down his arm. “Gods, Sav, I almost believe you’d kill me before the Leach could.”
She shot him a look. “Almost?”
“Get them to Bryn,” Jakobav said, his voice leaving no room for argument. “There’s something else needing my attention, I’ll be back at the castle as soon as it’s handled.”
Thane shifted Maeren’s weight and turned his head toward Ella. “You coming with us, little fox?”
Ella took stock of the minor scrapes and bruises on her body from fighting off the Leach, realizing with a small sense of pride that for once she wasn’t the one in dire need of medical attention. She wouldn’t mind paying Bryn a visit, maybe she could interrogate him and obtain something useful to uncover the relic.
But before she could tell Thane she would return with them to the castle, she was interrupted.
“She stays,” Jakobav answered, his tone cold enough to silence even Thane.
Thane’s brow rose and he turned to her. “You sure?”
“I said she stays.”
Ella’s spine stiffened. “Excuse me?”
“You’ll be safer with me,” Jakobav added.
Thane gave a lopsided grin, his gaze bouncing between them. “Oh, come on. You don’t trust me with the little fox? I’d keep her warm. Real warm. Give her a proper Dravaryn welcome. Slow. Intense. Memorable.”
Jakobav turned his head, and the look he gave him could have frozen fire.
Thane coughed. “Right. Not the time.”
Maeren chimed in, looking more annoyed with Thane than her injured leg, “Set me down first before Jake chooses violence over patience.”
Ella rolled her eyes. “Thane, you’re insufferable.”
Thane chuckled, still cradling Maeren. “You wound me, Princess.”
Ella’s stomach dropped.
Jakobav’s jaw flexed.
The air went still.
Thane’s face paled slightly. “I mean, not princess like Princess, obviously. I just meant, like, regal. You know. Elegant. Mysterious. Secretive. Not that we…uh…”
He trailed off.
