“We should be able to reach Kardikil Forest before sunset. The horses should be able to last four more hours.”
His ability to read the path seemed almost superhuman at times. The only markers in sight were rocks and thorn bushes, yet he always seemed to know which direction to go or how much longer they had to reach camp. To him, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. He led the campaign party with absolute certainty and prudence, and his knights never doubted his judgment. He had earned their unconditional trust.
Ending their respite, the knights got back on their horses and set out once more. After they had galloped for hours more without rest, greenery gradually emerged on the horizon, just as Riftan had predicted. Maxi urged Rem on toward the densely packed forest, forgetting for a moment the heavy exhaustion weighing on her shoulders. As they entered the dark shade, Maxi let out a deep sigh of relief, the heat more bearable under the canopy of leaves.
When they had trekked through the forest for some time, Maxi started to grow nervous that there were no puddles, let alone a spring. She did not think she could last another day without a bath. Praying for even the smallest water source, Maxi kept her eyes peeled for any signs.
Riftan abruptly stopped his horse. “It will rain soon. We will camp here.”
The sun looked bright through the leaves, and despite the shade, the heat was still stifling. Though Maxi doubted it would rain, she dismounted without a word. The knights went about setting up tents between the trees. They covered the carts with stiff cloths coated with tar to keep their provisions and firewood dry.
Maxi tied Rem to a tree and unsaddled her. She was about to carry her bag into the tent when Riftan appeared and snatched it from her hand.
“Follow me.” He led her to a place not far from the camp. There, she saw a tent pitched under a large tree lush with leaves.
After tossing her bag into the tent, Riftan lifted the flap wide for her to enter. It was clearly a message telling her to rest instead of loitering about the camp. Maxi sighed and stepped inside.
A thick pile of blankets covered the floor. Maxi gingerly lowered herself onto the soft linen, her buttocks feeling battered from another long day in the saddle. She took off her boots and pushed them into a corner. Although she wanted to remove her damp clothes, she only had one clean tunic, and she was saving that until she could wash, whenever that would be.
Just as she was debating whether to slip out to performher own search for a spring, rain began to splatter against the tent. Startled, Maxi stuck her head out. Gray clouds now filled the sky, heavy raindrops pelting down in a torrent. Maxi threw back the opening and searched for Riftan, wondering why he was not taking shelter from the rain.
She spotted him standing a short distance away with his head tilted toward the sky, scrubbing his face and nape. He stripped off his armor and cast it to the ground. He did not seem to care that the rain soaked through his thin tunic. Turning towards her, he motioned for her to join him in the downpour.
“Come.”
He was not the only one relishing the rain. Except for the few knights keeping watch, the rest of the men also began removing their armor and washing away days’ worth of sweat and dirt. They were like children gleefully splashing in the water. Even Hebaron cast off his tunic and scrubbed his muscled torso with his hands. Maxi watched them, trying not to be embarrassed.
“Maxi, come and wash. Who knows when we will get another chance.”
“B-But…” The argument that it was not proper for a lady to bathe in the open was at the tip of her tongue, but she was desperate to cleanse away the grime. Watching the knights wash in the cool rain, the temptation was too powerful to resist. She grabbed the bar of soap from her bag and stepped out of the tent.
In a matter of seconds, she was completely drenched. Maxi let out a contented sigh as cool water splattered her face. Undressing like the knights was, of course, not an option, but she thought she would at least be able to wash herface and hair behind a tree. She slipped behind the tent to hide herself from view and was just about to begin washing her hair when Riftan appeared.
He grabbed her arm. “Come this way.”
Maxi squelched after him through the wet grass, not knowing where he was leading her. When they were some distance from camp, he stopped in a clearing behind a thicket of bushes. Behind a large rock, Riftan tied a tar-coated curtain to two tree branches. In the blink of an eye, she found herself surrounded by a curtain in a tiny private space all her own.
“I have told them not to come anywhere near here, so do not worry about being seen.”
Wiping away the rain dripping into her eyes, Maxi turned her gaze in the direction of camp. Though she could not see the knights through the vegetation, she was not completely reassured. Her desire for a bath was so fierce, though, that now was not the time for hesitation. After all, the rain could stop at any moment.
Maxi threw glances at Riftan over the curtain until he took a step back and turned around as if to stand guard. She hastily undressed, the heavy rain stinging her skin, and she shuddered at the strange sensation. She hung her clothes on a branch and began rubbing away the dirt from head to toe with her soap. She could not help trembling, worried that someone might leap out from the bushes or that there would be another monster attack.
Thankfully, the rain only grew stronger. It beat down in a white haze, blotting out the surroundings. Maxi felt her anxiety dissipate as the rain obscured everything. She suddenly burst out laughing at the bizarreness of it all. Who wouldhave thought that she would one day bathe in the rain in the middle of a forest?
Chuckling, she tossed her head back and washed off the soap from her face and hair. When she had thoroughly rinsed herself, she turned to grab her wet garments from the tree. That was when she realized that the linen that separated her and Riftan was no longer there.
Flustered, Maxi drew back. One of the knots must have come undone under the pouring rain. The cloth lay limp on the ground, one end still dangling on a branch.
Riftan stood as immobile as a stone statue, staring at her. His expression made her freeze. His searing gaze ran down her wet shoulder and over her hair where it clung to her skin. His eyes reached her breasts, where they lingered for a long time. She could see his throat bob as he swallowed, and she felt her own throat burn in response.
His gaze ventured lower, moving down her flat stomach to her pale thighs, then all the way to her white feet streaked with blue veins. Finally, his dark eyes flashed up and met hers.
A strange feeling of helplessness seized her. He looked mesmerized, as if he had never seen her naked before, which only heightened the sudden wave of shame. Flushing crimson, Maxi snatched her clothes from the branch and quickly covered her chest.
Then Riftan was in front of her. His strong fingers curled around her own cold ones. “Don’t.” His voice was low, barely audible over the rain. “Please. Let me look at you a little longer. You have no idea how much I have been—”
Maxi shuddered like a bird caught in a trap and gazed up at him through her lashes.
