“Harsh, Sir Hebaron,” Edon grumbled as he groaned in pain. “Especially when you missed that gutter snake lurking in the cave just as much as I did.”
Trying to ignore the drake carcasses strewn across the valley floor, Maxi inspected the wound. Nearly all the skin on his shoulder had been burned off, revealing red muscle underneath. She reached for the wound, but Hebaron stopped her.
“Do not touch it, my lady. The fluid might burn your hand as well.”
“Th-Then we must cleanse the wound of the fluid immediately.”
At her instruction, the junior knights brought clean water for Maxi to wipe away the fluid from the burn. Although the contact must have hurt terribly, Edon endured it with a clenched jaw. He even managed to give her a smile.
“It would have been a disaster if you had not come with us, my lady. I’m grateful you agreed to come.”
Unable to fathom how he could sound so collected in the face of such a gruesome injury, Maxi focused instead on healing the wound. As the skin knitted itself back together, the tension in Edon’s face eased.
“Thank you, my lady. I feel much better now.”
“If you are all fixed up, then hurry up and get suited back up,” Hebaron chided gruffly. “We set out as soon as all the magic stones are collected. Who knows when those pests are going to start acting out.” He pointed to the harpies who were now perched on the edge of the cliff, their faces silhouetted save for the barest hint of blood-chilling smiles.
Maxi shuddered and tore her gaze away to search for anyone else in need of treatment. Thankfully, no one else seemed to have so much as a scratch. With relief, she noticed Riftan by a pool, washing drake blood off his armor, but he did not return her gaze.
The rest of the knights went about slicing open the chests of the dead drakes and harvesting their magic stones. The ritual baffled Maxi. She knew that dragon organs could be worth their weight in gold, but why were they wasting timeransacking monster carcasses when their comrades were in peril?
“M-Must we…collect the stones? I know they are valuable…b-but should we not hurry…?”
“It has nothing to do with value,” said Hebaron. “If we leave a stone, it will soak up surrounding mana and create an undead. In fact, if we were strict about following Orthodox doctrines, we would burn the carcasses to purify the area. Incinerating such a huge beast without magic is nigh impossible, though, so we extract the stones as the next best option.”
“Those pests will take care of the carcasses.”
Maxi jumped at Riftan’s voice, suddenly so close to her and Hebaron. Up close, she could better take stock of her husband’s injuries in the wake of the skirmish, but other than being soaking wet, he appeared to be unharmed.
Running a hand through his sopping hair, he regarded her briefly before turning his gaze to the cliff. “The harpies followed us in hopes that we would kill the drakes. Once we are gone, they will stuff themselves cleaning the carcasses.”
“Does that mean they will stop following us?”
He glared at the monsters perched on the cliff edge as if they were a mere nuisance, nothing more than bothersome flies. “They might try to follow us for another meal, but we will be long gone by the time their stomachs are full. Filthy hyenas.”
As if remembering that he had meant to ignore his wife, Riftan stalked away toward Talon. Maxi trailed after him. He was treating her like she was invisible, and she wanted to know why.
“R-Riftan…are you not hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine,” he replied brusquely, pulling on his gauntlet.
Maxi blocked his path, forcing him to look at her. “Riftan…a-are you still angry with me?”
His mouth tightened into a thin line as he met her gaze. Suddenly, she felt as though she were being dissected, far too aware of her sweaty face, disheveled hair, and dusty clothes.
She knew she was blushing, but she crossed her arms in defiance anyway. “Was it not…fortunate that I c-came along? Someone was injured…just two days…i-into the journey—”
“We are departing immediately,” he said stonily. “We do not have time to waste, so return to your spot in the formation at once.”
“I-I think we could spare some time to—”
“Was it not your wish for me to treat you as a mage and not my wife?” he said curtly, nimbly mounting Talon. “You were the one who insisted on joining the campaign against my will, so you should damn well obey your commander’s orders.”
Maxi glared at him, his face half concealed in shadow, before spinning on her heels and striding to her own horse. As she mounted Rem, Gabel rode up beside her and gave her a comforting chuckle.
“Do not take it to heart, my lady. The commander is merely on edge from battle. He is his most fearsome when monsters are about. One mistake could cost him his life or the life of one of his men. Until he knows his people are safe, he will be rash as a wild animal.”
“I…d-do not mind,” Maxi replied slowly, speaking as clearly as she could so Riftan would certainly overhear. “Riftan…I mean, Sir Riftan, is right. He is now…mycommander, and I am his m-mage. It is only right that he demands my absolute obedience.”
