“Scouts say that a few wyverns have hidden themselves deep in the valley, but I’m sure it won’t take long for the knights to root them out.”
“Th-Then…I shall wait for the knights. I-I think it would be safer…for me to return with them.”
The squire was obviously conflicted. “Would it not be better for you to return sooner so you can rest, my lady? You are as white as a ghost.”
“I-I will be all right…o-once I’ve replenished my mana by the fire. I won’t do anything else. I am too w-worried about Riftan….”
Ulyseon’s eyes grew wide at her words, as if he thought it absurd that anyone would worry about Riftan Calypse. She supposed most people probably did not think it necessary to worry for the knight who had once bested a dragon, but Maxi was beside herself. Even Riftan was not invincible.
“I-I shall go back to the castle…if they do not return by nightfall.”
Looking down at her adamant expression, Ulyseon let out a resigned sigh. “If you insist, my lady.”
“Th-Thank you.”
“But you must truly return to the castle if the knights fail to return by nightfall. Monsters will—”
Just then, Ulyseon shoved Maxi down, sending her sprawling across the ground as he drew his sword. A shadow fell across them and the ground shook. Maxi slowly pulled herself up onto her hands and knees and looked up.
A massive monster with burning red eyes was standing at the edge of the camp.
Its jaws were open, razor-sharp teeth on display. How had such an enormous creature been able to sneak up on them without so much as a sound? Half the camp had been blasted backward by the flapping of the monster’s silentwings. If Ulyseon had not pushed her down, she would have been blown away like dust.
“Take cover, my lady!” Ulyseon shouted. The blade of his sword gleamed blue, and he swung at the wyvern, slashing through its shoulder joint. The monster’s gigantic body lurched sideways as its legs buckled, knocking down trees. The ground shook like an earthquake, and the wounded workers screamed as they ran for cover. Even the sentries standing at a distance cried out and dispersed.
“Protect her ladyship!” Ulyseon bellowed.
“This way, my lady!” A soldier roughly pulled her up by the arm and began to run.
Stumbling, Maxi tried to keep up with the man as they fled from the monster, but her foot caught on a rock, and she fell to the ground again. The soldier’s grip was so tight that he nearly yanked her arm out of its socket before she slipped from his grasp, and her scraped knee felt like it had split open.
“My lady! Are you all right?” the soldier called.
She hastily tried to get back on her feet, but she suddenly felt woozy, and her stomach twisted painfully. Unable to bear it any longer, she dropped back onto her hands and knees and hurled. Her chest burned with every heave, as if a dagger had been plunged into it. Again, she struggled to her feet, gasping like she had forgotten how to breathe.
Suddenly, a golden flash lit up the surroundings, and Maxi turned to look back in terror at a raging fire consuming the monster.
“Riftan!” Princess Agnes’s sharp voice cut through the air like the crack of a whip, and a figure leapt through the air, swinging a sword at the flaming monster as it thrashed wildly.
The monster’s colossal head, at least fifty kevettes indiameter, dropped from its neck like a butchered chicken’s head. The monster’s body collapsed, the ground shaking violently again as it struck the earth. Maxi helplessly watched the scene with tears streaming down her cheeks.
“My lady! Are you all right?” Ulyseon rushed to her side and helped her to her feet.
Her limbs felt limp, as if all her bones had melted away. Her whole body trembled as she leaned against the squire, until she finally felt herself tipping over like a scarecrow in a stiff wind, and she lost all consciousness.
—
“Deep breaths. Slowly, now.Yes, just like that…”
Maxi felt as though she were drowning, curled up on her side while she gasped for air. She felt someone gently stroke her quivering shoulders, and she barely managed to crack open her dry eyes. The familiar sight of her bedchamber, illuminated by flickering orange candlelight, gradually came into focus. Bewildered, she fixed her gaze on the corner of the dark room for a while until her vision adjusted.
A wave of nausea washed over her, and she groaned, writhing in pain.
The person holding her put a cold brass bowl to her lips. “You should let it out if you feel sick.”
Maxi looked up tearfully at Riftan through her disheveled hair. He looked as pale as she imagined she was.
“The dizziness is from being depleted of mana. You’ll feel better once you’ve let it out.”
