Gripping her shoulders, Ulyseon helped her onto a flat rock. Maxi thanked him weakly.
The two squires showed no signs of exhaustion as they untied their saddlebags. The other knights bustled about, piling stones into fire pits, sparking kindling, and wateringand feeding their horses. Maxi knew she should help, but she did not have the energy to even lift a finger. She placed her rein-burned palms onto the cold stone to soothe them.
“I’ve prepared a cot for you first, my lady. It is not much, but please rest—”
“I will look after her.” Maxi jumped and turned her head at the sudden voice. Riftan looked back at her impassively. “You two, tend to the horses.”
Garrow and Ulyseon promptly darted away. Maxi grew tense, worried that he would chide her for not listening to him now that he had seen her so disheveled and exhausted. Riftan wordlessly scooped her up and carried her to a tent pitched under a tree.
“I’ll bring you food once it is ready, so lie down and rest.”
“I am all right. I should h-help—” Maxi stopped when she saw Riftan’s forbidding gaze. He lowered the flap of the tent and disappeared. Too tired to move any further, Maxi fell back and sprawled out over the thick layer of blankets.
Tomorrow’s ride was already on her mind. There was no doubt that her backside would be bruised blue; she wondered if she would be able to endure a month of this.
Maxi shook her head. No, she only needed to get through one more day and they would be out of the Anatolium Mountains. According to the map she had studied, there were more plains on the way to Livadon. Since she would acclimate to being on horseback by then, and the road ahead was smoother, the journey would be easier than it was now. It was too early for her to feel overwhelmed.
She was in the middle of consoling herself when Riftan returned to the tent. “We should massage your muscles before you eat. Take off your trousers,” he said as he practicallyfolded himself into the cramped corner of the tent.
Wondering if she had misheard him, Maxi said, “What…did you just…?”
“Take off your boots and trousers. We have to apply this so you can keep riding tomorrow,” he said calmly, holding up a small vial of oil. He then took off his gauntlet, gaiters, and vambrace and placed them aside.
Maxi merely watched him vacantly. He frowned at her lack of movement, then went to take off her boots himself. Alarmed, she curled herself into a ball at the tent’s edge.
“I…I do not think that will be n-necessary! I am perfectly fine!”
“Do you expect me to believe that? You look as if you’re about to drop dead.”
Riftan blocked her escape and made her lie down on the blankets again. Her already throbbing muscles screamed in pain when he grabbed her thigh.
At her stifled cry, Riftan shot her a look that screamed, “I told you so.” He carefully untied the bootlaces that were wound tightly up her calf.
Maxi’s face flushed crimson. “All right. I w-will do it! If you g-give me the vial, I shall do it myself…so please w-wait outside.”
“You are too tired to even lift a finger.”
“That is not t-true. I can do it m-myself, so—”
“I know you think so little of your husband’s words, but…”
The chill in his voice cut Maxi’s protests short.
“You should at least pretend to listen sometimes,” he hissed.
Realizing that he was on the verge of losing his patience,Maxi pressed her lips together. He pulled her boots off and threw them aside, then placed his hands at the top of her trousers. Maxi glanced at the entrance of the tent.
“W-What if someone comes in…”
“Don’t worry. I have told them not to come anywhere near the tent,” he said brusquely as he pulled off her trousers, and her face flushed once more when she felt the cold air on her bare skin. Riftan had Maxi lie on her stomach, then he calmly pulled out a cloth, a waterskin, and a vial of oil from his bag. She watched in silent mortification as he soaked the linen and wiped her clammy legs, cooling her feverish skin.
He carefully wiped her thighs, calves, and the soles of her feet. Uncorking the vial of oil with his teeth, he spread an ample amount on his strong hands. He pressed his thumb into the center of the sole of her foot, then slowly moved up her leg to massage her stiff calf.
Maxi moaned at the sharp pain. “I-It hurts…”
“If we do not relax your muscles now, you will be in far more pain tomorrow morning.”
Riftan was ruthless digging into her aching muscles, and Maxi had to muffle her groans in the blanket. The pain was so dizzying that it left her no time to feel embarrassed.
