When Maxi came to, the setting sun had begun to tinge the sky red. She stared dazedly at the scarlet rays streaming in through an arched opening. Thick furs encased her, and the ground rattled beneath.
Realizing that something was terribly wrong, she frantically wiggled her arms to sit upright, but her limbs felt weighted like water-soaked cotton. Groaning, she managed to haul herself up. Her groggy mind slowly began to recount the moments before she had passed out. She stumbled onto all fours and crawled toward the canvas opening to look outside. A dusky plain bathed in twilight glided past.
Finally grasping that she was in a wagon, Maxi cried out in despair. How long had she been unconscious? Fear and confusion roiled within her, and she glanced left and right. She crawled closer to the end of the wagon as if to leap out.
They came to an abrupt halt. Maxi glared through her tears at the head that poked through the canvas.
“You’re awake,” Ruth said with a drawn-out sigh.
She glowered at him for his betrayal, then asked in a choked voice, “H -How long… have I been unconscious?”
“You’ve been out cold for a day and a half.”
Her eyes widened at how much time had passed. She focused her strength on her wobbling legs and tried to get up, but Ruth hastily rushed over and pushed her back down.
“You must lay down. That demented paladin paralyzed you with magic. Your body needs time to regain function completely. A lot of it, at that.”
“P-Paralyzed?” Maxi parroted.
Though she had guessed as much, she still could not believe he had gone this
Ruth seemed equally as shocked. He lightly gritted his teeth and said, “And he knocked the living daylights out of you. He overdid it, though, presumably because he’s only ever used the spell on monsters. It is why it’s taken this long for you to wake up.”
Before she could protest, Ruth pushed her back onto the bedroll. Her feeble limbs did not put up a fight as she helplessly flopped down. She felt drained even from those few minutes of sitting upright. Her emotions, on the other hand, were threatening to burst forth. She feared she would start screaming if she opened her mouth.
She was desperately trying to contain herself when an infuriatingly calm voice cut in.
“You should have her eat something, seeing as she’s awake. We’ve only been feeding her wine, so she will be weak from hunger.”
Maxi met Kuahel’s head with a glare, which only glanced off his wall of apathy. He stepped in and handed Ruth a bowl.
“Have her eat this for now. The wind mage prepared it. He said it was mandrago soup.”
Maxi’s tight rein over her emotions slipped when he turned around to leave. “Y-You have… absolutely no right to do this to me!”
Kuahel turned his head to regard her. “1 gave my word to protect the mages of the Tower. I had no choice but to stop you from recklessly throwing your life away.”
“W -What nonsense! D-Did you not abandon… Sidina, Master Geoffrey, and Master Albern at the drop of a hat?”
‘Which is why I had to prevent any more casualties,” Kuahel replied, his tone callously indifferent.
I don’t want to put myself through that ever again.
She squeezed her eyes shut. She frightened him, he had told her.
Why had words failed her back then? Why had she been unable to tell him she would never leave him again? That she would not be able to bear it a second time either? Now, she might never get the chance to.
A groan escaped her as she clutched her head. She silently argued with herself.
That was not possible. He had promised to return unharmed, so he would surely come back to her without a scratch. No matter how many times she repeated this, it did not seem to dissolve her worry.
“Almost there!’
Nevin’s voice snapped Maxi out of her thoughts. She jerked her head up and craned her neck out of the wagon to look ahead. A dazzling white rock face towered over them.
She anxiously wet her lips. The Remdragon Knights would surely rush to the monster base to help Riftan, but there was no assurance that he and the others were still alive. Maxi promptly threw away the thought and mumbled under her breath as if to hypnotize her mind into obeying.
Riftan was the Dragon Slayer. He had to be safe. Something must have happened to keep him from returning.
The wagon soon came to a stop. As Maxi stumbled out, she spotted a figure striding toward them. Whoever it was moved with a supple grace that belied their hulking frame. Her eyes widened. It was Hebaron. He had come all the way from the ruins while they had been away.
Hebaron’s large, sharp eyes swept over Ruth, Maxi, Nevin, and the Temple
Knights before landing on Kuahel. “Where did you leave the others?”
“They failed to return,” Kuahel replied matter-of-factly as he dismounted.
Though Maxi would have gladly watched Hebaron punch the man, the knight merely folded his arms over his muscular chest and cocked an eyebrow. After a long moment, he tipped his head toward the tent.
‘Why don’t we head inside so you can explain?’
Slightly disappointed by his calmness, Maxi trudged toward the tent.
Ruth fell into step beside her, supporting her arm. “Did that cleric take you for an ogre? How strong a spell did he use on you to—”
“I-I can walk on my own,” Maxi said, stubbornly pushing his arm away and ducking into the tent. She loathed feeling like a helpless child.
As she teetered inside, Anette greeted her with a knitting of her bushy brows. “Are you hurt?”
Maxi’s eyes prickled with tears of joy at the sight of her friend. Immediately sensing something was wrong, Anette leaped to her feet and hurried over.
‘What’s happened?” She glanced questioningly at Ruth and Nevin, who had entered behind Maxi. ‘Where is Sidina? And Master Geoffrey? Master Albern?”
Nevin’s despondent look was all the answer Anette needed. Her face turned grave…