Shadowborn

Chapter Twelve: Truths and Planning

The rest of our watch went by in silence. I bade him goodnight when our replacements found us and started towards where Rhallani had set up our tent. I was stopped halfway by the last person I expected to still be up. Serena. She was waiting near the entrance to my tent, pacing nervously in front of a lantern. Gone was her armor. In its place was a long dark red cloak that covered nearly her entire body. She’d let her hair down as well, and it spilled across her shoulders and down her back in long golden locks that flickered deliciously in the low light of the lantern.

A squeak escaped her when she saw me, then she collected herself. “Ren. I wanted to talk to you,” she whispered.

I looked at the nearby tents, then jerked my head towards the woods. She nodded, then followed me with the lantern until we were out of earshot. Her nose and ears were red from the cold, and every time she looked at me I thought I could see her cheeks color as well.

When we were decently out of earshot, she took a breath. “I wanted to apologize. For earlier. I said some unkind things because I jumped to conclusions, just as you said.” She must have seen the surprise on my face. “Rhallani sought me out. Set the record straight. She talks very highly of you.” She looked away. “She seemed rather upset that I could think you were capable of… such things.” She looked away.

Damn, guess I’d have to slip into Rhallani’s bedroll after all. “All is forgiven, no harm done.”

Her eyes snapped back to me with fire in them. “Nonsense! I insulted you, and then you turned around and helped me improve more in a single spar than I have in the last six months.”

I chuckled. “I can’t take all the credit, you’re a natural with that spear. All you needed was a little guidance, the rest was all you.”

“Me and a few skills that make me proficient with spears and polearms,” she mumbled.

“Proficiency skills don’t magically make you better, they amplify the knowledge and technique you already have,” I argued. “It’ll make you stronger, but only if you have a good base to work with. Now you have that base.”

“I—” Her gaze fixed on the ground. “Why are you kind to me?”

I blinked. “Am I not supposed to be?”

She shifted her weight from foot to foot. “It’s just that—” She made an irritated sound in the back of her throat. “I don’t like charity. I want to earn what I’m given.”

“Is that why you were embarrassed Fel bought you that armor and spear?”

“How did you—never mind. Yes. He offered me a deal. He bought me equipment and I work for him until it’s paid off.” Her hand snuck out of her cloak to rub her nose angrily. “I’m not sure what you get out of helping me, and that makes me suspicious. I’m sorry.”

“What is it with pretty girls and apologizing all the damn time?” I muttered under my breath.

“Sorry? I didn’t catch that.”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or not. “Nothing. I helped you because you needed the help, no more, no less. It helps that sparring with you was the most fun I’ve had in a long while.” Well, not counting the fun I’ve had with Rhallani, of course.

Her only response was to sniffle. I could see her breath in the cold of the night. Her eyes seemed locked in on the ground. “Do you think I’m a fool, Ren?”

Uh oh. That question had to be a trap. “I think you’ve got plenty of potential, but I also think you’re pretty new to all this.”

She sniffled, and I realized it wasn’t because of the temperature. “You fought me. Hells, you basically embarrassed me in front of the camp! Don’t sugarcoat it! You fought against me, do you really think someone like me has a chance out here? Or am I an idiot for refusing to be a seamstress like my mother? We’re only a day out, so if I should just give up and go home, I’d like you to just tell me.”

I wanted very badly to laugh, but I had a feeling that might just make things worse. Instead, I walked up and put a hand on her shoulder. She seemed much smaller out of her armor. “Serena, do you know what word I’d use to describe your fighting skills right now?”

She glanced at me uncertainly and shook her head.

“Untrained.”

She hung her head. “I see.”

“Untrained,” I continued, and her face rose a little, “and still a better fighter than most of the people I’ve known in my life.” Her brows narrowed, as if she suspected a trick. “You’re a natural with that spear. Am I right in thinking you’re completely self-taught?”

“I am,” she said hesitantly.

“Then that’s damn impressive.” She straightened slightly. “Serena, on your own, you’ve reached a skill with the spear that most need a half dozen skills to reach. Do you know what’s going to happen if you get some real training and work out the bad habits you’ve formed?” She shook her head. “You’re going to be a force of nature. You want my advice? Don’t let that idiot Fel put you any deeper in debt. Hopefully you get yours paid off before he realizes what an absolute gem he’s got in you.”

Her face dipped forward again, but not before I saw her blushing furiously. “I still don’t get why you’re so nice to me.”

I stepped so close that she was forced to look up at me. When she met my eyes, I smiled. “Because of all the people I’ve met in the last two days, you’re the first to get upset over Scarlet’s injuries. If that wasn’t enough, you’re also the first person I’ve met who uses Rhallani’s name. You, to your own great misfortune, are a good person. People are going to try to take advantage of that, so I figured it was my duty to give you a fighting chance.”

She swallowed. I could practically see steam coming out of her ears. “Oh.” Her eyes started to drift away, but she forced them back to mine with no small amount of effort. “W—would you be willing to spar with me again?” she asked.

My smile widened. “Name the time and place, though I should warn you that I can be a bit of a harsh teacher.”

“V—very well then. I look forward to seeing how you wield other weapons.” Then her eyes went wide. “Like swords! Weapons like swords!” She started backing away. “Ah, um, I should let you get to sleep. It’s late. Thank you again. Um, good night. Rest well.”

I could only shake my head while she scurried back through the tents towards where Fel’s group had set up. Could her unintentional double entendre be Rhallani’s work? Or was it possible that I’d managed to stumble upon another poor repressed pervert? Either way, one thing was for certain. When she wasn’t yelling at me, Serena was incredibly cute. I needed to get to the bottom of this whole “multiple wives” thing Rhallani’s dropped on me twice now.

Thinking of Rhallani was enough to make me head towards my tent with a spring in my step. I had promised to make things up to her, after all. Unfortunately, when I lifted the flap, it seemed she was already asleep. All I could see was her head, the rest was tucked under the bedroll. I’d gotten another tent so Scarlet could have her own, but she was curled up in the corner as far from the entrance as possible. All I could see was her face, but she seemed to be as out as Rhallani.

Trying not to feel too disappointed, I ditched my cloak and boots, then stripped off my shirt and pants until all that was left was my underwear. The cold wouldn’t bother me, and I had a feeling Rhallani would want to make up for lost time in the morning.

My plans changed slightly when I carefully slid into the bedroll, doing my best not to wake my little scholar. When I pressed up against her back, I had a very sudden realization. There was not a stitch of clothing on her below the collar. The feeling of her back on my chest and the brief foray of my hand to confirm that she wore no panties had me hard in an instant. I couldn’t help but think of some of the fantasies she’d told me about that night in the inn.

I wanted very badly to help her with some for more than one reason, but fucking a sleeping girl still strayed far too close to certain lines for my tastes. Not without several in-depth discussions first, at least. Then I wrapped my arms around her and brushed my hand against her very hard nipple, eliciting a slight gasp from her. One that was in no way muddled by drowsiness.

There’s no way. One of my hands quested southward. Sure enough, when I slid a finger between her thighs, I found that she was absolutely drenched. Even better, a barely contained breath slipped out of her at the touch. She was still very much awake, though she was clearly pretending otherwise.

Well, in that case…

I tried to move as little as possible while I fished my member out. I wasn’t going to fuck a sleeping Rhallani, but one pretending to sleep? Well, if I didn’t, then we might just drown in our bedroll. I shifted like I was moving to spoon her, then I slowly and deliberately slid my length across her folds. She tried her best, but a restrained moan still slid past her lips.

I worked my hips slowly, coating myself in her juices while I slid one arm under her. Despite her attempted deception, I could barely hold back my laugh when her torso lifted just enough to let my arm slip under. I wrapped the hand around her breast and gave it a squeeze, then used my other hand to line myself up.

I teased her entrance with the head for a few seconds to give her a chance to prepare herself, then I slid myself in with one long, slow, push. Her hot depths sucked me in greedily, and I had to fight to hold in my groan as her silky smooth walls just pulled me in deeper. I hilted myself in her and just laid there, enjoying the feel of her back on my chest and her pussy wrapped around my cock.

Rhallani whimpered, but it was muffled. A quick check revealed she had a mouthful of bedroll. I played with her breast in one hand while the other roamed her body with light touches. The entire time I didn’t move my hips. Finally, when her hips started to twist in a desperate attempt to create even a little friction, I took pity on her. I put a hand on her thigh and began to slowly and sensually fuck her.

I pressed my lips to the nape of her neck while I worked her. Every thrust was pure bliss, and every slow pull back made her shudder delightfully. It wasn’t the hesitant first time or the frantic quickie we’d had that morning, but a peaceful, sensual embrace that I never wanted to end. I began to gently finger the nub just above where we were joined, which earned me another muffled moan. My eyes flicked to Scarlet, but she hadn’t so much as twitched an eyelid.

I rubbed in slow circles while I sawed back and forth, and it wasn’t long before I was rewarded by the feeling of her clamping down on my cock before her body clenched tight. I kept going, both with my hips and my fingers, to prolong her orgasm. The fluttering of her inner walls added to the stimulation, and I buried my face into her hair to muffle my own moan. My hips started thrusting faster and faster as if they had a mind of their own. I could feel my limit approaching.

I let go of her breast and wrapped my arm far enough around her to grab the shoulder facing the sky and pulled her tightly into me. I nibbled the flesh between her shoulder and neck and fucked her as fast as I dared so that our hips meeting wouldn’t wake half the camp. Then, all too soon, I buried myself in her and released. I felt her cum again while I filled her, panting into her neck. With how much she loved getting creampied, I figured that crest was never coming off her womb.

I kissed her neck while she came down, then I whispered in her ear, “I’ll fuck you however you want, but if I ever go to far you will tell me. Understood?”

I had to reach up and pull the soaked bedroll out of her mouth before she answered, “yes, Zaren. I understand.” Her words were slurred, and I could hear the smile on her face. I kissed her cheek, then I snuggled into her warmth without pulling out of her depths. I could tell the moment her tired pants switched over to the slow breaths that meant she was asleep.

Drifting off full of my cum and cock was almost enough to make me ignore the flag staring me in the face. Come morning, I’d have to address the fact that she’d called me by my full name for a second time now.

# # #

Sleeping wrapped around Rhallani (and, in this case, with Rhallani wrapped around me) once again proved to be some of the best sleep I’d gotten in my life. I still had nightmares, of course, but her warmth chased them away as soon as I returned to consciousness. Though, as I couldn’t help but notice when I groggily woke that morning, her warmth was in a rather unusual spot.

It wasn’t until I felt her tongue on my sac that I realized she’d woken me by wrapping her soft lips around my shaft, and she was currently taking it deeper than she had the first time. My hands found her hair and I ran my fingers through it, which led to her humming happily into my cock. The sensation drew a groan out of me, which only caused her to do it again.

“You are going to be the death of me,” I said softly.

Then Scarlet spoke, and both Rhallani and I froze. “Sir, may this one go relieve herself?” she asked, kneeling on her bedroll with only a shirt on.

“Of c—course,” I stammered. Rhallani had frozen well over halfway down my length, and I could feel her tongue straining towards my sac. “You don’t have to ask for my permission for that. You can go whenever you need, though don’t go too far.”

Her head still didn’t move, but Rhallani’s soft fingers had risen to slowly and carefully massage my balls. Scarlet nodded, and I saw her eyes flick towards where Rhallani was curled up around my lower half, but she didn’t say another word.

As soon as she was gone, I grabbed a fistful of Rhallani’s hair. “You little shit,” I said with a laugh, “she definitely heard that.” I used my grip to drag her up and down on my cock, and she moaned appreciatively.

One hand slid up to work the shaft without breaking contact with my skin while the other continued fondling me. I’d woken halfway through the process, so it wasn’t long before I was unloading down her throat. Just like last time, the amazing heat of her mouth didn’t slip off me until she’d swallowed every drop. I shuddered at the feeling of her lips dragging across the head.

Once she was done, she tucked me back into my underwear and climbed up and out so that she was laying on my chest. I rolled with her until we were both on our sides and pulled her into a deep kiss. She groaned when I broke it, resting her head on my arm. “Gods I love how you taste, Ren.”

I laughed while I slowly straightened out the hair I’d messed up, then wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes from where she’d been trying to deepthroat me. “The feeling is entirely mutual.”

She giggled when I started peppering her neck with kisses, but I couldn’t let things go too far. Not before we had a talk that’s been a long time coming. I pulled back and just took a moment to look at her. Her perfect pale white face. Her narrow nose that wrinkled even as I looked at her. Her mesmerizing blue and gold eyes that I could look into forever. Her thin, soft lips that felt heavenly no matter where she put them.

I let out a long sigh. “A goddess tasked me with preparing the world for an outsider god who was attracted by Grimsbane’s final ritual.”

She blinked. Then blinked again. Then her eyes started to glow. “That’s…”

“Insane?”

“So much cooler than any of the theories I was coming up with.”

It was my turn to blink in shock. “You actually believe me?”

“Ren, you’re carrying a magic sword that’s capable of unraveling magic and eating souls. You being a Chosen is hardly the most outlandish part of you.”

A fair point, I suppose. Although… “I’m not a Chosen. Not technically, at least.”

Then she frowned. “You’ve got a mythic class, though.”

“And I had it long before I struck a deal with the goddess.”

That surprised her. “A deal? You made an actual deal with a goddess?”

“It’s complicated, but yes.” She was taking this remarkably well, though I suppose she’d already guessed most of it. “Chosen are gifted their class by a god or goddess and are expected to serve their interests because of it. She came to me after because of my class and its properties, so she had to offer something in return.”

She chewed on her lip. I knew the look to mean she was struggling with just which line of inquiry to pursue next. “The sword is related, then?”

“She seems to think the sword is what the god is after.” Her hands traveled up my chest and started drumming against my skin. Her chewing intensified, and her thighs started squirming against one another.

“Go on,” I said with a chuckle, “ask and I’ll answer.”

“You’re the real Zaren Nocht?” she asked before I even stopped speaking.

“That’s right.”

“How?”

“The goddess put me to sleep for thirty years, though she didn’t tell me it was going to be for so long.”

“You said only you could wield the sword. Why?”

“I don’t know the specifics, but my class revolves around true darkness, which in accompaniment to light is one of the two true primal magics. Something about the interaction between the sword and primal magics makes me able to direct the destructive curse in the blade. She also boosted my Resilience, which helps me resist the curse.”

“How much?”

“I’ve got seventy.”

“Seventy!?”

“That’s right.”

“And you’re really only level nine? You don’t have another class?”

“That’s right, the goddess reset my level when she put me down to sleep.”

“How long before we met did you wake up?”

“About a day.”

“You jumped eight levels in a day?”

“Four, technically. She only dropped me to level five.”

She was practically vibrating. “That means she didn’t reset you, she just took your levels.”

“There’s a difference?”

“A reset would have made you pick a new starting class, according to the stories, but to take your levels means she either kept the experience for herself or used it for something. Now shut up, I’m asking the questions here.”

I raised a brow, but didn’t comment. She thought for a few more seconds. “The outer god?”

“I know nothing about them, and neither did the goddess when we spoke.”

“You haven’t spoken since?”

“Apparently it’s bad for the soul to talk without using the correct channels.”

“Damn it, we need to find you a cleric, priestess, or oracle. Preferably a gorgeous one with really big boobs.”

“Are you trying to build me a harem?”

She jabbed me in the chest. “I said I’m the one asking questions! Which goddess?”

I hesitated at that. “Allura.”

That caused her to sputter. “The sex goddess!?”

“She’s not a sex goddess,” I argued in spite of myself, “she’s the goddess of love, family, and bonds. But yes, the sex goddess.”

There were tears in her eyes as her hands drifted up to cup my cheeks. “Then my prayers really were answered.” Then it was back to business. “Your plan?”

“Get to the capital, see what the situation is like, start trying to repair the rift between humans and demi-humans while I try to find information on this god.”

“Vague, but doable if you’ve got a goddess helping you.” Then her eyes went really wide. “My skill evolution.” She gripped my face and pulled me in close. “Did you fuck a new skill into me?”

I hadn’t thought of it like that, but it wasn’t a possibility we could completely discount all things considered. “I don’t know, but it’s certainly not impossible. I don’t think it’s a coincidence you got a skill that protects you from cursed writing just after you were in the presence of my very cursed blade.”

She locked up. Then she pushed away and very slowly sat up, letting the bedroll fall and baring her breasts to the room. I sat up as well, worried she’d come to the exact conclusion that had been haunting me the last few days. Her gaze fixed on a point in front of her and I knew she was looking through her skills.

Her eyes glazed over, and she brought a finger to her lips. “My skills. My class. I found the information that led me to that tower using a rare skill. Allura was pushing me towards you. I was literally made for you. To help you.”

I swallowed. “I won’t lie, it’s a possibility.”

Then a smile slowly broke out on her face. She launched herself at me with a squeal and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Awesome! Awesome, awesome, awesome! This is the best day of my life!”

The relief I felt brought a tear to my eye. I was terrified she’d hate me for that, but it seems my fears were unfounded. “If she did make you for me, she did a damn good job.”

I barely had time to make out the radiant smile on her face before she was on me, sucking on my tongue while her hands roamed roamed. It took a while, but I finally managed to get her to calm down enough to breathe.

“I’m yours,” she panted. “My class, my skills, my body, my heart, all yours. I knew you were amazing the day I met you and I was more right than I could ever have guessed.”

“Easy!” I chuckled. “Take a breath, Rhallani. You don’t have to take it that far. I want you to be my partner, not my servant.” I tugged on her collar. “This is temporary. At least, what it represents is,” I added quickly when I saw her disappointment, “if you want to make me really happy, then let me see you live a life where you’re truly happy.”

I thought she might explode, then she seemed to deflate. “Gods, you killed him. You’re the one who killed Grimsbane.”

I frowned. “Rolar killed Grimsbane.”

She shook her head. “Officially, sure, but my father told me the truth. You killed him. You saved the world. You’re a hero. A legend. You’re unbelievably amazing and I’m just… me.” Her bottom lip trembled.

I grabbed her chin and forced her to look at me. “Do you know what I was doing when the goddess found me?” She shook her head. “I was headed to the Gurges Mines. I was going to take the deepest tunnel I could find and bring that mountain down on top of me so nobody could ever use this sword again.” Her eyes went wide, and I slid my hand up so that I could caress her cheek. “I was going because I didn’t have anything left to keep me here. Everyone I’d ever cared about was gone.”

I pulled her close so that we were chest to chest, but I didn’t kiss her yet. “I killed Grimsbane because I knew I had to, but I didn’t care about what was on the other side of that fight. Even when Allura gave me this task, all I could think about was how to complete it, even if it killed me. I know we’ve barely known each other for long, but for the first time in my life I want to see what comes after. You’re the reason for that, so don’t you ever say that you’re ‘just you.’”

Her bottom lip trembled more violently, then the tears started to fall. She pushed her lips into mine, and I just held her through the wettest kiss of my life so far. Eventually she broke the kiss to just rest her head on my shoulder while I stroked her hair. I heard the rest of the camp starting to wake up outside, so I figured we wouldn’t have too much longer to ourselves. “I also wanted to talk to you about [Arcane Intuition].”

“I have the skill because of you, so of course I’ll use it for you.” Se didn’t take her head off my shoulder. “I’ll keep it on the same question of how to help you.”

“While I appreciate that, I had another question in mind.”

“Name it.”

There was no sugarcoating the information I so desperately needed right now. “I need you to ask who’s hunting me.”

She shot up like she’d been electrocuted. “What!?”

I quickly explained the drawing I’d found on the bandits that had attacked us before and my suspicions of a larger camp. “Someone is after my sword, and we need to know if it’s just another asshole out for power or someone related to this outer god. They showed up a little too quickly after I’d awoken for my tastes.”

A determined look settled on her face. “Of course. I won’t let you down.”

“I very much doubt you ever could.”

I could see in her eyes the promise of what she wanted to do to me in that moment, but it simply wasn’t to be. The flap opened, and I turned expecting to see Scarlet.

“Rhallani, do you know where Ren is? Scarlet is being very unelp—” Serena froze when she saw us. She saw Rhallani first, going red when she realized the Arelim was completely naked. Her eyes lingered on her exposed breasts before she looked to me. Our eyes met and her redness deepened, then her eyes roamed down my body, taking in every muscle and every scar, before stopping at the bulge in my undershorts Rhallani had drawn out of me.

She squeaked out an apology and disappeared, which made Rhallani laugh until more tears were coming from her eyes. I shot her a look and she calmed just enough to speak. “I thought that only happened in my trashy romance novels!” Then she laughed even harder.

Scowling, I threw her shirt at her. I quickly got dressed, then went looking for Serena to do some damage control. I found her outside, strapping the last of her armor on with Sola’s aid. I couldn’t see her face since her back was to me, but her hair was in a thick braid that fell down her back so I could tell her ears were still red. Sola saw me coming, looked to Serena with a raised brow, then said something that sounded suspiciously like “good job, girlie,” before winking at me and sauntering off.

“Sorry about that, Rhallani basically knows no shame and I—” The words died in my throat when I saw her face. She was furious. Not with me, I realized when I felt a spike of fear come from her, but herself.

“You must hate me,” she said angrily. “How could you not?”

Dear gods. Why do I seem to be exclusively attracted to women with this mindset. “Serena, I can assure you I don’t. Why would I?”

She adjusted the armor on her forearm to give herself an excuse not to look at me. “For insinuating you could put someone else through something like what Scarlet went through when you—when you look like that.”

Ah. That’d do it. She’d certainly gotten an eyeful of more than just my bulge. “Like I said last night, I’m not going to waste my time being angry at you for caring about another person. You couldn’t have known about my past yesterday.”

“You’re right. I couldn’t have known anything about you, and I assumed the worst immediately. I’m despicable.”

I laughed at that. “Hardly. You just need to learn to look a little better before you leap.”

“Even if you’ve forgiven me for it,” she said, switching to fiddling with her other forearm, “how can I forgive myself?”

“You do better next time. Sometimes that’s all you can do.” I could tell she was going to keep beating herself up about it, so I looked around to make sure everyone else was busy. They were, so I grabbed her hand and pulled her into the tent she was changing in front of. She squeaked in alarm, but didn’t fight me.

We had to both kneel down in the tent’s tight confines, but once we had I lifted my shirt. Her eyes went wide and she tried to look away, but I grabbed her hand. “Look, Serena. Please.”

It took her a second, but she finally did. She turned a little green while she looked over them. I flicked a strap on her wrist and pulled a gauntlet off, then led her fingers to two jagged scars from where a wild dog had torn into me when I was thirteen. “We all have our scars. Some you can see, some you can’t. These? These are nothing compared to some of the internal ones I’ve built up over the years.”

Her fingers trailed over my abs, tracing the line where I’d been caught off guard by a starving kid and nearly been disemboweled for it. It stopped on the one that was clearly fresher than the others, a short white line just a few inches to the right of my navel. “Want to know where I got that one?”

She didn’t take her eyes off it, but she nodded. “Rhallani stabbed me,” I told her. Her gaze shot up to mine, eyes wide. “I stumbled across her unconscious and trapped, and she panicked when she woke up and saw me kneeling over her. I forgave her, do you know why?”

She shook her head, so I said, “because I’ve been hurt by a lot of people in my life. Enough to know the difference between someone who hurts you because they don’t know better and someone who hurts you because they want to.” I gently turned her hand over, running a thumb across her palm, and slid her gauntlet back on. I talked while I redid her straps. “Did your words hurt? Sure. But you felt bad about them. You beat yourself up plenty as far as I’m concerned, and the event is going to make you a better person. It’s all water under the bridge. Don’t forget how you felt, but don’t let it drag you down, either.”

I gave the gauntlet a tug to make sure it’d set right. “We lash out when we’re afraid or frustrated or when we feel like things are happening that aren’t in our control. It’s just our nature. We can choose to hold everyone responsible for every little thing, or we can choose to move on and better one another. I’ve seen far too much pain and suffering in my time to go with the former.”

I lowered my shirt and it broke whatever trance she was in. “We should—” she cleared her throat. “We should go. People might make assumptions otherwise.”

I laughed. “I’m good, but I’m not ‘quickie through a skirt of armor’ good.”

She blushed and crawled out so quickly she nearly took the tent with her. By the time I was exiting, she was looking at her hand in confusion. “You put it on better than Fel does, and he bought the thing.”

I was just about to make a comment in poor taste about not just being good at re-dressing women when Rhallani swooped in with a broken down tent under her arm and Scarlet in tow. “Oh, good, you two made up. Here you go, Ren.”

I touched the tent and banished it to my storage, then I noticed the packs in Scarlet’s hands. Mine was thrown over her shoulder, but Rhallani’s was clutched in her hand. She hardly seemed bothered by the weight of all the books. “Scarlet, may I see those?”

She held mine out first and I banished it, then she lifted Rhallani’s pack with a straight arm like it weighed nothing. I banished it, careful not to show how impressed I was. It seemed our little mystery demi-human was rather strong indeed. Rhallani noticed it too, and we exchanged a glance that promised we’d discuss it later.

I turned back to Serena, who was very pointedly trying not to look at Rhallani’s chest. “Serena,” I pulled her attention to me, “what was it you wanted to ask me about?”

Her blush returned. Gods, it was easier to get this girl to turn red than Rhallani. I’d named the wrong girl Scarlet. “N-nothing! It was nothing. Forget about it.” I couldn’t help but notice her eyes flick towards Rhallani, and my brows rose.

“You should know,” I told her, “that I’ve yet to meet someone more stubborn than me. Don’t tell me, and I’ll spend the day pestering you.”

Serena tried to cross her arms, but it was evident she’d picked up the habit when not wearing armor. “Well, if you must know, I was wondering if you’d like to join me during our travel today. I’d like you to tell me everything I did wrong last night so that I can do better in the future, but that won’t be necessary. I’ve thought better of it.”

Rhallani elbowed me. “Last night?”

“The duel!” Serena exploded. “Last night during the duel, and at no other point!”

I opened my mouth, but Rhallani beat me to it. “He’d love to! I, for one, think its a great idea. And,” she leaned closer to Serena, “if you have any questions he can’t answer, I’d love to.”

Serena drew herself up with her chin lifted. “In that case, I do have one question.”

Rhallani’s eyes glittered, but my battle senses activated. There was a trap here somewhere. “Ask away!”

“I—is it a prerequisite to stab Ren before bedding him?”

Rhallani’s jaw practically hit the floor, but if she responded I missed it. I was too busy doubled over, holding my sides in laughter. Rhallani finally recovered, though her face was crimson, and whirled on me. “You told her that?” she demanded. Then she whipped out her dagger. “You know what? Yes. Yes it is. Here, you can use mine.”

I only laughed harder at the shocked look on Serena’s face as Rhallani turned the tables. They both glared at me, though I saw blushing smiles all around. Once I wiped enough of the tears away to be able to see again, I looked at each of them in turn, Scarlet included. She was staring at me, and though her gaze seemed as disinterested as usual, up close I could tell that her head was definitely tilted like she was confused.

I didn’t have long to dwell on that, though. All the drivers were loaded up and the carriages were starting their motion. “Serena, all jokes aside, I would love to walk with you today.”

“If you insist,” she said, though when we started walking I noticed she had a bit of a bounce in her step. The snow was kind enough to wait for us to get moving before it started falling in low lazy drifts, but I made good on my agreement and walked Serena through everything I remembered from the duel. I wasn’t at all surprised that she responded to criticism better than compliments, and as long as it was relating to her technique with an actual spear she was focused and driven.

It was a productive conversation, right up until the caravan came across the body.

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