Chapter 50: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood"

I now have an editor, so you all shouldn't need to put up with my typos and poor/dyslexic editing skills anymore. :)

* * *

Taloni sat bolt upright on the bed in the captain's cabin, awakened from a deep sleep with her heart pounding, hands shaking, and wings buzzing. She looked around the room franticly, seeing nothing out of the ordinary in the near-darkness. The moon and stars were casting a little light into the room, but not a lot. No one else was there except her fellow wives, who were all still sleeping.

She was almost panting and she took a moment to intentionally breathe normally. She put a hand over her pounding heart as it slowly returned to a normal rhythm.

What was that?

It wasn't a dream because she'd woken up from a sound sleep. She looked down and saw that she was still wearing her self-cleaning dress from the previous day and hadn't taken it off in her sleep like usual, probably because Ethan wasn't there. Looking around, Kendra and Beth were still clothed as well.

Alana and Rachel weren't.

The couple had removed their dresses -- probably in their sleep -- and were both laying on their sides facing each other. They were snuggled up to each other so closely that the Fey teen didn't think they could get much closer. Their arms were around each other, their foreheads were resting against each other's, and their breathing was in perfect sync.

That more than anything helped to calm her heart.

Kendra mumbled something and then her eyes fluttered open, blinking and yawning as she woke. The instant her eyes fell on the Fey teen, her eyes snapped open and she sat up. She was clearly still waking up, but also clearly alert and ready for action.

"What's wrong?" The dragon huntress whispered.

"I... I don't know." Taloni replied. "I woke up feeling like... like..." She frowned, not able to articulate it.

Kendra had been sleeping between Bee and Tee as she often did. She expertly rolled off the bed to land in a crouched position, grabbing her dragon-steel sword which was at the edge of the bed as she did so.

She didn't make a single sound nor disturb the still-sleeping blonde.

"I'll be right back." She whispered, then silently drew her sword and slipped out through the captain's cabin door without making a single sound.

Taloni nodded and climbed off the bed as carefully as she could. She managed to avoid waking Beth as well, though she wasn't nearly as silent as the former Aldmiri had been. She waited in the captain's cabin for a minute or two until Kendra returned. Her sword was now sheathed and she didn't look tense, but she did look wary.

"The ship is clear." She whispered. "What's wrong?"

Taloni took a deep breath but wasn't surprised that the Argo was safe. As she thought about it, that strange feeling she'd woken up with didn't seem connected to the Argo or them. In fact, she felt like it was more connected to...

She frowned.

"I'm going to check on Master." She whispered, then thought to their husband. *Master, are you awake?*

She didn't get a response immediately and his mental tone was groggy when he did respond. *Is something wrong Tee?*

*Not here Master, but I woke up with a really bad feeling about something and wanted to make sure you were okay.*

*Yeah Tee, I'm okay. Let me check everyone else and the area.* About a minute later, he replied again. *Everything seems fine here, was it just a nightmare?*

*Maybe?* She frowned, not that he could see.

*Okay, well I'm going back to sleep.* He still sounded groggy. *Let me know if anything else comes up.*

*I will Master, good night.*

*Good night Honey.*

She looked at Kendra and whispered. "He says that everything is fine."

The dragon huntress looked at her for several long moments before whispering in reply. "You are one of the most intuitive people that I've ever met, which is saying something. If something is bothering you, there's likely a reason; what does your gut tell you?"

"I feel like Master is in danger, but I don't know from what." She whispered after a few moments.

Kendra nodded slowly, then half-smiled. "More danger than usual you mean?"

Tee nodded.

Kendra's smile faded. "It's good you woke him, but we can't do much from here."

"We can pray." Tee suggested.

"Good idea." The raven-haired woman nodded, then cocked her head to one side. "You usually get up early to pray and read the Book of Light, right?"

"I do."

Kendra got a thoughtful expression for several moments. "I can't read Fey, but if you're willing to translate I might like to join you."

"Really?"

The dragon huntress nodded. "I used to be a lot more devout, but I've slipped since I went solo and left the Aldmiri. I'd like to start again."

Taloni threw her arms around her fellow wife and gave her a tight hug as she whispered excitedly. "I would love that! Let's start right after we pray for Master."

Kendra hugged her back and it was a good hug. Not awkward at all and tight, but not too tight. She must've been getting a lot of practice.

* * *

Ethan tried to go back to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come. He had initially thought that maybe Taloni was just overreacting to a nightmare or something, but that seemed less likely the more he thought about it and the more awake he became. She was incredibly intuitive and it seemed like a bad idea to ignore that. The only downside was that he had no idea why she felt that way which made it hard to plan.

He laid down for maybe half an hour before realizing that he was far too awake and he got up. Talven, Salma, and their kids were still sleeping so he did another stealthy reconnoiter of the campsite and surrounding woods, just to be safe.

Everything was still all clear.

It was still dark and the sky hadn't started to lighten yet when something started bothering him. Well, not precisely him but more his dragon instincts. He'd learned to tell the difference between what bothered him and what bothered the primal, reptilian part of his brain. This was the dragon, but he probably wouldn't have noticed the feeling if Taloni hadn't woken him up and he wasn't paying attention. Frankly, he would probably still be asleep.

Hmm.

He felt... unsettled.

The feeling slowly grew in intensity over the next few minutes until it was unmistakable. He got up and went to the edge of the patch of trees and looked towards the road without revealing himself.

There was dust.

He frowned.

The road had dust small clouds on it like someone had been galloping on a horse, and yet he had neither seen nor heard one. The dust was only just starting to settle, so whoever it was must've passed by recently.

Hmm.

He took a deep breath as he thought about it, but unfortunately got some of that dust into his nose. He wiggled it about for a moment trying to relieve the tickle that had formed before he lost that battle and sneezed.

Fire.

He sneezed fire.

Granted it wasn't a lot of fire, but it was definitely some. It was more like a little puff of flame, but it was still flame. Oddly, he had felt a slight bit of his mana drain as the fire had spurted out. Not a lot, but definitely some. It appeared that dragons used at least some mana to breathe fire.

Hmm.

Interesting.

He grinned, unsettled feeling and mana cost notwithstanding. He could breathe fire. He wouldn't be able to use it in a fight for some time, but he was getting closer to using it. His grin faltered as his momentary elation gave way to the persistent, unsettling feeling in the background. Something wasn't right but he didn't know what.

He went back to Talven's family to check on them and they were all fine and still sleeping. Salma was curled up against Talven in a similar way to how his wives often curled up against him, and the kids were sleeping peacefully nearby as well. Ethan paced the camp slowly, trying to figure out what was going on.

Not long after, Ethan started feeling like he was being watched.

The feeling came on gradually, but before long it was definitely there. It was the kind of thing that made his scales stand up just a bit and a cool shiver run down his spine. Suddenly, his dragon instincts were wanting him to run; to flee. That was incredibly rare. The only other time he could remember his dragon instincts telling him to flee like this was when he'd met Sarah. That was the only time. They hadn't even pushed him to flee when Kyrupto had nearly killed him, and he was a Drago.

Strange.

He was a long way from the innkeeper's daughter and couldn't think what could be making him feel this way. There was one obvious explanation, but that seemed way too farfetched. He kept his head on a swivel for the next hour as the sky slowly grew lighter and eventually Talven's family roused themselves.

"Is something wrong?" Talven asked him after yawning and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Ethan hesitated, wanting to tell the man but also not wanting to scare the children. "I've got a funny feeling. Come on, I'll tell you about it while we look for some firewood." He flicked his eyes pointedly at Talven's sword, then nodded his head towards a less dense part of the small patch of trees they'd camped in.

Talven nodded and stood, grabbing his sword as he did so.

Smart man.

Once they were a short distance away -- far enough to talk but not so far that Ethan couldn't be back to protect Salma and the children in a flash -- Ethan told him what had happened so far that morning. He also noticed that Salma appeared to be keeping the children close.

Smart woman.

"And you don't know why you feel that way?" Talven asked when Ethan finished explaining.

Ethan shook his head. "No, but I don't like being in this patch of trees; too much opportunity for an ambush if something is out there."

Talven nodded, then inclined his head towards his family, speaking once they had returned. "Okay, time to get moving."

"But father, we haven't eaten yet." His son said, Ben if Ethan remembered right.

"It's not time for breakfast yet." Salma said, supporting her husband's decision. "I think we'll eat soon though." She looked at Talven for confirmation.

"We will." He replied.

It didn't take long to get everyone out of the patch of trees and Ethan was glad to see the back of it. The feeling of being watched lessened slightly once they were out, but it didn't fully go away. Ethan glanced behind him every few seconds until they'd put a good half-mile between themselves and the patch of trees. Even afterwards he glanced back often, just to make sure because the feeling hadn't gone away.

The trouble was, this part of Ivernia had no shortage of shrubs, bushes, and small patches of trees alongside the road which someone could hide behind. Even with as little experience as Ethan had in sneaking, he was pretty certain that even he could follow someone without being seen.

They stopped once they were about a mile away and had found a spot with relatively few nearby things for someone to hide behind. Talven's family broke out the breakfast that Gabriella had left for them once they sat down just off the road. Ethan insisted on eating the food that Anthiel had packed, at least until the little toddler had precariously and haltingly walked over to him and offered him a small piece of her bread. That brought a smile to his face and he couldn't turn it down.

He still kept looking over his shoulder though, because that feeling of being watched hadn't disappeared.

* * *

Alana woke that morning to the sun streaming in through the window, feeling simultaneously exactly like most mornings and completely different as well. She always woke up at least partially snuggled with Rachel, but this morning they were completely entwined with each other.

Completely.

Their legs, arms, and even their hair seemed completely wrapped up in each other. She had never been so intimately wrapped up with another person, except for possibly Ethan. Even then, they tended to spoon and so usually didn't get this intertwined. Making it even better was the fact that they were both completely and utterly naked and so their bare skin was touching.

It was wonderful.

She could think of only a few times in her life when she had been this happy before. Only marrying Ethan and discovering that she was pregnant could top it, and this moment ranked with meeting her parents for how full it made her heart feel.

She sighed.

Rachel smiled slightly, then whispered with her eyes still closed. "I thought you were sleeping."

"Mmm, I thought you were too." The wood elf whispered sleepily.

"If I'm sleeping and this is a dream, then I don't want to wake up." The redhead said, then several moments later she stiffened up just slightly.

Alana smiled; her friend's mouth had run ahead of her brain again. It was so adorable when that happened. "If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up either." She replied.

Rachel relaxed again and then snuggled slightly closer to her. "And this is okay?"

"Mmm, it's better than okay." Alana luxuriated in the sensation as her mind began to drift. She remembered riding at sunset with her wonderful best friend, the delightful conversation they'd shared, and how when they'd slipped back to bed together the redhead had--

Her eyes snapped open as she remembered...

She bit her lip.

Had Rachel really... Did she imagine it?

"What?" The redhead asked quietly.

Alana looked around. Taloni and Kendra were at the desk talking in low voices, probably so they didn't wake anyone. Beth was still asleep on the bed and she looked quite out of it. The wood elf looked back at the redhead and touched her cheek where she thought that Rachel had...

Mmm.

She smiled. "Did you kiss my cheek last night?"

Rachel swallowed, averted her eyes, bit her lip, and then nodded slowly. "I'm sorry."

"Please don't be." Her smile widened of its own accord. "I liked it."

Rachel looked up at her and returned the smile. "Really?"

Alana nodded. "Of course; it's you."

Rachel blinked several times as she smiled and it looked like she might cry in happiness. Her voice cracked slightly. "I'm glad." She looked down slightly. "I was worried that you might not want... or that I should've asked... What I mean is... uh..."

Alana raised her arm a bit and rested it on Rachel's bare shoulder. The wood elf was laying on her right side and the lord's daughter on her left, which put the redhead's right shoulder up. It was the shoulder with the burn scar from when they had fought Gonorran. Rachel stopped trying to get the words out at her simple touch.

"It's okay; I feel the same way." Alana said gently.

"I know." Rachel whispered quietly.

Alana smiled at her, glad that her best friend knew. She wanted to share this news with Ethan and turned her mind towards him, but in doing so she felt what he was feeling over their bond. Her eyes widened and she grimaced.

"What?" Rachel's eyes were suddenly large and fearful.

"Check your bond with our husband."

Moments later, Rachel also grimaced.

"I think this is worth waking Beth." Alana said at a normal volume level, then gave the blonde a gentle shake while also thinking to the group chat. *Sir, what's wrong?*

He, Taloni, and Kendra filled everyone in, and Beth woke up in plenty of time to hear everything. The other wives had thoughtfully turned their backs to give Alana and Rachel some privacy to dress. The wood elf didn't care, but she knew the redhead appreciated it.

*That doesn't sound good.* Selene said when he'd finished; apparently she was awake too.

*No kidding.* He replied. *I've got Talven's family here and I feel like I'm being watched.* He hesitated. *No, I feel like I'm being hunted.*

*By what?* Beth asked.

*I don't know.* He replied. *I even took a quick fly to see if I could see anything, but no dice; there's just too many places where whoever it is could hide. I think I even caught a glimpse of something moving once or twice, but there's too much cover so I have no idea what it is. Hell, I don't even know if it really is something or if I'm being paranoid.*

*I don't think you're being paranoid.* Rachel offered. *Everyone's favorite Fey is very intuitive; I doubt she was worried for no reason.*

"Thank you." Taloni smiled at her, but it was a small smile and short-lived.

"It's true." The redhead replied simply.

*Be the hunter, not the prey.* Kendra suggested. *That was one of the first things they taught us about hunting dragons. If you feel like you're being hunted, you need to change the variables. Find a new location, a new angle, or lead it into a trap. Don't be hunted, hunt.*

*But Talven and Salma are there with their kids.* Taloni said fearfully.

The dragon huntress frowned, but nodded. *That's one thing I don't have a lot of experience in. We didn't spend much time protecting people.*

*Ethan, you said that you felt like you were being watched in the clump of trees before Talven's family woke up, right?* Selene asked.

*Yeah.* He replied.

*Then maybe whatever it is doesn't want an audience when it attacks?* The Brazilian woman suggested. *A fight would've woken the others and maybe it doesn't want that?*

*That would make sense.* Kendra added. *However, we still don't know what it is.*

*And that's what scares me.* Ethan replied.

*Sir, are we sure that it's after you?* Alana interjected. *That would make sense, but what if it's after Talven's family and you're in the way?*

No one said anything for several moments.

*That seems unlikely.* Kendra pointed out. *However, I wouldn't be willing to gamble their lives on it.*

*Neither would I.* Ethan replied.

*I don't think it's after them, though I obviously agree about not gambling on that.* Selene added after a few moments. *From what you've said, the only people they've ever upset was the Ivernian military, and they went out of their way to make sure the family wasn't hurt.* She paused. *Well, not hurt physically anyway. On the other hand, Ethan's list of enemies is growing by the day.*

*Ugh, don't remind me.* His tone carried the edge of a groan in it.

*Good point.* Alana replied.

*It seems strange that it isn't attacking because of them.* Ethan finally said. *Talven is a good guy, but he couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag, whereas whatever is following me is powerful enough to make my dragon side want to run. I don't think it's about witnesses because it could probably just kill them.*

*Then what could it be about?* Beth asked.

No one replied.

*Okay, I'll keep going as I have been for now and get Talven's family somewhere safe, then look for someplace to confront whatever it is that's following me. Hopefully, we'll get over that toll on the bridge without incident.*

*Drago, I've done missions in Ivernia before.* Kendra spoke up. *The Ivernian soldiers are more susceptible to bribes than most. While you could easily get through with steel, silver might be the wiser choice of metal.*

*I'll keep that in mind, thanks.* Ethan replied. There was silence for several moments before he spoke again. *If anything happens, know that I love you all dearly.*

*Please don't even talk like that Sir.* Alana replied, her heart in her throat. *You're coming back in one piece and that's final.*

*That's the plan.* He replied.

*And we love you too.* She added after a few moments and all her co-wives echoed the sentiment

*Though, not all of us in the same way.* Selene added with some amusement, probably in an attempt to lighten the somber mood.

*lol.* Ethan replied.

*What does 'lol' mean?* Beth asked.

He explained, then added. *I won't be able to drop Talven and Salma off with their relatives until tonight, so hopefully I'll be safe until then. Hopefully.*

*Hopefully you'll be safe much longer than that.* Alana said. *And there's still that bounty out on us, so please make sure you keep the disguise gem on.*

*I haven't turned it off since we started traveling.* Ethan replied. *Have fun today ladies. I'll let you know when I drop them off.*

*Be careful Master.* Taloni said.

*I will, and you be careful as well.*

*We will Drago; I'll make sure of it.* Kendra said firmly. Alana couldn't help but smile; the dragon huntress had taken to protecting her new family with the same fierceness that a dragon protects his lair.

"Speaking of." The wood elf said aloud. "I need to finish enchanting my travel bow so I can wear it like a belt. Given all that's going on, that's my highest priority right now."

"How long will it take?" Beth asked.

"Not too long if I can have a volunteer to donate mana."

"I will." Rachel volunteered.

Alana couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Sarah found herself humming as she arranged some fresh fruit on a platter that would be sent up to the great hall. Despite everything she'd learned about Lady Ekthros and the possibility that the woman she'd once thought of as her rescuer might have been her captor, she couldn't help but feel a certain lightness of mood.

She didn't need to be afraid.

That simple truth was more freeing than anything she'd ever felt in her entire life and she couldn't describe the joy welling up in her soul. She couldn't keep a smile off of her face either.

"Well, someone's in a good mood." Fiona said as she deposited a bunch of freshly-washed grapes onto the table.

"I am." She smiled. "It's wonderful not being afraid all the time."

"Aye, I'm seeing that." Fiona chuckled, then looked at the platter. "That's looking marvelous; very artistic."

"Thank you." Sarah beamed. "My mom always encouraged me in things like this. I just kind of stopped doing them after... well, you know."

"Then perhaps you should be getting back into it?" The copper-haired woman suggested. "Anywho, there's more fruit to be washing." She headed back to the sink while Sarah incorporated the newly-deposited bunch of grapes onto the platter.

"Hmm, looks good." The head cook, Marge, grunted. "Lady Ekthros asked if you specifically could take her breakfast up to her." She was looking at Sarah with a look that was almost suspicious, but not quite.

"Um, I don't know where her room is." Sarah replied, not looking forward to seeing her again.

"The directions are easy; you can't miss it." Marge replied. "She also wanted you to make her breakfast; something about oatmeal you made for her before."

"Okay." The innkeeper's daughter nodded, but inwardly could almost feel herself tensing up... then something occurred to her.

She didn't need to be afraid of Lady Ekthros either.

Sure the lady was probably dangerous, and doubly so if she was dabbling in the dark arts, but Sarah herself couldn't be hurt by her. Not anymore. Besides, there was no reason to think that Lady Ekthros had any idea that Sarah suspected her of being a mage. She had no reason to think that Sarah knew anything beyond what she'd been told.

She smiled.

She would be careful, but she didn't need to be afraid. That reminded her of another situation that needed attention. She decided to start asking around to see if she could find Amy, the girl she'd seen being bullied the day she'd arrived in Karnas. Hopefully, she'd get to talk to her that very day.

Realizing that she had a full day planned, she started humming a lullaby that her mother used to sing to her while she finished arranging the tray.

* * *

"Liza, sit up straight."

Selene glanced over to the head of the table as Shara told her daughter for the... fifth? time that morning to correct her posture. She wasn't annoying about it, but it looked like the woman's children would have perfect manners before they turned ten. The girl, Liza, sat up straighter and continued eating her food.

They were in one of the smaller dining halls in Laerten's castle. Shara and Lyra had invited them down for breakfast in preparation for a long day filled with shopping. The Brazilian woman wasn't sure what to make of that. Her trips to the store had always been eminently practical and thus she'd never really done a stereotypical girl's shopping day. Well, maybe when she was younger before her brother had died.

Around the table were Ethan's wives, Selene, Shara, Lyra, their children, the former queen Hylea, and the former king; Selene couldn't remember his name though.

"You too Julian." Shara said to Lyra's oldest boy, who had apparently been named after the horsewoman's father.

Julian turned to his mother. "Ma'ma, do I have to listen to Mama Shara?"

The ash blonde gave her son 'the look', then nodded.

Julian slumped slightly, then he seemed to realize that he wasn't doing as told and sat up straight.

Selene chuckled.

"I don't miss those days." Rachel said with a smile.

"I'd love to miss them." Lyra rolled her eyes. "Shar here seems intent on making sure that I don't embarrass myself with my rancher's-daughter table manners. The nerve!" She winked.

Everyone laughed, including Shara.

"So, I hear we're going shopping?" Beth said, her eyes alight with unconcealed zeal.

"Oh no, not today." Shara replied with perfect composure. "The shops are all closed today for the holiday."

Beth looked crestfallen for a moment before Shara smiled and Lyra burst out laughing.

"Okay, you got me." The blonde shook her head as she rolled her eyes.

"There is much shopping to be done and plenty of shops to visit." Shara said brightly. "I guarantee my husband will rue the day he gave me access to the crown's purse when he learns of the bill."

Beth's smile grew even wider if that were possible.

Selene chuckled, wondering how included she would be. She had been invited to go shopping with them of course, but she vaguely wondered how much of their generosity she should accept. She would be heading back to Earth in the near future and didn't want to 'shop and run'. She wouldn't feel as guilty about it if she was planning to come back to the Ten Kingdoms, but other than perhaps a quick trip to say goodbye, she wasn't planning to.

"Madam, your special course."

Selene look over at the server who was extending a silver platter with a silver dome over it towards Alana. The server set it down on the table and then stepped back.

Alana looked at it with obvious confusion. "Special course?"

"Open it!" Beth urged.

The Brazilian woman glanced at their hosts and saw Shara and Lyra giving each other the tiniest of smiles. Alana reached out and removed the lid to see-- What were those? Selene stood up a bit to get a better view. It looked like a half dozen nearly charred mini-cinnamon rolls wrapped around--

The wood elf gasped as she picked one up. "The travel arrows!"

"I thought it would be bad form to subject you to the lewd comments of one of our city's citizens for a second time." Shara said. "I sent one of the guards to collect them this morning to spare you that interaction."

"She's being modest." Lyra added. "She also sent some last night to make sure that they were finished by this morning."

"Thank you." The wood elf beamed as she examined them. She held the arrow by the nock and it flopped loosely for a moment before stiffening into being as straight as, well, an arrow. The wood elf grabbed the head and nock and pulled them in opposite directions, probably testing their strength and construction.

"Well, he might have been an ass but he knows his craft." Alana finally said. "They are tight and won't budge." She then held the arrow by the nock and it suddenly coiled from the arrowhead up so the sharp point was covered by the shaft. Alana slipped it into her pocket of her dress and it was so unobtrusive that you would've never known.

"Perfect." Beth said with a twinkle in her eye. "It goes great with your new belt."

"Wait, did you say new belt?" Their ash-blonde hostess asked incredulously. "But we haven't done any shopping yet!"

"Lyra, I think it's more the kind of belt that you travel with." Their amber-haired hostess said.

"Oh, nice!" Lyra grinned and then looked at it.

Selene thought that it looked reasonably good on the wood elf. It was about the right width for a belt, though it lacked a buckle the way she wore it. The wood elf had put the bow's grip right in front so she could deploy it as fast as possible and then she'd practiced drawing it a few dozen times that morning before leaving the Argo. For some reason though, the Brazilian woman didn't think the natural leather color matched her dress very well. It should have, but it didn't.

"It needs some color." Lyra mused after a moment, apparently thinking on the same wavelength.

Shara had the tiniest of well-concealed sly smiles on her face as she spoke up. "I do think that a darker shade of red would fit perfectly." She hesitated a moment, as if thinking, and then added. "Perhaps the color of Rachel's hair and dress?"

Alana and Rachel both went slightly pink in the cheeks.

Bee and Tee immediately caught on, the former speaking up first. "I think that would be perfect!"

"You would almost look like you belong together." Taloni added with a sly grin.

"Rachel would need a belt the color of Alana's hair to make it look like they truly belonged together." Bee said with a smile that was some combination of sly, mischievous, and amused.

"Well, we are going shopping later..." Selene pointed out, unable to resist joining in the fun.

Alana and Rachel looked like they'd been caught completely flat-footed and neither seemed able to speak. Their cheeks were quite red, which was especially noticeable on Rachel's fairer skin. They looked at each other and both made to speak, but no sound came out.

Selene couldn't help but chuckle.

* * *

Ethan could feel a lot of amusement from his wives and Selene, as well as some embarrassment from his first and fourth wives. He would've loved to ask what was going on, but he had other things on his mind right now. In fact, the constant air of cheerfulness from the ladies in his life stood in stark contrast to what he himself was feeling.

That ever-present feeling of being watched hadn't disappeared.

In fact, it had done the opposite.

He found himself constantly glancing over his shoulder. When he wasn't doing that, he was keeping his head on a swivel looking for whatever was out there. He didn't know what it was, but it was making his skin crawl. He found himself keeping a hand on his sword's hilt almost constantly and jumping at unexpected noises, no matter how small. He was almost sure he'd caught the tiniest glimpse of something more than once, but it was always out of the corner of his eye as he was turning his head and he was never sure.

Damn all this vegetation that could be used for cover.

Talven was likewise somewhat on edge, but Ethan suspected that was because he was picking up on his mood and not because the man could sense something himself. However, Talven did seem to get more nervous as they approached a bridge.

For the last mile or so, they had been walking near the bank of a river that was too large to ford. They were now approaching a bridge over that river. The bridge was made of stone and looked like it had been there for quite some time, though it seemed in good repair. In fact, it looked like it was in better repair than most things in Ivernia.

It was also clearly a toll bridge.

He sighed; that explained the good repair.

A half-dozen Ivernian soldiers were milling about on top of the bridge; it really was a good place for toll. The river was very wide and looked quite deep, so few people would want to ford it. The bridge was wide enough for a wagon but not much wider, making it the perfect place for a toll.

"Remember, I'm paying." Ethan said as they got closer, trying to ignore the feeling that something was about to attack him from behind. He hoped it wouldn't; not here.

"Thank you." Talven said.

"Halt." One of the soldiers said when they got close. He sounded incredibly bored, though he looked a bit less so as he eyed Ethan's sword on his side.

Ethan stopped about ten feet away. "Is there a problem?"

The soldier shook his head. "Toll."

"One copper per person right?" Ethan asked.

The soldier nodded, then looked at Talven's family and frowned. "They look suspicious." Given their dirty clothes and general air of unkemptness, Ethan couldn't even disagree.

"Appearances can be deceiving." He replied, making sure to keep his tone neutral.

"I don't know if we can let them through." The soldier said casually. "They might cause a problem, and it takes coin to solve problems."

Ethan internally bristled at the blatant shakedown, but he remembered Kendra's suggestion, his still-crawling skin, and the lingering feeling that something was nearby waiting to pounce. He didn't want to add half a dozen Ivernian soldiers to the equation. The toll was a single copper per person, and he was about to overpay to a ludicrous degree

"You know, you make a fair point." Ethan replied, then fished out a silver coin, walked forward, and held it out towards the man. "Consider this insurance."

"I suppose you look like the trustworthy sort." The soldier took the silver coin but he was still eyeing Ethan's sword, and then he seemed to notice Talven's sword as well. "Problems caused by a sword can be very expensive to fix."

Ethan took a deep, calming breath before fishing another silver piece out. "Well, here's some extra insurance then." He looked the man in the eye as he rested his non-sword hand on his war sword. "That will be plenty to cover any... problems."

The soldier took the second coin carefully, clearly sizing Ethan up. Finally, he nodded and moved out of the way. Apparently he was content with getting over six times the toll and didn't want to tangle with a real fighter.

The travelers passed over the bridge without further incident and continued on their way. The soldiers didn't give them a second look after they'd passed, though many eyed the swords while they were passing. In hindsight, Ethan supposed that he should've expected it to go that way. Bullies usually aren't interested in a fight.

Talven pointed him to his right after they crossed the bridge, back in the direction they'd come only on the other side of the river. They had walked down the road for perhaps two hundred yards when Ethan heard a small splash coming from the river.

He whipped his head around to see ripples spreading over the surface of the river. The ripples disappeared in the current quickly, but there was no mistaking that something fairly large had just entered the river. Around the entrance point on the riverbank were a large number of bushes; bushes that something could've been using to remain hidden, especially from the toll booth.

Hmm.

He stopped and stared.

"What?" Talven asked.

"Sh, hang on." Ethan whispered, putting his finger to his lips.

He watched the surface of the water for several minutes, looking up and down trying to see if anything emerged.

Nothing did.

He waited almost five minutes but nothing broke the surface. If someone wanted to avoid the toll -- perhaps to avoid being seen -- then diving into the river would be the only way across. But five minutes underwater? That seemed like a lot for anyone except possibly a professional diver.

He frowned.

It could've been a fish. It was probably a fish; that made the most sense. At any other time, he wouldn't have even noticed the splash, nor cared if he had. But now? Today? With that feeling of his skin crawling? He slowly shook his head and tried to ignore the slight shiver in his spine and his scales standing up slightly, in addition to his skin crawling. Those feelings weren't getting weaker either.

Quite the opposite actually.

* * *

Sarah carried Lady Ekthros's breakfast on a tray towards the woman's room, not feeling what she thought she would've been feeling. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't feel a sense of dread, or apprehension, or even nervousness. True, the auburn-haired woman might be a powerful mage, but that didn't bother Sarah.

A mage had once tried to get handsy with her and it hadn't gone well for him. She had needed a new dress after his fireballs had incinerated part of hers, though the intense heat hadn't hurt her skin while under the demon's influence. Frankly, almost nothing had. Someone had once tried to stab her while she was under the demon's influence and it had barely made a scratch.

Sarah smiled; she didn't have to be afraid.

She started softly singing one of her favorite childhood toons and before long was half-walking, half-dancing down the hall.

She arrived not long afterward and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Sarah turned the doorknob and entered, curious about what the office would look like. It wasn't what she expected. Half of Lady Ekthros's office could best be described as 'organized chaos' while the other half was neat and tidy; it was even a bit artsy. There was a desk in the center of the small room and the auburn-haired woman herself was sitting behind it. There were two large stacks of papers on the desk as well. It looked like one needed attention while the other had already received it.

From an artistic perspective, the room had a pleasing 'asymmetrical symmetry' to it. The room appeared to have been arranged by two different people -- or perhaps the same person in two very different moods -- and yet it worked as a harmonious whole despite the apparent contradictions.

"Hello." Sarah said in a cheerful tone, not feeling the slightest inclination to let the lady spoil her good mood.

"Sarah, it's good to see you." Lady Ekthros smiled. The smile even reached into her eyes.

"I brought you breakfast; oatmeal with apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, walnuts, and cardamom. I'm surprised you remembered."

"That oatmeal you made that morning I stayed at your father's inn was among the best I've ever tasted." Lady Ekthros replied. "It was hard to forget."

"I'm glad to hear that." Sarah said as she set the platter on the desk, making sure not to let the steaming-hot bowl of oatmeal slide off.

"So how have you been fairing at the castle?" The other woman asked as she smelled the oatmeal and then beamed. "Ah, that's the stuff."

"Quite well." Sarah replied. Then remembering that Lady Ekthros didn't like Fiona, she decided to have some fun. She managed to keep an amused smile off her face as she spoke. "Fiona has been such a wonderful friend and has been showing me around. We're even sharing a room now, did you hear?"

"Yes, I heard that." It sounded like Lady Ekthros was intentionally keeping her tone neutral.

"How about you? How are you?" Sarah asked.

"I'm slowly catching up on a lot of work." She indicated the somewhat chaotic office and the papers on the desk. "But otherwise I'm doing well."

Sarah let the conversation die right there and didn't ask more, rather curious to see what Lady Ekthros would do.

"You seem different." The auburn-haired woman finally said. "Happier."

"I am." Sarah smiled. "Fiona helped me realize that I don't need to be so scared all the time. "I might not like my problem, but no one can hurt me when it comes out so I don't need to be afraid."

"Hmm." Lady Ekthros slowly nodded, then drew her lips into a thin line. "So, Fiona is saying that your problem isn't all bad?"

Sarah resisted the urge to laugh as she saw through what Lady Ekthros was trying to do. She had carefully reframed what Sarah had said to put Fiona in the worst possible light. It was subtle, but having spent the last couple of days going over every conversation she'd had with the woman while imprisoned, she was learning to recognize the signs of manipulation.

"No, she said she would pray for me until it was gone." Sarah corrected. "She said it was a 'silver lining' to a very bad problem."

"Ah, okay." Lady Ekthros said. She sounded like she was happy, but Sarah couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't.

"Is there any news of Ethan?" The innkeeper's daughter asked.

"Sadly yes." Lady Ekthros grimaced. "I recently got a carrier pigeon from Ivernia; he slaughtered almost three dozen Ivernian soldiers in the last week."

"Three dozen?" Sarah felt her jaw drop. "How?"

"I'm still waiting on all the details."

Sarah thought about that for a moment. Ivernian soldiers weren't known for being honest or good men. While it was impressive that Ethan had killed so many of them, it didn't necessarily make him a bad person because they were often so corrupt.

"That's a lot of soldiers; did he attack a garrison or something?" Sarah finally asked. She didn't trust Lady Ekthros to give her an accurate answer, but she was interested in how the lady answered.

"No." Lady Ekthros shook her head.

"Then, did they attack him?"

"Yes." The other woman admitted, but then added. "But only because he broke their laws rather severely."

"How?"

"He attacked some officials and caused a riot from what the letter said."

"What kind of officials?" Sarah asked.

Lady Ekthros hesitated a moment before answering. "A Reeve."

"Hmm." Sarah resisted the temptation to smile. If the Reeve that Ethan attacked was as corrupt as the rest of them, that made her less inclined to think that Ethan was guilty, not more. Even more interesting was the hesitancy with which Lady Ekthros had revealed additional details. That hesitancy seemed to be a reluctance to provide the whole story; to give an accurate picture.

She wouldn't have noticed that before.

Now she did.

"Ivernian Reeves are usually corrupt though." She finally said. "And how did three dozen Ivernian soldiers catch him? He can fly and he has an airship."

"The local duke sent two airships to bring him to justice after he attacked the Reeve."

"Oh, so they attacked him while he was on his airship with his family?" Sarah asked. The more she learned, the more Ethan came off looking good, not bad.

"Remember why that family is with him though." Lady Ekthros replied darkly, then took a bite of her oatmeal.

The innkeeper's daughter nodded slowly, remembering that the lady had made it sound like Ethan was compelling his wives to stay with him. She thought about that for a moment, but she just couldn't see it. His wives had seemed too happy with him and he seemed too happy with them. It was possible his wives were being compelled of course, but seemed unlikely.

"But I don't know for sure that he's compelling them." Sarah replied. "You gave me one explanation -- and it makes sense -- but doesn't the Book of Light say that you should hear both sides of a case when rendering judgment?"

"It does, but that could be dangerous." Lady Ekthros said when she had finished chewing. "Remember that he was looking into your mind."

Sarah smiled, again wanting to see how she might respond to something else. "Oh, that's not a problem. I went to see the court mage and he taught me how to shield my mind. Ethan can't see into my mind anymore, so I really would like to hear his side of the story." She hesitated a moment and then decided to add something else. "Do you think I shouldn't hear Ethan's side of the story as the Book of Light commands?"

Lady Ekthros eyed her for several long seconds before speaking again. "If you think you can do it safely."

"I don't know, but I'd like to try." She said, mostly because she wanted to see how the other woman would react. It was almost fun to say things that made it look like she was heading in the exact opposite direction that Lady Ekthros wanted her to.

"I would be very careful; he's armed and extremely dangerous."

"But you said he was trying to recruit me right?" Sarah asked, again mostly needling the lady. "That means I should be safe as long as he thinks I'm still willing to join him."

Again, Lady Ekthros eyed her for several long seconds before speaking. When she did speak, there was something different about her tone. Sarah couldn't place it, but despite the lady's cheerful disposition and happy expression, something about tone felt almost...

Menacing?

Lady Ekthros looked into her eyes. "You should be careful Sarah; knowingly consorting with necromancers is a capital offense in Narlotten."

There was something in her tone that sent a slight shiver down Sarah's spine. It didn't sound exactly like a threat, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was one. Something in the lady's dark gray eyes just seemed... seemed... She wasn't sure, but it was slightly unsettling whatever it was.

"I'll be careful." Sarah said, and she meant it. Suddenly, poking the proverbial dragon that was Lady Ekthros didn't seem like such a good idea.

"Good." The lady smiled at her. "I would hate for something to happen to you."

Disturbingly, this smile also reached into her eyes.

Sarah swallowed, nodded, and then gave her a slight curtsy with a smile that she didn't quite feel. "Enjoy your breakfast."

"We should get together for lunch." Lady Ekthros said, her expression still happy but her eyes were hard, cold, and calculating. "Soon."

"Okay." Sarah nodded, then slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Whoa.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

For some reason, right at the end of that conversation, it had felt like... like... She couldn't put her finger on it. Something about Lady Ekthros's expression, or body language, or something about the look in her dark gray eyes; one of those -- or perhaps a combination of them -- had been deeply unsettling for a moment.

Before this morning, she had still held some lingering doubts about Lady Ekthros.

Now she didn't.

Without reading minds, she was as sure as she could be that Lady Ekthros wasn't a good person. She was sad about that, but it did make her smile for one simple reason; it meant that Ethan almost certainly was a good person.

She smiled.

Her smile faltered for a moment when she remembered that she was betrothed to Rindrin. The blacksmith was a good man, but he wasn't... well, he wasn't Ethan. She would marry Rindrin and be the best, most faithful wife she could possibly be. Even if...

She slowly shook her head.

She took a deep breath and started heading back towards the kitchens. Nothing could spoil her good mood today. And since she was now reasonably sure that Ethan was a good man, she was going to take his advice. He had told her about one of his childhood heroes who had said: "With great power, comes great responsibility."

She was determined to find Amy before the end of the day and start helping her with her bullying problem. She was pretty sure that she could find the girl if she started asking the cooks in the kitchens. If that failed, she could ask the maids she encountered while working. Someone was bound to know.

She started humming again as she walked towards the kitchens, occasionally doing a dance step or two as she went.

* * *

"What about this one?" Beth asked, holding up a belt that almost exactly matched the color of Alana's hair.

"Um..." Rachel hesitated, looking like a fish out of water.

They were in a shop that specialized in ladies' wear. The unanimous consent of the ladies was that clothes shopping came first, and the blonde was glad because she hadn't been clothes shopping properly in soooooo long. Shara and Lyra had taken them to an upscale tailor which had examples of their wares on display, though of course they wouldn't be in town long enough to buy a dress because it would need to be fitted and then sewn.

"It's nice." Rachel said, but her tone sounded quite unsure.

"Okay, how about this one?" The blonde held up another one.

"Maybe?" The redhead had only given it a glance and then she looked down again.

"Beth, can I talk to you for a moment?" Alana said after looking at Rachel's reaction.

"Sure." The blonde followed the wood elf to a corner of the shop.

"Beth, I appreciate what you're trying to do -- and I must admit that I like the idea of Rachel and I wearing belts that match each other -- but you're making her uncomfortable." She glanced at the redhead, who was standing with one arm at her side and the other arm crossed across her front. Her head was slightly bowed, her shoulders somewhat hunched, and she was hiding her face with her hair a bit.

"Okay, sorry." The blonde grimaced. "I just think you two are so cute together."

"Thanks." Alana smiled sheepishly.

"I'll stop." Beth said. "But I still think it's a really cute idea."

Alana's smile became wider and more sheepish. "Me too."

Beth went over to Rachel. "Hey, I'm sorry I've been pushing."

"It's okay." The redhead had a small, half-embarrassed smile on her face.

"Good, because you and Alana are so cute together."

"Thanks." Rachel smiled sheepishly.

Out of the corner of her eye, Beth saw Tee pull out another chocolate-brown belt. She caught the Fey teen's eye and subtly shook her head. Tee mock-pouted for a moment, then saw Rachel, nodded, and put it back. Once people stopped teasing Rachel about the belt thing, Beth noticed that the redhead brightened up considerably after only a few minutes.

They spent perhaps another twenty minutes in the shop, after which Shara said that the shop which sold double-enchantable cloth should now be open. The blonde followed her fellow wives out of the shop, noticing as she did so that there was a man on the street watching them. She looked directly at him and he averted his eyes.

"Kendra." Beth whispered.

"I saw him, and he's not the only one." The dragon huntress whispered back. "Hang on." Without looking suspicious, Kendra sidled over to Octavian and the two guards he had had with him to protect the royal family.

Beth looked around on the street, trying to see where the other fellow that Kendra noticed was. She didn't see anyone or anything that looked suspicious, but then she didn't have any experience.

"Come on ladies, the shop is this way." Octavian said, making a somewhat abrupt right turn.

Beth frowned.

She didn't remember the shop being that way from what Shara and Lyra had said, but the two women were following Octavian anyway. The blonde swallowed and walked a little closer to Kendra while trying to ignore the sinking feeling that had just appeared in the pit of her stomach.

* * *

*Ethan, I don't want to alarm you, but I think we're about to have company.* Kendra thought to everyone as she continued to pretend that nothing was wrong to mislead those observing them.

*What kind of company?* He replied, dread in his tone.

*Exactly the kind you're worried about.* The former Aldmiri replied. *I've seen at least three people scouting us so Octavian is taking us towards a guard outpost, just in case.*

He didn't reply.

He didn't need to.

She could feel what he was feeling and knew exactly why; she would be feeling the same in his position. He was hundreds of miles away and even flying at top speed it would take the better part of a day for him to reach them. He couldn't do anything to help them and Kendra would feel exactly as bad as he was feeling if she was in his position.

*It's not as bad as last time.* She clarified for his sake. *They don't look to be armored and we have Octavian and two of his men with us.*

*And I have my travel bow and six arrows.* Alana added. *That's at least six dead men if someone tries something.*

*At least?* Beth asked.

*At least.* The wood elf confirmed grimly.

*What Alana is trying to say is that--* Kendra's eyes widened. "LOOK OUT!"

She dove forward as she drew her sword, barreling into Alana and knocking the wood elf aside as she raised her blade to parry the surprise attack that had come from a nearby alley. She barely managed it, and only then because of her strength-enhancing vambraces.

But this was different than the last time.

This time their attackers weren't wearing chainmail armor from head to toe. The two swords met edge-to-edge and Kendra put her other hand on the pommel to increase her leverage and twist the man's sword slightly out of position. He saw it coming and adjusted his footing, but Kendra used that against him. She put her thumb on the flat of her blade and whipped it around with only her wrists in what Ethan had once called 'helicopter style' to execute a Zwerchhau strike.

The man wasn't ready to react and paid for that with a cut deep into his skull. Kendra drew the blade along the cut to make sure it didn't get stuck in the man's cranium and then turned to take stock of the scene.

It was bad.

Alana was still getting up, though she had been forced to roll to avoid another one of their attackers. Their attackers numbered slightly under twenty. Six of them had managed to separate Shara and Lyra from the pack, though Octavian and his two men were guarding them. Those six seemed less interested in attacking and more interested in pining the swordsmen down.

The same wasn't true for the other dozen.

They had charged from various shops and other locations, trying to surround her fellow wives; they didn't seem interested in talking or taking prisoners. Four of them had just been blown back by Rachel and Kendra had dispatched one, but the other seven weren't playing.

Thankfully, they hadn't all arrived at once. It seemed like Octavian's abrupt change of direction had forced a last-second change of plans and half of them weren't even in range yet.

*Selene, catch!* Kendra thought to everyone as she kicked the dead man's sword towards the Brazilian woman. The blade slid along the ground towards her and she stopped it with her foot by stomping on it and then scooped it up. Rachel used another air-ram that gave the caramel-haired beauty just enough time to pick up the sword without being skewered. Like last time, the two warrior women formed up to the front and rear with the other wives in the center to protect them.

Beth dove to the ground and lay there unmoving, but she didn't look hurt. Taloni flew upwards, and fast, but fortunately they didn't have any archers this time. Unfortunately, these men were a whole other class of opponent than the sloppy Ivernian soldiers who had attacked them in Dotmier. They had the look of professional mercenaries or bounty hunters and skills to match. Thank Illuminar that they weren't wearing chainmail armor; they wouldn't have stood a chance if they were.

The six facing Kendra immediately parted into two groups and dashed to get around her and she couldn't stop them all. Alana had just pulled out her bow, but both her and Rachel's backs were turned as they tried to help Selene, who was in desperate need of help.

Kendra reacted on instinct.

She leapt forwards, screaming like a banshee and hoping to draw Rachel and Alana's attention whilst simultaneously leaping at one of the two groups of three. Two of them went to counter-attack against her while the last leapt at Alana, who was both unprotected and unaware. With her sword and vambraces, Kendra could only block two attacks.

She couldn't save herself and Alana.

Again, she reacted on instinct. She snapped her sword out, striking the man who had been about to run the wood elf through whilst simultaneously blocking one of the sword blows aimed at her with her vambrace.

She couldn't block the third attack which was aimed at her torso.

She was glad that she had been able to live part of her life with Ethan and her fellow wives. She thought her life might be worth something since she had been able to save a good woman at the end of it. She hoped Ethan would forgive her for dying, and in what she thought were her final moments, she asked Illuminar to comfort him after her passing.

* * *

Ethan had felt the battle start. He felt the rush of panic and other emotions that were nearly identical to what he'd felt when his wives had been ambushed in Dotmier.

But this time he couldn't do anything.

Fuck!

He let out a cry of frustration that ended up sounding more like a roar. He couldn't do anything. God damn motherfucking fucking fuck! There was nothing he could do. His wives were in danger and he couldn't do a damn thing about it.

At the back of his mind, something occurred to him. He remembered Gabriella telling him that Illuminar never interfered unless He was asked to. There was an old saying about there being no atheists in foxholes, and he figured he didn't have a single thing to lose by trying, and he might lose his wives if he didn't.

He could feel the tears forming in his eyes as he looked and thought. *Illuminar, if you're listening, then please; please save them.*

* * *

Rachel wasn't sure why, but for some reason she got a strong feeling that she needed to look behind her. She could've easily ignored the feeling, but it seemed important even though Selene was fighting for her life. Alana had loosed two arrows already with deadly precision which reduced the attackers on that side, but the feeling persisted.

She turned while gathering her mana for an air-ram. Three men were nearly on top of her and one was already swinging a sword. She shot her hand out, fingers spread wide as she released the most powerful air-ram she could muster on such short notice as one of the men chopped at her outstretched hand.

* * *

Alana wasn't sure why, but she got a strong feeling that she needed to look behind her. The feeling had appeared suddenly and while it could be easily ignored, doing so felt like a bad idea. She turned with an arrow already nocked into her bow and saw--

Her eyes went wide as she aimed and released faster than she'd ever done in her entire life. Her arrow hit its mark mere moments before the man she'd hit would've put a sword through Kendra's heart. The dragon huntress was safe and answered her current attacker with two quick blows that put him out of the fight for good as Alana dispatched Kendra's other attacker, whose attack Kendra had blocked with her vambrace.

Thank Illuminar that they weren't wearing armor.

Kendra then turned towards the other three attackers that Rachel had knocked back moments ago.

* * *

Selene couldn't believe that she wasn't dead. Her borrowed sword didn't handle nearly as well as the ones she was used to and the ambush had taken them all completely by surprise, but somehow they were all still alive. Mostly thanks to Alana. The Brazilian woman had seen the wood elf shoot arrows before of course, but she had no idea the tiny woman was so fast.

Selene focused on the four men in front of her, two of which were trying to catch their footing after Rachel's most recent air-ram. She had a split second of 'free' time and used it to open her mental defenses a crack to try and figure out how they were going to--

She smiled.

The man in front of her came in with a vertical overhand strike which she intercepted with the lower half of her blade for leverage... but the man had expected that and she knew what his planned follow-up was. With a slight twist of her wrists, she took advantage of his plan and she angled the blade down and thrust into his throat. The strike might've decapitated him if his neck had been slender enough.

The Brazilian woman jerked her blade out in time to parry the attack of another man and her telepathically enhanced counterattack also put him out of the fight She heard a whistling sound and an arrow hit a third man's eye who had been about to gang up on her. Moments later, the Brazilian woman saw several large pieces of fruit from above hit the last man in front of her.

"Don't you hurt my family!" Taloni nearly screamed from on high as she pelted the last man in front of Selene with some more fruit. That provided a nice distraction that allowed Selene to make a quick cut to the man's neck, ending his life.

Faced with no one in front of her, she turned to help Kendra.

She needn't have bothered.

Between Alana's bow, Rachel's magic, and Kendra's skill, not one of their attackers was left standing. She couldn't help comparing this fight to the one in Dotmier. Damn; what a difference it made when she had telepathy, Alana had a bow, and their opponents weren't wearing full chainmail armor.

The men who had been keeping the royal family and the bodyguards pinned beat a hasty retreat after seeing that their comrades in arms were all dead. Instead of chasing him, Octavian and his men hurried over to the ladies and joined them in a defensive posture, taking Shara and Lyra with them to keep them covered.

*Thanks for the save Beth.* Selene thought to everyone as she looked at the first man that had gone down in front of her. He was still alive and now being guarded by one of Octavian's men. He was also covering one of his eyes and he was obviously in a lot of pain.

One of his eyes had been poked out by something that no one could see.

*You're welcome.* The blonde replied.

*We're safe sir.* Alana thought to everyone and Selene could feel Ethan's relief over their bond stronger than she ever felt anything from him before.

*Oh thank God.* He replied, and Selene could just imagine how he would've said it too. She felt nearly as relieved that--

"Rachel, your hand!" Alana nearly screamed.

Selene looked, and saw--

Holy shit!

On her left hand, Rachel was missing almost all of her pinky finger and about half of her ring finger.

They had been cut off.

"I... I didn't notice." The redhead stared at the bleeding stumps of her two fingers. As if she was in a daze, she raised her other hand, probably to heal it.

"No! Don't heal it!" Taloni shouted as dove towards Rachel. "I can reattach them if we can find the fingers, but might not be able to if you heal it too much."

Thus began the search.

It took them ten minutes to find Rachel's pinky finger, and another five minutes after that to find the missing half of her ring finger. Selene, all of Ethan's wives, Octavian, Shara, and Lyra all looked, while one bodyguard watched the injured attacker and the other hurried to a nearby constable's station. The Laerten town guard showed up barely a minute after the fight was over and half of them had joined in the search at Shara and Lyra's instruction, the other half forming a defensive perimeter at Octavian's orders.

A local restaurant owner had bade them come in once the digits were found, saying that he would be honored to help the wives of the prophet. The fight had scared all his patrons away anyway, so he cleared a table and they'd laid the redhead on it.

"I'm sorry, but this will hurt like Saidow's lair." Taloni said. She raised a bottle of some clear alcoholic drink the restaurant owner had donated.

"Do it." Rachel whimpered slightly as she removed the bloody cloth she had been using to staunch the blood flow. Alana offered her a piece of cloth to bite down on, which the redhead accepted, bit down on, and then nodded to their resident medic.

The Fey teen poured the alcohol over the bloody stumps of her fingers.

Rachel hissed and her hand shook, but she didn't move it away.

Taloni then poured the alcohol over the fingers themselves since they had rolled on the street, and then cleaned them off with her self-healing dress. After that, she looked at the redhead again. "I'm sorry, but you'll probably pass out from the pain."

"We can hold her hand down." Selene volunteered, waggling her finger between Kendra and herself, the two women who had strength-enhancing vambraces.

Rachel nodded.

"I have some paralysis cuffs in my possession for unruly captives." One of the town guards volunteered. "That will ensure she does not move during the healing.

"I have some laudanum; that should help with the pain." The restaurant owner volunteered.

Everyone looked at Rachel, who hesitated a moment before nodding to both. The redhead downed the measured spoonful of the laudanum that was offered and then Alana put the cuffs on her. Afterwards, the wood elf grabbed her uninjured hand and held it tightly.

Selene watched and waited while the Fey teen did her work. Tee took her time carefully lining up the fingers correctly before she started healing and Alana helped hold them in their proper place. Selene could see tears starting to form in Rachel's eyes during the alignment process and at some point she must've passed out.

"Bone-on-bone pain is the worst." Kendra said quietly as she watched from beside Selene.

"Oh?"

The former Aldmiri nodded, but didn't elaborate.

For the next several minutes, no one spoke. Everyone watched while Taloni worked and they all seemed to be holding their collective breaths. Alana especially was staring almost without blinking. Selene thought she might've seen the wood elf's lips moving. Possibly a silent prayer?

"Okay, all done." Taloni said after quite some time. "There's no permanent damage and I was really careful, so the scar should be barely visible."

The Fey teen wiped the hand clean once again, having done so several times while she was working. It did indeed look like the scars were very faint. They had good lighting in the restaurant and Selene was looking for them, but even so they weren't obvious.

Selene took a deep breath and felt some tension leave her body as she exhaled; she hadn't realized she'd been so tense. What a day, and it wasn't even lunchtime yet.

Likewise, Alana also let out a deep breath as she gazed at the redhead. Selene could almost see the stress melt away from the wood elf's body as she learned that her fellow wife would be okay. Alana and Rachel were more than mere co-wives though. Selene didn't know how to characterize their relationship, but was somewhere between co-wife, best friend, and lover; perhaps all three.

Regardless, the wood elf looked more relieved than Selene had ever seen her.

The Brazilian took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Yeah." Kendra nodded from beside her. The dragon huntress was silent for several long seconds before speaking again. "I finally realized the downside of having people in my life that I love."

"Oh?"

The raven-haired woman nodded slowly and swallowed hard, and her voice had the edge of a crack as she spoke. "I could lose them."

"Yeah." Selene swallowed hard, thinking of her brother. She leaned against the wall and took another deep breath and let it out slowly. "Holy shit; what a day."

"This can't happen again." Kendra said with a hard edge to her tone.

"No, it can't." Selene agreed in much the same tone.

"I can't lose..." Kendra's voice cracked slightly and she swallowed. When she spoke again, her tone was almost unnaturally neutral. "This has to stop."

"How?"

Kendra glanced out towards the street where the battle had just taken place. "We find out who sent them, then..."

The former Aldmiri glanced into Selene's eyes and the Brazilian woman had to resist shuddering at the cold, calculating, and merciless expression that she saw. This wasn't the pleasant woman that Selene had grown to know. This was another side of her. This was the assassin. This was the 'cold-blooded killer' that Kendra had once proclaimed herself to be. Selene hadn't quite believed it then, but now... looking at her eyes at this moment...

Now she did.

This side of her made cold shivers run down her spine. However, the raven-haired woman did have a point; this needed to stop. Moreover, Kendra had the skills needed to make it stop.

"The town guard took the sole survivor into custody." Selene said after several long moments. "That man who lost his eye."

"You need to talk to him." Kendra stated.

"Me?"

"Well, maybe not 'talk'." Kendra said, and there was a note of dark humor in her voice.

"Oh. That." Selene nodded slowly and then clenched her jaw, her eyes on the recently-healed redhead. "I can do that."

* * *

Ethan felt like he'd lost ten years of his life in the last few minutes. His heart rate was only now slowing down and he almost felt sorry for the patch of grass on which he'd been furiously pacing mere moments before.

They were safe.

He breathed yet another sigh of relief.

"I take it they're okay?" Salma asked tentatively.

He nodded. "Yeah. One of my wives just let me know. Rachel was hurt, but she'll be okay."

"Thank Illuminar, blessed be He." Talven said, looking up to the heavens.

Ethan wasn't sure whether to agree with him or not; he had no idea if Illuminar had heard his request or if it had mattered. Perhaps they would've been fine without it. On the other hand...

"We should keep going." Ethan said after a minute or two. "My family is safe and I'd like to be able to say the same for yours."

Talven nodded. "It'll take until near nightfall to get there, so good idea."

"Lead the way." Ethan said.

However, now that his conscious mind wasn't subsumed with concern for his wives, it swung back to the other thing he'd been feeling strongly lately. That feeling that he was being watched was still there and just as strong as ever.

He kept feeling like something was behind him and would glance back suddenly, but nothing was ever there. He thought he might've caught the barest glimpse of something occasionally, but he was never sure. His skin was crawling under his scales and if he had hair on the back of his neck, it would have been raised since that morning.

He heard a scuffling sound behind him and whipped around with his hand on his sword.

There was nothing there.

Or at least, there appeared to be nothing there. There was enough vegetation in which to hide that he couldn't be sure.

* * *

"I'm just not sure how I feel about that." Selene said quietly to Kendra as they followed Octavian over the cobblestone street towards the local constabulary where the only survivor of the ambush was being held prisoner. The captain of Shara and Lyra's guard had refused to leave the restaurant until there were several dozen town guards to protect everyone, and even then he had insisted that the royal guard remain with them.

"He tried to kill us." Kendra replied. "I don't see the problem."

"The problem is due process." The ex-FBI agent replied, having thought about it a bit more since leaving the restaurant where Rachel was healed. "A man has a right to defend himself when accused and me digging around in his head undermines that."

"It didn't seem to bother you when you did it to that Luminar in Dotmier." The dragon huntress countered.

"Correction; it didn't bother me at the time." Selene replied. "Looking back at it, I'm not sure I should have."

"The difference here is that his man tried to kill us." Kendra replied. "This isn't about proving innocence or guilt; he's guilty. He attacked us without provocation and tried to kill us. If Taloni wasn't so skilled at healing, Rachel would be missing two fingers for the rest of her life. He's guilty."

"True." Selene frowned. "I still don't like it though."

"If we don't find out why they tried to kill us and who sent them, then perhaps next time one of us will get an injury that can't be healed."

The telepath nodded, not happy that Kendra was entirely right. "Okay, I'll do it this time."

"Good."

For some reason, Selene got the impression that Kendra was slightly irked at her for being hesitant to read the man's mind. It was something about her body language and tone, and how the silence between them was suddenly a little awkward.

She let that stand for almost a minute before she spoke up. "You were trained to use everything at your disposal, weren't you?"

"Anything and everything." Kendra nodded.

"I was trained a little differently. I studied law and the idea of due process is central. I feel like telepathy violates that."

"How?" The dragon huntress countered. "Isn't the point of due process to make sure that the guilty are convicted and the innocent aren't? You don't need witnesses or evidence; you can just know."

Selene frowned.

Kendra had a point.

"I understand and admire your restraint." The dragon huntress clarified. "Some people would be reading every person's mind to get an advantage and you aren't doing that. But due process is about justice; making sure that the guilty party is punished and the innocent aren't. You don't need due process because you can simply read someone's mind and know for sure."

"I can't disagree." She ran her hand through her caramel hair as she thought about it. "However, what if I read the mind of someone who's innocent? Then I've violated that man's privacy and he was innocent. That's not right."

Kendra inclined her head in concession. "I see why that would bother you."

"It doesn't bother you?"

Kendra shrugged. "From what I understand, people are always projecting their thoughts anyway, it's just that only telepaths know how to listen. Why would I have a problem with listening to what someone is already projecting?"

Selene frowned. "Hmm."

She cocked her head to one side as she thought about it. It really was true. There was a difference between stepping into someone's mind -- like she'd done with Percival, the luminar in Dotmier -- and just listening to what was around her.

Out of curiosity, she opened a one-way window in her mental defenses so she could listen to what people around her were thinking. As usual when there were a lot of people around, it was a cacophony of mental 'noise' that she couldn't sort out. However, she couldn't deny that people were broadcasting their thoughts all the time.

Hmm.

"On the other hand, people assume that their thoughts are safe from being listened to." The Brazilian woman finally said as she closed her mental defenses again. "Sure they might project their thoughts, but is that any different from eavesdropping on someone who is talking to himself when he's home alone?"

"You do know what I used to do, right?" Kendra gave her a wry smile. "If someone says it, I have no problem listening. It doesn't matter to me if they say it verbally or mentally."

"Sometimes, I find you a little scary." Selene replied with her own wry smile.

"Sometimes, I do too." The raven-haired woman replied, and Selene couldn't quite tell if she was joking or not.

"We're here." Octavian said.

Selene looked at the building, which looked exactly like she thought a medieval jail should look. It was a stone building with iron bars in the windows and otherwise was completely nondescript. It looked to be roughly square in shape and there were archers on the roof. The blue Timarou flag with its stylized white horse was flying proudly in the light breeze.

The inside was also about what she expected as well, though it was clean. There was a small area in the front where half a dozen fully armed and chainmail-armored soldiers were milling about. They were equipped with shorter swords than she was used to seeing, which would be more useful in confined spaces. There were hallways on either side of this front area that looked like they led to the prison cells.

Notably, almost all of them were empty.

"He's the only one on the left side and I will be there when you interrogate him." Octavian's tone left no room for argument.

"Okay." Selene and Kendra nodded.

He led them down the short hall to the jail cell at the end. It wasn't very large, perhaps six feet deep and four feet wide. Just wide enough for a simple bedroll with a tiny bit of walking space. There was a covered hole in the floor which Selene assumed was the latrine.

The man himself was wearing the same simple street clothes that he had been wearing when he'd attacked them. They looked sturdy and well made, but otherwise were nothing special. His face was similarly nondescript. He had a short beard of a common brown color, an average build, and he was only slightly shorter than average as well.

The only thing that stood out was the bandage on his eye that was held on by a gauze wrap around his head. He was holding his hand over his bandaged left eye and his face was twisted into a grimace of pain.

"What's your name?" Selene asked.

"Fuck off." He retorted.

"Time for plan B." Kendra whispered as she nudged Selene.

The Brazilian woman took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Selene." Octavian said quietly enough that the prisoner wouldn't hear. "I have no objection to you using telepathy, but I would object to you harming the prisoner's mind."

"Trust me, I have no plans to do that." She replied equally as quietly, then turned to Kendra. "If I don't find anything after a minute, start asking questions. It will be a lot easier to get information about the attack if he's actively thinking about it."

The dragon huntress nodded.

Selene took a moment to brace herself and then opened a one-way window in her mental defenses to allow his thoughts through...

Then hissed in pain and clamped her hand over her left eye as it suddenly exploded in pain.

Fuck!

She almost doubled over and had just enough awareness to slam her mental defenses shut as her legs started to give out from the sudden onslaught of pain. Thankfully, Kendra caught her before she hit the floor and the pain levels plummeted once she'd closed her mental defenses. It didn't go away completely though, not immediately.

*Selene, are you okay!* Ethan thought to her.

*I'm fine.* She grimaced. *I tried looking into the mind of the ambush survivor. Beth poked his eye out and I forgot that I can feel someone else's pain. It hurt like a son-of-a-bitch.*

*Oh, okay.* He replied, and she could almost see how he would be sighing with relief. *Don't scare me like that, not after earlier.*

*I'll try.* She replied.

"Forget to filter out the pain?" Kendra asked quietly once the Brazilian woman had straightened up some.

"I don't think I'll forget that again." Selene took a deep breath. "Okay, round two."

Remembering that intent was important when it came to telepathy, Selene opened a one-way window in her mental defenses and focused on not letting the man's pain affect her.

It worked.

It felt weird because she could feel that he was feeling pain, but she couldn't actually feel his pain. The sensation was strange and not altogether pleasant, but much better than the searing pain from before. She took a moment to adjust to the sensation and then started paying attention to the man's thoughts.

He was very different from anyone else whose mind she had read before, except perhaps Raklan. She'd seen Ethan's mind when they'd bonded of course, that luminar in Dotmier, and she caught fleeting glimpses of Octavian and his men while practicing her telepathy, though nothing beyond surface thoughts. All of them had a certain essential goodness about them and their thoughts. They all had cares or concerns about someone other than themselves flitting through their thoughts and they were concerned about someone other than themselves.

This man wasn't.

As Selene looked through his thoughts, they were all of gold, women, -- and more than anything else -- what was in it for him. It seemed to be his sole concern.

As Selene let his thoughts flow around her, the man seemed to be staring at the Brazilian woman's body and face. Not her as a person; her body and face. She must've reminded him of someone because a memory popped up of him driving himself into a woman who looked vaguely like her only not nearly as gorgeous. He wasn't gentle. She seemed willing, but not enjoying it at all. Possibly a prostitute? He used the woman without regard for her at all. Even more disturbing, Selene could feel a rush of pleasant feelings coming from him.

She shuddered.

This was a fond memory for him.

She nudged Kendra and nodded her head towards the man.

"Why did you attack us?" The dragon huntress asked.

Instantly, Selene's mental sight was clouded with visions of gold handed to him by Lord Delmar and Lord Farbrottan. She thought she briefly caught sight of a wanted poster amid the flash of images that ended with at least a dozen naked women waiting on his every desire. Many of them were in chains and some of them were crying as he surveyed the scene with a shit-eating grin on his face.

*Ugly fucking bitch.* The man thought at Kendra. *You couldn't pay me to bang her. I'll bet she's a lousy lay too.*

He said nothing aloud.

Selene nudged Kendra again.

"How did you know we were here?" The raven-haired woman asked.

Again, Selene saw flashes and images of hurried meetings and a hastily put-together operation. She didn't catch a lot, but from the little she did catch, it seemed like someone had seen them the previous day when they'd headed out of town toward Julian's ranch. The rest seemed obvious from there, so Selene slammed her mental defenses shut, not wanting to spend another moment in this man's putrid, disgusting mind anymore.

The man still wasn't speaking, but Selene got a flash of what he wanted to do to her just before her mental defenses had fully closed and it made her want to puke.

"Come on, he won't tell us anything." Selene said; no sense tipping their hand that she was a telepath.

The man laughed, then made some rather inappropriate comments at the women as they turned to walk away; they made Selene wish that she didn't have such a spectacular ass.

"If you want, I can come back tonight and introduce him to Illuminar." Kendra offered casually once they were back in the main room.

"I'm afraid that is out of the question." Octavian was smiling wryly like it was merely a joke.

"Selene?" The former Aldmiri repeated, completely ignoring the guard captain.

"Better not; we might upset our host." The Brazilian woman said after a moment, smiling like Kendra had been jesting. She wasn't entirely sure that the former Aldmiri was though. The woman's skills and near-complete indifference to killing made an interesting contrast with how protective and sweet she could be with her family.

"What did you learn?" Kendra asked.

"They were just bounty hunters." Selene replied. "They were in it for the reward money and nothing else. Also, it seems like Lord Farbrottan might've posted a bounty on us too because he seemed to think he would get a mountain of gold from both him and Lord Delmar."

Kendra set her jaw. "We need better weapons and defenses if there are two lords after us."

Selene nodded. "Agreed, but for now let's get back to the others. We can brainstorm on the way."

* * *

"Cut-resistant fabric would help, but without weapons to match..." Kendra frowned as she considered the problem her friend had brought up. "You can only be defensive for so long before you make a mistake and die."

"Agreed." Selene replied.

"And I agree as well." Octavian turned a corner on the street, leading them back towards the castle. They were surrounded by a half-dozen of Shara and Lyra's royal guard. An entire platoon of Timarou soldiers had escorted the rest of the ladies back to the castle, carefully watched by Asikan, another leader in the royal guard.

"Alana has her travel bow, isn't there a 'travel sword' or something?" Selene asked.

"I have heard reports of such things, but never seen them." Octavian said, looking both ways before entering a new street.

"I have seen them and they work." The former Aldmiri replied. "However, it would need to be made of dragon steel which is very expensive."

"Not elven steel? Can't that be enchanted as well?" The caramel-haired beauty asked.

"True, but elven steel can only hold a single enchantment." Kendra replied. "It would need a stiffening enchantment to be usable, and then also a self-repairing enchantment because it would need to be so thin. If it couldn't repair itself, it wouldn't last very long."

"So let's say we got some dragon steel and made super thin swords that were flexible enough to bend or something?" Selene replied. "And then they had an enchantment to make them stiff when we needed to fight like Alana's bow? Alana wears her travel bow around her waist; why couldn't we do something similar with a flexible sword and a scabbard that wraps around the waist?"

Kendra chuckled. "There's nothing new under the sun. That's exactly like the ones I have seen, though I haven't seen them often."

Octavian stopped -- which brought the rest of the guard to a stop -- and he looked at the former Aldmiri. "Often? You have seen them more than once?"

She nodded.

"Might I ask how?" Octavian asked. "How did you end up in such a position to see more than one?"

"Very carefully." Kendra replied neutrally, having no desire to go into her history. She turned to Selene. "That would require a fair number of dragon scales to create, and we would need someone with the skill to forge such a blade. Graflex perhaps."

"That would be great." Selene said as Octavian started walking again they followed him while being surrounded by the royal guard. "Maybe Ethan will donate a few scales?"

"I think he would." Kendra couldn't help but smile at her selfless husband; there was still a part of her that found it hard to believe that she was married to him. "However, that could cause problems for him, not to mention being painful. It would be better to find some younger dragon somewhere with a warrant on it for causing trouble and collect the bounty."

"Good point." Selene replied. "It would be good to have some 'travel swords' with us."

"You should perhaps consider keeping a rollable leather shield with you as well." Octavian suggested. "Nothing will preserve your life as well as a shield."

"They're rather difficult to carry well in a dress." Kendra replied. "If you think my sword looks odd with my dress, imagine it with a rollable shield."

"How about a fabric shield?" Selene asked.

Octavian shook his head, though he might've just been scanning the street for threats. "The stiffening enchantment is not enough to stop swords with the thinness of the fabric. You need a cut-resistant enchantment with fabric, and you must also add a self-repairing enchantment or the expense would be untenable. Thus three enchantments are required, but fabirc can only take two."

"And fabric isn't thick enough to be stiff enough at such a large size anyway." Kendra added. "It would fold under a strike."

"Multiple layers." Selene shrugged.

"I would not trust such a shield." Octavian offered. "It would be inferior to a leather shield, fold no better, and likely not rigid enough in combat."

"So have a front and back separated by an inch or two, and then a few strips of enchantment-stiffened fabric shaped like a 'C' between them to connect them, kind of like in a torsion box." The Brazilian woman suggested as Octavian led them through a large gate that led to the small field leading to the castle.

Kendra frowned. "But didn't Octavian just say that more layers wouldn't help?"

"I don't mean in layers, I mean like this." Selene traced three straight lines in the air with her finger to form a blocky 'C' shape. "The top and bottom of the 'C' would give a place to sew it to the shield's front and back, and the vertical part of the 'C' would add a lot of rigidity when combined with a stiffening enchantment. It's a bit like an I-beam that way. We could have 'C' shaped pieces around the edges of the shield, and then probably a few more internally for reinforcement. My dad was an engineer for many years before he started doing the dojo full time and I learned a few things; it should work if everything has a stiffening enchantment." She paused. "Then you just need to put a piece of fabric with a cut-resistant enchantment on the front face so it can be used as a shield."

"Hmm." Kendra nodded slowly as she realized what the Brazilian woman had in mind. "That might work."

Octavian looked slightly confused but very interested. "How?"

As Selene started explaining, Kendra started thinking about the ability to walk around with a 'travel sword' and a large shield made of enchanted cloth. She could feel a grin slowly forming as she considered what that would be like and how effectively she could protect her new family with them.

* * *

Sarah carefully counted five doors down from the northwest stairway on the third floor of the dormitories. The hallway was like everything else in Narlotten; clean, neat, tidy, and generally in good repair, which made quite the contrast to Ivernia. Through the windows, she could see the light was starting to shift red as the sun got low in the sky. It wasn't sunset yet, but she was looking forward to seeing the beautiful colors.

She found the correct door, noting that someone had hand-painted an intricate pattern of interlacing vines with beautiful flowers budding on them.

They made her smile.

She hesitated only a moment and then knocked on the door.

No answer.

She waited about ten seconds and then knocked again, this time more firmly.

Still no answer.

Sarah frowned; maybe Amy wasn't home? She waited another thirty seconds and then knocked again, this time more softly. She waited another ten seconds and then decided to try again another time. She had just started to turn when she heard the door's latch click. She turned back to see an eye peeking through the slightly cracked-open door.

"Oh, you're not--" The eye said in a somewhat high-pitched voice. The door opened to reveal that the eye was attached to a face that looked quite relieved. "I thought you were-- Uh, never mind."

"Hi, I'm Sarah." She gave a slightly awkward wave.

"I'm Amy." The girl replied, then an awkward silence fell.

Amy was slightly shorter than Sarah's 5' 4", but not by much. Amy was reasonably pretty but not excessively so. Her figure was average in most ways and she looked like she was in her early twenties. She had dark brown hair that fell down straight, but with a ribbon to keep it off of her face like a headband would. The bow in the ribbon was tied with a beautiful knot that had an artsy flair that Sarah very much liked. She made a mental note to ask how to tie it later.

"So, I heard you like to paint?" Sarah asked

"I do." Amy replied, still standing at the door.

Another awkward silence.

"I don't know if you remember, but we've met before." Sarah said.

"I do." Amy suddenly stood a little stiffer and there was a note of caution in her tone.

"I was just wondering, do you need any help?"

Amy stared at her for several long seconds, then pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Can you stay right there, I want to show you something."

"Uh, sure." The innkeeper's daughter nodded.

Amy closed the door, only to reopen it perhaps thirty seconds later holding a painting. The painting was of a flower, but it was quite crudely done. The perspective was all wrong and the flower itself looked less like a flower and more like... like... she wasn't sure. She was mostly able to tell that it was a flower because of the stem, which was also crude. It didn't look half as nice as the flowers on the door and yet Amy was cradling this painting like it was precious to her.

"This painting has a special place in my heart and I just wanted to know what you thought of it." The girl said.

Sarah bit her lip.

It wasn't a good painting.

It might be good for young child, but it wasn't good for someone like Amy who clearly could paint far better than that. A large part of her wanted to say that she liked it just to be nice. The rest of her was reminding her of Illuminar's command in the Book of Light to not lie. And if she said she liked it, it would definitely be a lie. She liked art as a rule, but this picture was terrible.

"It's... um..." Sarah hesitated. "I think I like your newer stuff better, but I'm glad you have a picture that means so much to you."

Amy frowned. "But do you like it? More importantly, do you think it's a good painting?"

Sarah hesitated, Illuminar's command not to lie in the back of her mind. "I don't... I guess if I'm being honest, then it's... well I don't think it's... well, it's not very good."

Sarah had been expecting Amy to be upset, or hurt, or sad, by her comment. Apparently she was none of those things because she instantly got a wide smile on her face.

"Come in." She said cheerfully as she stepped back and opened the door in an undeniably welcoming way.

"Um, okay?" She walked into Amy's room and felt her cheeks pull into a wide smile at what she saw. The room was like an explosion of art on every surface. There was hardly a surface of the walls that didn't have a painting on it. It was clear that she had the room to herself because one of the beds clearly hadn't been made and the other three had stuff on them, mostly art supplies and some artsy clothes that weren't folded.

Honestly, it was a chaotically beautiful mess.

Sarah loved it.

It reminded her of what her room used to look like before her mother died and she'd gotten her problem. She had completely forgotten what that was like. Looking at Amy's room, she felt like a long-dormant part of her was waking up. That part of her was veritably singing at the beautifully artistic chaos around her. Suddenly, she wanted to dance, sing, and draw all at the same time.

"I love it." Sarah said as she looked around a second time.

"Really?" Amy asked. "It's a bit messy."

"Yes, but it's a beautiful mess." The innkeeper's daughter did a slightly 'dancy' turn as she looked around the room.

"You're a good person." Amy said matter-of-factly.

"I am?"

Amy nodded.

"How do you know? We just met."

"This painting." The other girl moved it in her arms slightly. "I named it 'honesty' and it has a special place in my heart because I ask people I meet what they think of it and their response tells me who they are."

Sarah cocked her head to one side. "How?"

"Well, if they tell me they like it then I know they won't be honest with me." Amy replied. "And if they are mean about it not being good, then... well, then I know something about them too." The girl looked up at her and smiled. "You were honest, but kind about it too. You're a good person."

"Oh, thanks." Sarah smiled, thinking that the girl did have a good system worked out. "That's pretty smart."

"Thank you." Amy smiled back. "So, what did you want?"

"Well, I wanted to know if you needed any help." Sarah explained. "After we met the other day..." She trailed off as Amy's happy expression fell.

"I don't think you can help." She said while looking at the floor.

"Why not?"

Amy hesitated for several seconds, looked at her 'honesty' painting, then finally spoke. "Because those girls are mean. I told one of them that they were mean once, and they..." She swallowed. "Well, there's a reason I don't have any roommates."

"Oh." Sarah frowned. "What did they do?"

"They..." Amy trailed off. "Can we not talk about it?"

"Um, sure." Sarah nodded, not sure how to proceed. She wanted to help Amy but didn't know how to if she wouldn't let her help.

There was a slightly awkward silence and then Amy spoke again. "Um, you probably should go; they aren't very nice to people who visit me."

"I'm not worried." Sarah replied truthfully. Her problem might be terrible but it also protected her quite well.

"Still, you should go. You're a good person and I don't want to make anything bad happen to you."

"You wouldn't make anything bad happen." The innkeeper's daughter replied. "They might do something, but it wouldn't be your fault."

Amy gave her a small but skeptical smile that was also half a grimace.

"I can go." Sarah said, taking a last look around the room; it still made her smile. Then she remembered something. "You paint decorations for a few coppers, right?"

"I do." She nodded.

"Well, what if I hired you to decorate mine and Fiona's room?"

Amy smiled and her whole demeanor brightened. "You share a room with Fiona?"

Sarah nodded.

"I knew you were a good person." Amy's smile widened, seemingly at the mention of Sarah's copper-haired roommate. "Okay, I can do that. What did you want painted?"

"Uh, I don't know." The innkeeper's daughter cocked her head to one side. "How about you come over later tonight and the three of us can come up with something?"

"Okay, but I haven't eaten yet. Can I come over after dinner?" Amy asked.

"Sure." Sarah smiled at her.

She left not long after, throwing a last look back at the room that made her heart want to sing. She wanted a room like that someday; a room full of life and vibrant color with beautiful paintings on the wall. Of course, she needed to learn how to paint first. She'd done it some before her mother had died, but less afterwards and not at all since she got her problem.

She wanted to get back to it.

As she walked down the hall towards the stairs leading to her and Fiona's room, she noticed someone watching her from ahead. Whoever it was only had a single eye peeking out from behind the corner. Sarah waved and the eye disappeared instantly. She ran to the stairway but whoever it was had already left.

Hmm.

Was someone watching her?

Or maybe Amy?

* * *

Rachel could feel the waking world starting to catch up with her and internally groaned. Her entire body felt sluggish from the laudanum, like someone had replaced her muscles with noodles and her bones with lead. Her two fingers still hurt, but a quick check showed that they had been fully healed. In fact, they had been healed almost perfectly. Rachel herself couldn't have done a better job on her own body, and she definitely couldn't heal someone else even one-tenth that well.

Tee was truly an amazing healer.

As the redhead started paying more attention to her surroundings, she became aware of a slightly sweaty hand holding hers. She was certain it was Alana's hand and that thought made her heart swell.

*My lord?* She thought directly to him.

*Oh thank God.* Ethan thought back to her. *Are you okay?*

*Groggy from the laudanum but otherwise fine. How are you?* She asked, remembering the sensation that he'd been feeling all day. *Has anything happened with what you were feeling?*

*Not yet, but it's still there on the edge of my perception. I've got a bad feeling that I'm in for a rough fight once I'm alone.*

*I wish I could help my lord.*

*I wish you could help safely.* He replied. *Take care of yourself beautiful; I don't know what I would do if I lost you.*

*I know the feeling.* She replied pointedly. *Please be careful.*

*I will.*

With the conversation somewhat ended, Rachel took a few minutes to magically clear the remnants of the laudanum from her system, When that was done, she gave the hand holding hers a gentle squeeze.

"Rachel?" Alana said from beside her.

"Hi." She replied, still not having opened her eyes.

"Oh thank Illuminar." The wood elf said, and the relief in her tone was obvious. "I was so worried."

"I can't tell." Rachel replied ironically, then opened her eyes.

She was in a stone room draped with Timarou's colors of blue and white. The room wasn't large and there were several other beds in it, all unoccupied. It looked like a small hospital, emphasis on 'small'. Perhaps more like a clinic, but even that sounded large for what it was.

"Shara and Lyra insisted we bring you to the castle for safety and they posted a guard outside the room just in case." Alana explained. "They had their personal healer look at you too. He was impressed by Taloni's work."

"She's not the only one of our husband's wives that's impressive." Rachel said while looking pointedly at her best friend. It had sort of slipped out, but the redhead made no attempt to stop her words. She had almost died today; she wanted to tell Alana how amazing she was.

The wood elf's cheeks grew rosy and the blush extended down onto her upper chest after several seconds. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Rachel gave the wood elf's hand another squeeze.

*She's awake.* Alana thought to everyone a few moments later.

A few moments after that, all of her fellow wives plus Selene, Shara, Lyra, and Taiven piled into the room. Her fellow wives all nearly mobbed her. Rachel felt herself getting slightly choked up at the display of affection. She had always been reserved about showing her emotions to them, but they clearly had no such qualms about showing how much they cared about her.

She didn't mind at all.

"How are the fingers?" Taloni asked after the mob hug had ended.

Rachel looked down at her fingers and moved them; they felt the same as always. "Good. You did an incredible job."

The Fey teen smiled. "Since I had some time and there wasn't any danger, I tried really hard to make sure they wouldn't scar. There's still a small scar line, but I don't think anyone would notice it unless they were looking for it."

Rachel and everyone else looked. Sure enough, there was an extremely faint scar line where her fingers had been severed, but she doubted she would've noticed it unless she was looking for it.

"Another day, another scar." She said as she flexed her fingers.

Alana frowned. "We do seem to be collecting them rather quickly."

"I think we have been ambushed in every city we've visited." Beth said.

"Have we?" Rachel asked.

"Well, we were ambushed by Falkaan's airship when we left Gralden." Alana counted on her fingers. "Of course, Beth died in the ambush in Arcanum. Then Havoleth ambushed us outside of Taloni's mine, Kyrupto after we left Gonorran's camp, Lord Delmar and Lady Ekthros in Nalatia, the Ivernians in Dotmier, and finally the bounty hunters here."

"Wow." Lyra said. "You all have piss-poor luck."

"Fortunately, we have something which should help now." Selene said with a grin.

"Oh?" Rachel asked.

"Indeed." Shara said. "Selene had a rather brilliant idea and I called in Timarou's most gifted engineers, mages, and seamstresses to bring it to life. They have been working on it all afternoon."

"What kind of idea?" The redhead asked. "And what time is it?"

"It's just before dinnertime." Alana answered.

"Do you want to see it?" Taloni asked.

"They finished the prototype a half hour ago." Beth added excitedly.

"I'll get it." Selene volunteered.

She disappeared for a minute and then returned with a sash around one shoulder going across her body to the opposite hip. The sash wasn't flat though, it looked like a wider piece of fabric had been folded several times. It still looked nice though, and it seemed like it would go with almost any dress.

"Watch this." Beth said excitedly.

"It's amazing." Tee agreed.

Selene reached down and grabbed some part of the sash that was on the inside. Moments later, the sash ceased being a sash. It snapped open, unhooking by her shoulder and straightening into-- Her jaw dropped; it was a kite shield. A real, live, honest-to-goodness kite shield made of cloth. It was about the size of the ones they'd gotten from the wood-elven king too; nearly four feet tall and about two feet wide. Curiously. It looked to be quite thick; perhaps an inch more.

"It works too." Selene said as she moved it around a bit. "It's a bit light, but it'll stop a sword blade. These Timarou engineers are top-notch."

"They should stop arrows as well, though perhaps not orcish arrows." Kendra added.

"Well, this one won't." Selene hefted the prototype. "This one is just regular cloth with a stiffening enchantment, but a real one would have the front two layers be cut-resistant."

"The outer layers have some give, which helps." Kendra added. "The sword's force is spread over a longer time and a blade's edge has a harder time biting into a target with some give."

"Having shields like that would have been wonderful earlier." Rachel said and then looked at her newly-repaired fingers, then she looked at Alana. "Can we make some for us?"

"No need." Shara replied. "I already called up all the royal seamstresses to begin making them for you."

Alana turned in her seat to look at the lord's wife. "You can't do that, that's far too generous and we can't--"

"Nonsense." Shara interrupted with a smile.

"You have no idea how happy Octavian is." Lyra added. "Shar and I will be able to carry full shields around from now on. He would've paid a chest of gold for the idea alone, let alone Selene's help in designing it."

"Our husband would've paid twice that and considered it a bargain." Shara added. "I assure you that the value of the shields we are making for you are not remotely close to what we owe you for furnishing us with the concept; we are deeply in your debt. And while eight shields will scarcely repay that debt, I hope they will begin to cover what we owe you."

Ethan's wives were silent for a moment before Alana spoke up. "Thank you so much."

"We were happy to." Lyra beamed.

Rachel gave Alana's hand a gentle squeeze. The wood elf looked at her and squeezed back. For a long time now, the redhead had wanted to kiss the wonderful wood elf goodnight. Rachel had nearly died earlier and she couldn't help thinking that she didn't want to die before kissing Alana. The ambush earlier had proved how dangerous their lives were and the redhead didn't want to wait another moment.

Maybe tonight.

Maybe tonight she could work up the courage to ask her. At least she could try. She knew Alana loved her and doubted that she would say no. Her heart began to swell in her chest as she thought about the possibility that it could happen tonight.

She couldn't keep a smile off her face.

* * *

Ethan yawned as his muscles protested their fifty-billionth step so far that day. Okay, it probably wasn't that many but it certainly felt like it. Beside him, Talven and Salma looked as tired as he felt. Both of them had droopy eyelids and sagging shoulders. It was currently Talven's turn to carry the toddler and he looked like he wanted to sleep for a week.

Ethan could relate.

Sadly, he didn't think that would happen anytime soon. The ever-present feeling of being watched and hunted had slowly gotten worse as the sun had gotten lower. Tired though he was, he found himself glancing around every few seconds. He never saw anything, but he was sure that someone was there. Sadly the amount of bushes and vegetation that could be used as cover hadn't diminished during their journey, so someone could've easily tracked them this far without being seen.

More than once he had felt his scales stand on end slightly and the back of his neck tingle, only to turn and see nothing. He got a strong feeling that the only thing holding back whoever it was were the witnesses around him. He was pretty sure that whoever was stalking him would make its move the instant he was alone.

"There it is." Talven said, pointing to a farm in the distance.

Ethan could easily make it out, but twilight had long since arrived and it was slowly fading into true night. The last light from the sun illuminated the west, but you could almost see the stars starting to shine in the east. They had walked almost continuously for nearly a day and a half by now. Ethan had loaned the couple and their two oldest children one piece of strength-enhancing armor each again, and he was pretty sure that was the only reason they could still move.

They walked on, finally arriving at their destination.

The farm wasn't large, though it was certainly larger than the tiny house Talven and Salma had lived in. Like most houses in Ivernia, it looked to be in less-than-ideal repair, but it didn't seem as bad as most. Wildflowers were growing in front of the house and a large field of grain was growing behind it. There was some smoke coming from the chimney and he could see the comforting glow of firelight through one of the windows. The windows lacked glass of course, but had thick shutters that could be closed.

No one noticed their approach and Talven knocked wearily on the door. His arm dropped the moment he finished.

Ethan heard the scraping of a chair on wood and footsteps before the door opened to reveal a man that looked like a much older version of Talven. He was built a little more solidly and had gray in his hair, but he was undeniably Talven's father.

"Tal, what..." The man looked at his son and then his daughter-in-law and grandchildren. He covered his mouth with his hand. "Oh dear Illuminar; you were the family that was burned out."

"Yeah." Talven nodded wearily. "Can we come in?"

"Please!" The man almost jumped aside and opened the door wide.

Salma and the kids had barely made it through the door before the children flopped wearily on the floor. Ethan actually had to step over them to enter. Salma made it to a nearby chair before nearly collapsing in it.

The inside of the small house was fairly nice for an Ivernian house, rather like Arven and Ketura's house. It seemed like Talven's parents weren't quite as miserably poor as the rest of Ivernia, but they certainly weren't rich either. It looked like some of the Western homes he'd seen in movies, though it had a cozy warmth about it too. There was the head of some animal that resembled a dear mounted over the fireplace, and the fire in the hearth was casting a warm glow over the room.

"And who might you be?" Talven's father asked. His tone wasn't suspicious, but it was perhaps not as welcoming as it had been with family.

"The name is Ethan, mind if I sit?" He indicated a chair.

"Be my guest." The older man replied, then turn to his son.

"That's Ethan Ejder." Talven said.

The older man did a double take and his eyes went wide.

"It's a long story, and yes I'm using a disguise gem." Ethan explained, yawned, then looked out the window to ensure something wasn't creeping up on the house in the near blackness that accompanied twilight fading into true night. He didn't see anything, but his feeling of unease rose. There was definitely something out there. He couldn't shake the feeling that it was near the house, lurking somewhere that he couldn't see.

"Problem?" Talven's father asked.

Ethan looked down to see that all three children were fast asleep on the wooden floor and then addressed the adults. "Something has been chasing me all day, staying just out of sight and hiding behind things. I'm pretty sure that you all will be in danger as long as I'm around, so I can't stick around."

"You can't leave." Talven replied. "You're as tired as we are; you need to rest the night."

The moment he finished speaking, Ethan felt the scales on the back of his neck stand on end. He whipped towards the door and put his hand on his sword, but he didn't see anything. Maybe it was just him, but he got the distinct impression that the thing out there didn't want him to stay the night.

"I'll close the shutters." The older woman in the house volunteered.

"Let me." Ethan got up and closed them very carefully, drawing his sword before he did so and making sure nothing was lurking outside the window. He barred the windows and only then sheathed his sword. He turned to see that Talven's father had barred the door and also had a sheathed sword in his hand.

"What's out there?" The older man asked as he gave the door a good shake, probably ensuring that it was solidly barred shut. Ethan wasn't sure it would matter. He got the distinct impression that barred doors, windows, and even walls wouldn't be an impediment to whoever it was; not if it could make his dragon side feel like this.

"Haven't got a clue." He replied. "But my dragon instincts are screaming for me to run; that never happens."

"A dragon wants to run?" The older man narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on his sword.

"I need to get going." Ethan said firmly. "Adrenaline does wonders in a pinch."

"At least take some time to rest and eat." Talven's mother said. "Some food and a quick nap perhaps?"

He hesitated.

His muscles ached from walking all day and he was almost falling asleep on his feet. He wasn't in any condition to fight someone. He wasn't planning to fight though; he was planning to fly as far and as fast as possible away to lose whatever it was that was chasing him. He couldn't do that forever though. He hadn't slept well the previous night or the night before and had spent a day and a half walking.

He was dog-tired.

A nap and a meal sounded good, but he knew he couldn't stay long. Besides, he would never be able to sleep well while he was feeling like this. But of course, he couldn't fly very long feeling like this either.

"I could eat something and maybe take a quick catnap, but I can't stay long." He finally said.

* * *

*Sir?* Alana thought to him when they'd finished a wonderful dinner at Laerten. Despite the wonderful food and their hosts' generosity, neither she nor her fellow wives could feel quite at ease. Now that the wood elf knew that Rachel was okay, her concern had swung back to Ethan. His feelings of unease had slowly increased throughout the day and had spiked moments ago. She didn't think he was being attacked -- that felt different -- but something was certainly going on.

*I'm okay for now.* Ethan replied to the group chat and then gave them an update.

*Hang on sir.* Alana thought to him, then said aloud to Shara and Lyra. "Is there someplace my fellow wives, Selene, and myself can talk?"

"Right this way." Lyra said and then led them to a small stone room off the main hall.

"Thank you." Alana said.

"You're welcome." The ash blonde replied and then left, closing the door behind her.

*Okay, we're alone sir; go ahead.*

*Well, I was saying that I'm going to try to get a full sleep cycle of rest here and then head out.* He replied. *I'm going to fly as long as I can to put as much distance between myself and this thing as I can.*

*What if you can't?* Kendra asked.

No one replied for several seconds.

*Why couldn't he?* Selene finally said. *He can fly. I doubt there's anything that can keep up with him.*

*I'm with Selene.* Ethan agreed.

*Funny, I thought I would be aware.* The Brazilian woman quipped. Most everyone attempted a chuckle, but none succeeded particularly well. Given what they were dealing with, Alana didn't blame them.

*lol* Ethan thought to everyone, though there wasn't much amusement in his tone. *Anyway, I'm going to nap for a bit, so please don't use the group chat unless it's necessary because it'll wake me up and I need the rest.*

*Yes sir.* Alana replied, and her fellow wives echoed her.

*So, what are you ladies up to this evening?* He asked.

*I think we were going to play penté with Shara, Lyra, and Taiven.* The wood elf replied. *You know, so Rachel can get to know her in-laws better.*

The redhead rolled her eyes.

*I think we might head back to the Argo after that.* Alana continued. *I think we're all pretty tired from earlier.*

*Okay, I'll let you know if something happens, otherwise good night and sweet dreams.*

All of Ethan's wives looked at each other.

*Sir, you don't think we're going to sleep with what you're going through, do you?*

*No, but try anyway.* He replied. *Unless I'm mistaken, you're leaving for Dotmier in the morning so you'll be back the day after tomorrow before noon?*

*Yes Master.* Taloni replied. *We should get there early morning on the following day if the wind holds.*

*If all goes well, I'll be there too.* Ethan replied. *I'm hoping to be back in Dotmier tomorrow.*

*We'll pray you are Master.*

*Thank you Tee.* He replied.

They chatted for another minute or two and then Ethan said it was time for him to rest. His wives and Selene met Shara and Lyra in a drawing room, but they only played a couple of games before Alana suggested that they turn in. No one's mind was on the game after the day's events and what Ethan was facing.

Quite possibly the most distracted person in the room was Rachel. Alana noticed that the redhead glanced in her direction rather a lot, even more than normal. More confusingly, she was often biting her lip and she also averted her eyes whenever the wood elf made eye contact. More than once, Rachel had her lips slightly parted when Alana had looked, all of which made the wood elf quite curious.

"Hey, do you have a moment?" Alana asked her as they walked towards the Argo.

Rachel smiled, and it didn't look like it was entirely conscious or intentional either. "For you, always." She blushed scarlet, but didn't look away this time nor stiffen as she often did when complimenting her.

"Aww." Alana beamed as her heart swelled.

They arrived at the Argo not long afterwards and Thor was meowing loudly until Selene stepped into the Argo over the netting which kept him from escaping, after which he rubbed up against her and meowed until she picked him up, then he started purring loudly. The docking berth was lit by torches and the Argo's deck by lanterns, and the firelight was casting a warm, flicking glow on everything.

After embarking, Rachel looked at Alana, then gestured towards the stairs to the lower decks. Knowing that their fellow wives would be occupying the captain's cabin soon, the wood elf nodded and they proceeded below decks. Alana stopped at the bottom of the stairs, but Rachel didn't.

"Can... can we talk in here?" She gestured to the storage room below the captain's cabin.

"Sure." Alana led the way inside and Rachel closed the door behind them.

The reddish-yellow light from the torches on the dock was coming in through the portholes, casting the entire room in a slightly reddish-orange glow. The effect was both strange and very nice. It was warmly lit but also semi-dark because the light was coming in only through the portholes.

The redhead turned around slowly and shifted from one foot to the other.

"What's wrong?" Alana asked. "You seemed distracted all evening and I wanted to make sure that you're okay."

Rachel smiled.

It was a half-embarrassed smile but it reached deep into her pale blue eyes. "You're so wonderful like that."

Now it was Alana's turn to wear a half-embarrassed smile. "Thank you." The wood elf didn't know where this side of Rachel had come from -- she was usually so reserved about expressing what she felt -- but she definitely liked it.

"Are you okay? You know, after earlier?" Alana asked.

Rachel nodded. "I wasn't thinking about that."

"No?"

She nodded. "I had..." She swallowed and looked down, but the smile was still on her face. "I had an idea recently that I wanted to... that is, I um...." She glanced up at Alana and her smile somehow got more cheerful and yet smaller as she pursed her lips. "Um, I wanted to ask if you would... uh..."

Alana chuckled. "Would you like me to hold your hand? That often seems to help when you're tongue-tied."

Rachel closed her eyes as if savoring a fond memory. "I like holding your hand."

"Me too." The wood elf reached out and took the redhead's hand in hers.

"Um, with Ethan being gone I miss..." Rachel took a deep breath. "I miss him kissing me good night."

Alana nodded. "I miss that too."

"So I was wondering -- you know since he's gone -- if..." The blush on Rachel's cheeks deepened until it was closer to her roots than her hair tips. "If maybe you... you wanted to..." The redhead looked up at her. "Please don't laugh."

"Well, I can't promise that until I know what you're going to say." Alana replied. "But I promise that I'll never intentionally hurt you, or mock you, or belittle you; even by laughing."

Rachel nodded slowly. "Then I was wondering... if you miss being kissed goodnight too, I was wondering if you might... Uh, that is, if you want to... if you and I..." Rachel swallowed.

Alana gasped.

Rachel couldn't mean...

Could she...?

The redhead looked at the brunette and their eyes met for the longest moment. Slowly, Alana's lip pulled into one of the widest smiles she'd ever had on her face. In short order, her 'smile muscles' were almost protesting they were pulling her cheeks so wide.

"Do... do you want someone other than Ethan to give you a kiss goodnight?" The wood elf asked, scarcely daring to believe it.

Rachel's smile began to mirror Alana's as she nodded slowly.

"Did... did you have someone in mind?" The wood elf couldn't help but ask.

Rachel nodded again. "I was thinking... um, maybe my... my best friend?" Her voice had gotten quieter and squeakier at the end, but no one could've mistaken the look of hope in her eyes.

Alana was speechless for several moments.

Her jaw dropped, or at least it would've if her smile had allowed it to. "I... I would be honored."

Rachel hesitated a moment. "You don't mind?"

"Quite the opposite." Alana had to resist the impulse to kiss her right here and right now. Her smile was still ear-to-ear.

"Okay, so tonight then? Before bed?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Alana sighed.

Rachel looked like she was going to burst in happiness, so basically she looked exactly how Alana felt.

"Okay, after our husband is safe then." Rachel said, and her smile faltered a bit at the mention of Ethan's situation.

"Okay, I won't be able to sleep before then anyway." Alana nodded.

"Me either." Rachel couldn't stop smiling.

Neither could Alana.

* * *

Ethan slowly dragged his body back to the waking world despite it kicking and screaming the entire time. His limbs felt slightly like limp spaghetti and he had a slight headache, which he thought might be from lack of sleep. That didn't make a lot of sense since he was waking up from a nap.

*Why am I so tired?* He thought to his wives, more out of reflex than anything.

*I think a better question is: Why aren't you more tired?* Alana replied.

*My lord, you flew several hundred miles after leaving the Argo, didn't sleep well--"

*In a tree.* Taloni interjected.

*--Yes, in a tree.* The redhead agreed. *Then you fought some men in Talven's town, then traveled most of the day, then were woken up early after not sleeping well again, were super stressed all day, and you traveled the entire day with nary a break except for lunch.*

*Plus the stress of our ambush.* Alana added.

*Oh, right.* He made a half-hearted attempt to move, but he abandoned it pretty quickly. *That's why I feel like shit.*

*Can you stay the night Master?* Taloni asked.

He shook his head, not that he could see it. *I got the distinct impression that whatever is out there might not wait until morning. The last thing I want to do is harm this family again. Besides, if I stay here much longer I'm going to conk out. Damn, I feel more tired now than when I laid down.*

*Dominus, why don't you go take a look and see what's out there?*

He cocked his head to one side. *I only plan to leave this building once, and I'm going straight into flying.*

*Dominus, there's more than one way to look...*

*Oh.* He cocked his head to one side. *Good idea.*

A minute later, he sat up outside his body and looked at the purple hues of the Astral Plane. Around him, Talven's family had mostly disappeared, though the man's parents were still in the room with Ethan. He poked around the house just to make sure Talven, Salma, and the kids were okay and found them all flopped on a bed that wasn't even the size of a queen, except the toddler who was in a cradle.

They were all sleeping peacefully.

Serenely.

He watched them for a few moments, feeling somewhat better. He had caused their current hardship and he still felt bad about that, but he breathed a sigh of relief that they were okay now. He really hoped that they would be okay in the future. He hung his head slightly, sighed, and then turned back to the task at hand.

He took a deep breath and then walked through the door.

Outside, the moon was as beautiful as it could be while being entirely purple. The same could be said of the area around them. The grain fields around the house were blowing gently in the breeze and it looked like a nice night for a moonlit stroll with his wives. You know, if there wasn't something out there making his skin crawl.

He looked around but didn't see anything around the front of the house. He shrugged and started walking around it, thankful that no one could see him while he was on the Astral Plane. He made sure to give the house's corner a wide berth so he wouldn't be ambushed and walked until he could see around to the side of the house. It occurred to him that he needn't have worried about being ambushed on the Astral Plane, but that thought fled when It came into view.

It was looking at him.

Okay, 'it' wasn't the proper pronoun because it was definitely a man. However, he wasn't purple like everything else on the Astral Plane. Instead he was black like pitch. No, black wasn't right. It was like... like... it was like looking into a deep, dark hole. It was almost like the man -- or perhaps man/creature hybrid -- in front of him was actively sucking the light from around him. It was black, but black because it had no light...

...and it was looking at him.

It wasn't looking in his direction, and it wasn't looking through him at something behind him; it was looking at him. It was looking into his eyes, which he could tell because the man wasn't completely black. It was almost similar to a lightsaber from Star Wars, where the man was well-defined like the core of a lightsaber, but around him was a dark, black aura that seemed to absorb all light. That aura seemed to prevent most of the light from reaching the man, but now that he was looking closely he could actually see the man at the center.

Then his mind and instincts caught up to what he was seeing.

Run.

Run. Right. Now.

Get. The Fuck. Out. Now!

His dragon instincts were screaming at him louder than they ever had before. The only time he could remember feeling his dragon instincts scream at him this strongly was--

Sarah.

Sarah the--

*Ladies, it's a demon.* He thought to all of them as his Astral Plane body froze.

*A demon Master?* Taloni thought back almost instantly.

*I mean, a demon-possessed man.* He corrected himself.

The demon-possessed man sneered at him and spoke in a wispy voice. "We know who you are, servant of Illuminar." His voice was dripping with cold fury and a level of disgust that one usually reserved for child molesters or other such degenerates.

Then it snarled.

It actually snarled.

It was a low, threatening sound that didn't seem to arise from an impulse of the moment. Rather, it seemed like a longer, slower burn. It seemed like -- and this sounded strange but perhaps possible for a demon-possessed man -- but he felt like this creature's anger arose from eons of loathing rather than the impulse of the moment. It felt like this fury and disgust had matured and festered for incomprehensibly long ages up to this point and would only grow in the future.

Confronted with this, Ethan reached for his dragon-steel sword.

But that's not what he felt.

His dragon-steel sword had a nearly twelve-inch hilt and side rings. However, the hilt he felt was sized for one hand.

Aharown.

It was the sword that Gabriella had given to Beth, who had then given it to him. More importantly, it was an angelic blade. If there was any weapon in the Ten Kingdoms that could help him now, this was it. He breathed a sigh of relief and grasped the hilt. The sword was the only thing other than the possessed man that had normal coloring on the Astral Plane.

The demon-possessed man's eyes flicked down to the sword's hilt. The look of disgust on his face deepened, but there was also a flicker of something that approached apprehension. Not fear perhaps, but there was a slight bit of hesitation.

Ethan began to draw.

The demon-possessed man moved.

He moved faster than anyone Ethan had ever seen except for Sarah and Kyrupto. However, he didn't move towards Ethan, nor did it look like he was trying to attack. He was moving towards the door of the house. Ethan had made sure to give the corner a wide berth to avoid being ambushed, and as a result, the possessed man was much closer to the door than he was. He could get to the house before Ethan did.

Ethan froze slightly, pausing the draw.

The demon-possessed man stopped.

Ethan drew the sword another inch.

The demon-possessed man moved another few feet and then stopped. Ethan considered; he could easily draw the angelic sword quickly enough to defend himself, but the possessed man wasn't heading for him. The possessed man could easily get inside the house to the unprotected family inside before Ethan could move to intercept him.

Curiously, it wasn't doing so.

"You don't want to kill them?" Ethan asked.

The demon glanced toward the house, then back at Ethan and snarled again. Suddenly, Ethan realized how incredibly wrong he was. This thing definitely did want to kill them. That was written all over its face. The loathing, the hatred, the pure unadulterated malice rolling off this creature was enough to send shivers down his spine and make him want to hide under the nearest rock. This creature not only wanted them to die, but it also wanted them to die in the slowest, most excruciating and torturous way possible.

But despite the creature's craving to kill them, it wasn't doing it. Ethan wasn't sure why, but that was a problem for another time. Right now, drawing Aharown seemed like a bad idea. He sheathed the sword and the demon growled low in its throat, but didn't move.

Ethan took a step towards the house, getting the distinct impression that the longer he prolonged this engagement, the less he was likely to come out of it alive. He slowly circle away from the creature and then walked through its walls and touched his body. Moments later, he woke up in his body and his eyes snapped open as he jumped up.

"Whoa!" Talven's father jumped at his sudden movement.

"Sorry to be so abrupt, but I have to leave. Now." Ethan nodded toward the room that Talven and Salma were in. "Take care of them, and tell them that I'm sorry."

The man opened his mouth to respond, but Ethan was already moving. He had just the presence of mind to un-bar the door and not break down it as he barreled through it as fast as he possibly could, taking a great flying leap into the air the moment his front half had left the building. Fueled by adrenaline, his strength-enhancing armor, and the near-overwhelming sense of blind panic that was sending cold shivers through his body, he leaped higher into the air than ever before.

He flapped harder than he ever had before, with the possible exception of when his wives had been ambushed at Dotmier. His wing muscles were protesting loudly as he worked them as hard as he possibly could, trying to gain enough altitude fast enough to escape that thing. He well remembered that Sarah had thrown a rock through his wing and he couldn't afford that now.

He had thought that the feeling of foreboding would disappear once he had put some distance between himself and the demon-possessed man.

It didn't.

He looked down and back to see the man running swiftly along the ground under him. There was no doubt that it was a man now either. Ethan couldn't see the dark arua outside of the Astral Plane, but he could almost sense its presence on this demon-possessed man.

He was running after him.

He was running so fast that it would take a good few hours for Ethan to put enough distance between them to feel safe stopping to rest.

But he didn't have hours.

He couldn't fly at this breakneck speed for hours.

He turned and headed towards a large patch of trees, hoping that the possessed man needing to dodge the trees and run through the underbrush would slow his pursuer down.

It didn't.

Frankly, that didn't seem to slow him down much at all.

He looked around for other terrain obstacles but didn't see any. No cliffs, no ravines, and no other terrain obstacles he could take advantage of either.

Ethan grimaced as he realize how precarious his situation was. Sarah -- the only other demon-possessed person he'd ever met -- had been virtually impervious to harm. Further, the claw that he had enchanted to be beyond razor sharp to cut Rachel's mage-binder collar off while they had been imprisoned had barely scratched the innkeeper's daughter.

True, Ethan had his dragon-steel sword and dagger/javelin now and he hadn't had those during his fight with Sarah. However, he wasn't sure how much difference they would make. He wasn't sure it would make any difference at all. Sarah had moved so fast that she was almost impossible to block and she had caved in his chest armor with a single punch.

To make matters worse, he was all alone and there wasn't anyone to help him or shelter him for hundreds of miles. And the cherry on top of this terrible situation was that he didn't have a way to regenerate any mana that he used. He wouldn't die for lack of mana because he had the gold in his crop, but he couldn't replenish his mana without his wives or a lot of gold around...

...and a demon-possessed man was chasing him.

*Ladies, I think I'm in trouble.*

TO BE CONTINUED...

Note: This chapter began and ended on day 97 of Ethan's life in the Ten Kingdoms. I submit new chapters on the last Wednesday of every month, and they usually drop after the 2-3 days review process. Thus I'll submit the next chapter on October 25th, and it'll probably drop on October 27th or 28th.

I'd like to extend a very special thanks to two of my readers, one of whom didn't want to be credited by name. So "Anonymous" and Joseph: thank you so much for your support. I really appreciate it.

STORY TAGS: dragon, magic, medieval, elf, teen, romance, virgin, harem, cuckquean