Kaen held Ava tight as she beat against his chest softly.

Tears still flowed down her face, and he could see how upset she was. It hurt to see Ava like this.

“I thought I had lost you… I cried all night long…”

“I’m sorry, I would have come but…”

Ava’s sobs cut him off, and Kaen sighed as her hands finally moved to his waist, and both arms surrounded him.

“I know… when Amaranth told me you were ok… I… I didn’t know how to respond.”

Ava sniffed, pulling her head back before leaning in and wiping her face against Kaen’s now damp shirt. “I laughed and cried… this one hurt worse than any other time.”

“I would have come if I could have… That is why I sent Amaranth.”

Leaning as far back as she could while Kaen held her, Ava scowled. “You sent a dragon to tell me you were ok!” she snapped. “Instead of visiting me first! How could you–”

“Ava, stop!”

She looked at him, mouth open, as Kaen shook his head slowly and stared at her.

“Every other person in this city is worried if they are going to die! Aldric is still trying to get word out to everyone that we won. Right now, husbands, wives, and children are all cowered somewhere in their house, afraid that a dragon might burn them to a crisp at any moment. While you had Amaranth here to tell you I was okay, no one else got that.”

Kaen stopped, smiling softly as he watched the love of his life try to deal with the words he had just said.

A frown was replaced by a sigh and then a downcast look as Ava leaned her head against her husband's chest. “I’m sorry… I just… forgive me.”

Kaen freed one of his arms, moved her head back, and tipped her face up. Gently, he kissed her on the lips. After their kiss, Kaen smiled. “I am not angry. I just wanted you to know why I did what I did. Had Glynnis taken me, you would have had to wait longer to hear from us.”

Stroking her hair gently, Kaen moved his hand and rubbed his thumb gently against her cheek as she pressed into his touch.

“You are my everything. I would have if I could have come, so I sent the next best thing in my stead.”

A thrum came from across the cave, and both of them turned to see Amaranth, Glynnis, and Pammon watching the two of them.

“Next best thing huh? Amaranth says she didn’t realize you thought more highly of her than Pammon.”

Kaen started to laugh, and a trill came across the room, causing Ava to smile and squeeze Kaen tightly.

“Come, let’s lay down briefly while we can. I know you are tired, and I have no doubt that you will be going in many different directions soon.”

Kaen smiled and let himself be led by his wife to their side of the cavern.

Please remember to block anything you decide to do.

Oh, you know I am too tired for that, Kaen shot back, feeling the laughter in Pammon’s tone.

A thrum that Kaen was all too familiar with echoed in their cave, and he felt his dragon’s eyes on him.

We both know you are never that tired.

Almost three hours later, Kaen was leaving with Ava on Amaranth, letting Pammon and Glynnis fly back to the corpses and start eating again. Both dragons knew that an opportunity to consume a dragon shouldn’t be wasted.

“Are you ok with going there?” Ava shouted into Kaen’s ear over the wind. “I will understand if not!”

Kaen nodded and focused on the city beneath them.

Amaranth was flying low enough for people to see them on her back. Pammon and Glynnis had already set off to make a trip around the southern part of the city, hoping to encourage the citizens and show them that they still had dragons protecting them.

As the Hurem estate came into view, Kaen grumbled at what he knew needed to be done.

Don’t forget to tell Hess that I need him to come here!

Why do you treat me like I’m some child who forgets things? We both know I’m not the one who makes those mistakes.

Ignoring the jab, Kaen knew exactly what Pammon was referring to, having once made the mistake of bringing back what Ava had requested and hearing about it for days.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I know… just make sure he hurries. Tell him also to tell Sulenda and Callie I love them.

A thread of disgust came through the bond.

Once again, I am nothing more than a messenger dragon for you… when do I get a turn to make you a messenger for me?

The moment I can speak to someone across a city or fly on my own, I’ll gladly be that person.

Pammon laughed, and Kaen smiled, glad his dragon was slowly shaking the dread that had filled him this morning.

Lord Hurem had his special multi-lens glasses on and was peering at Kaen’s chest and the boils and puss pockets while Ava held a light stone close by.

“My boy, do you ever try not to get afflicted by the most interesting things? Poisoned, diseased by the orcs, and now this…” His father-in-law tapped with a metal probe and leaned back, lifting the lenses covering his eyes.

“Listen. I’m going to lance one of those pockets and put it in this jar as it drains. Hopefully, I can learn a few things about it, and I want to try one last test.”

The Lord of the house stood up and nodded at Amaranth. “I am grateful for letting me watch as you heal him. Thank you again for doing so.”

He is not as bad as you describe him.

Kaen started to cough, and he saw Ava raise a questioning eyebrow when she heard what Amaranth had said.

I didn’t say he was terrible… just overzealous regarding things like this.

Yet he is right. You apparently do have a knack of suffering horrible things.

Kaen winced as he felt the sharp tip pierce the puss pocket, and as the grayish-green ooze inside started to drip out, the smell hit them all simultaneously.

“That smells worse than a dwarf's ball sack!” Lord Hurem exclaimed.

Coughing, Kaen nodded and saw his wife pinching her nose.

“I can taste it,” Ava muttered, her eyes watering.

Lord Hurem never pulled the glass jar he held back, pressing on the wound and squirting more puss into the jar before feeling like he got it all and setting the glass container on the table.

Taking a few clean cloths, he dabbed the wound and ensured no more would leak from it.

“Amaranth, if you don’t mind, I am ready to watch!” the older man said excitedly, lowering his lenses back into place and leaning close to Kaen’s chest. “Light, please!”

Ava coughed and held the light stone closer with one hand while giving Kaen a look that told him how bad she thought it must smell.

A warm sensation came from Kaen’s backside as he felt a cold nose press up against his back and felt the power of her healing flooding his body.

“Interesting,” Lord Hurem murmured as he shifted his head slightly, watching the skin and the sore start to heal some.

When Amaranth pulled back, Lord Hurem had a sharp knife in his hand.

“Kaen, do you mind if I cut off the sore I just lanced and see what is under it? I have my suspicions, but this might hurt.”

“Go for it.”

After seeing Kaen nod and hearing those words, Lord Hurem wasted no time, deftly slicing under the skin of the boil he had lanced. Kaen hissed slightly, yet never moved, as the potion maker finished making his cut, grabbed the piece of skin with a pair of metal tongs, and moved it to a jar waiting for it.

“Amaranth… can you come look at this and tell Ava or Kaen what you see?”

Kaen turned slightly and watched as Amaranth brought her snout to his side. Her eyes shifted between gold and green as she inspected the area Lord Hurem had just cut off.

The area appears to be infected, but the centermost spot is not.

Kaen relayed her message, and the older man nodded. He dabbed the bleeding area and took a deep breath. “How open to seeing what we might be able to do to heal you, are you?”

Kaen tried to read his father-in-law's face, but there was no expression. Just a pair of lips held together and cheeks that showed a slight clenching of the jaw.

“How bad is this going to hurt?”

Clucking a few times, Lord Hurem pulled a few more empty jars from a wooden carrier on the table. “I want to try five more things. Each one will require me to cut you. The worst will be the last cut.”

A hand squeezed his shoulder, and Kaen looked to see Ava smiling at him. He could see her eyes telling him she was there and would give him all the strength he needed.

“Well, I’ve never been one to shy away from pain. So let’s get it done.”

The older man nodded and smiled, flashing all his teeth when he did.

“Just remember, what I’m doing is to heal you, not to torture you for taking my daughter away from us.”

“Wait, you sai–”

A knife slipping under an unpopped boil cut Kaen’s words off as tears formed on their own. His chest wanted to shake as the man gouged out a massive hole in his chest. Blood ran down, and Kaen watched as Lord Hurem quickly began to pat it and inspect the wound he had just cut.

“Please heal him now if you would, Amarnath!”

An hour later, Kaen felt like he had been poked and prodded more than he had expected. The nasty taste of two different potions hadn’t been washed away yet, even when he ate and drank something.

“I should have some results in a day or two.” The excited tone of his father-in-law as he walked away, carefully carrying those jars all filled with pieces of his body, seemed way too cheerful to Kaen.

“He is a little weird, isn’t he?” Kaen whispered in Ava’s ear.

She nodded and smiled. “If you weren’t here, I would be down there with him, watching and learning.

Kaen began to chuckle and saw the truth of what she said in how Ava’s eyes followed her dad. “You can go with him if you want. Amaranth and I will be fine. Besides, Hess is inside with your mother, and I need to talk to him.”

Ava looked up at her husband and saw that he was telling the truth.

Rising on her toes, she kissed Kaen on his cheek before squeezing his hand and running after her father.

She is a weird one too.

And I love her for that. Besides, you like her.

That is because she is strong. A woman like her is a rare thing. This house produces strong women. The day you have a daughter, I expect you will find yourself losing to both of them.

She was right. If they had a daughter someday and she was anything like her mother, he would be in a far worse position than Hess was in with Callie.

That thought was almost like a summon as the doors opened up on the far end of the courtyard, and his Dad’s voice and laughter echoed from the room he was leaving.

Seeing Hess and Lady Hurem, Kaen moved to join them.

Be careful. That one is far worse than your wife.

Kaen couldn’t contain the laughter at those words. As he walked, he allowed himself a moment to live, letting out a fit of laughter that left him feeling happy and content.