It was a week to Tam’s Flat, even riding Rile as hard as Ezo and his poor horsemanship dared. If Kammon had passed out from a single use of magic, he was in bad shape. Or he’d been using it a lot, and the other men hadn’t seen it. Or perhaps they just had no concept of the cost of magic.

No matter what caused it, Ezo was worried. Eques Lestan wouldn’t have given up his desire to capture Kammon. Even if it was sheer luck Ezo had heard about a grumpy elementalist, the eques’s soldiers could have heard the same story. If this was Kammon - and Ezo would say it was a long shot, except the itch kept urging him on - he was in danger without anyone to look out for him.

He vowed not to let this happen again. This time, when he found Kammon, he wouldn’t let the other man get away. No matter what the circumstances.

As Ezo rode into town, people smiled and waved, which was both unsettling and welcoming at the same time. Even the men at the watch tower passed him by with a friendly smile. Most villages didn’t like strangers and few received them with such open arms. He remembered Alvrey speaking of the place as a refuge for the wounded, though, so perhaps it was as simple as that.

When he rode up to the village inn, a young man came running out to take Rile from him. “Go on in, Elementalist. I’ll care for your horse. They’re expecting you.”

“What?”

The young man pulled the saddlebags off Rile and handed them to him, pushing him towards the door of the Blooming Waters. Ezo stumbled up a step onto a long patio in front of the building and didn’t have time to say anything before the man rounded the corner with his horse. Ezo readjusted his bags over his shoulder and decided he’d best see what was waiting inside. They were sure to be upset when they realized he wasn’t the one they were waiting for.

He pushed open the doors to the large inn. Business in Tam’s Flat was thriving. Though it wasn’t a market or on a major road, they had two commodities that kept the village rather wealthy: the healing springs and leria. The flowers grew in great fields on the south side of the village that let off a light fragrance. Just seeing them as he rode past had eased his mind and made him feel lighter.

The innkeeper was a stout-looking man with a full mustache that seemed to make up for his thinning beard. Ezo’s stomach rumbled at the smell of freshly baked bread and roasting meats, reminding him that most of his meals had been eaten in his saddle for the last week.

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“Danya, he’s here,” the innkeeper called through a set of doors.

Ezo opened his mouth to say something, but the doors swung open from the back, and another man came out, an apron over his clothes with a tired smile on his face. “Oh, we thought you might have gotten lost. He said it might be a few more days, but he’s grown rather impatient, and we’ve been afraid he wouldn’t wait much longer.”

Danya took Ezo’s bags before he could protest and dropped them on the bar. “Take care of those for me, won’t you?” he asked the innkeeper.

“I know what to do with my customer’s things,” he said with a quirk of an eyebrow that made Ezo wonder about their relationship. It was playful banter, and everything seemed good, except they had the wrong guy.

“Wait.”

“You’re Ezo, correct?” Danya asked.

“Uh, yes, I am.”

“Right, then we need to get you moving before he comes out himself. Or runs. It’s quite possible he’d run, considering what little I’ve been able to glean from him.”

“Wait. Is Kammon here?”

“Where do you think I’m trying to take you?”

Ezo was too confused to protest when Danya pushed him back through a side door and into the streets.

How had Kammon known he was coming? Was that even possible? Ezo hadn’t read that much about the bond. The itch had become more clear as he got closer, but it had quieted once he’d reached the leria fields. But Ezo was still in the dark about that topic, and it was clear that Kammon knew far more than he did.

There was a long, low building behind the inn. When the doors opened, they descended a set of stairs, and the scent of good, strong loam and leria surrounded him. They walked down the hallway to the last room, and Danya opened the door.

It was modest, but clean, with a comfortable-looking bed, plush rugs, and simple but sturdy furniture. A bowl of fruits sat on a table nearby with a platter of cheese and bread. Ezo noticed those things, but his eyes were drawn to the other side of the room, where a large earthen tub was built out of the floor. Waters bubbled gently in the bath, and sitting ever so still was Kammon.

“Well, come on,” Danya pushed Ezo further in. Ezo was getting a little frustrated with all the pushing, but then Danya started grabbing at Ezo’s clothes and trying to strip them off him.

“You’re finally here. No need to be shy now,” Danya said. “Nothing a healer hasn’t seen before. Jump in. The water won’t help either of you heal just by looking at it.”

“Stop!” Ezo demanded.

“He doesn’t know!” Kammon’s voice stopped Danya, and the room was still.

Ezo turned to look at Kammon. “Oh yes, I do.” And every bit of his frustration and anger must have shown on his face because Kammon paled. He ran a wet hand through his hair before slapping it back in the water again.

“Well. Fuck.”