Two weeks have passed. After eating breakfast with Thyrna, I take my daily visit to see if there is any progress in Ulrika’s health. She’s still floating in a comma. Now her hair is past her shoulders. I’m worried that if she doesn’t wake up in time, I’ll have to cut if it gets too long. I’m not decent with blades on hair, so I pray to the gods it won’t come down to it.
“Morning,” I say to begin my one-sided conversation. “It’s been fourteen days. I still haven’t left your tent like I said I wouldn’t.” I stop talking the second I hear the flaps of the tent open behind me. “Whols there?” I ask without looking to see who it is.
“Your worrying, mother,” Thyrna says. “Some of your friends told me you barely leave her sight.”
“I want to be with her the moment she wakes.”
“Kai, she’ll be fine.”
“She almost died, mother,” I say, raising my voice slightly. “She almost got crushed to death!”
“Easy, Kai,” she says, smirking as she points at me. “What did I say about controlling your emotional outbursts?”
“Control it even if the unthinkable happens,” I quote.
“And?”
“In private, those feelings are acceptable,” I finish. “Sorry, mother.”
“Come here.” She opens her palms for me to take. I submit to my mother’s command and hold them. “Ulrika will be fine by herself.”
“But,” I say, detesting the idea of leaving.
“No buts. Plus, two people want to see you.” She somewhat shoves me out of the tent. The bright light from the sun hits my eyes, temporarily blinding me with pain.
“Zavi!” A familiar voice says in front of me. I look between the cracks of my fingers to see the woman I’m assuming is Syren. She’s the only person that calls me that name. “It’s so nice to see you again.” Her royal blue eyes pop through the bright sunlight.
“Syren?” My eyes finally begin to adjust.
“How’s my Zavi been?”
“Busy.”
“So I’ve heard. You went to battle in Galfalian, yes?” She asks in a calm conserving voice.
“That’s correct.”
“Wow,” she gasps in awe with her hands on her cheeks. “Bounty hunter turned soldier.”
“You’re a soldier now?” Vahloin asks, seemingly appearing from my left. Zahava, their baby, is in his arms, sleeping with a pacifier in her mouth.
“No,” I chuckle. “I was working contracts.”
“Still hard at work, I see,” Syren says. “I feel like you’ve been working nonstop since your contract ended with me.”
“There were,” I pause to think about some of the downtime Ulrika and I shared within the year. “There were vacations. And a marriage.”
“A marriage?” Vahloin says. “Who was getting married?”
“I got married,” I say, smiling.
“Zavi!” Syren softly shouts after gasping. I can’t tell if she’s happy or mad that I’m married. “Why didn’t you come to tell us?” She asks before lightly backhanding my arm.
“Ulrika and I wanted a brief ceremony.”
“Was it unwanted?” Vahloin asks.
“No,” I snicker. “We were fighting the cult at the time.” I quickly peek my head into the tent to check on Ulrika before I continue speaking with them. Nothing has changed. She’s still floating. “I did speed up things.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“Both,” I chuckle after thinking about all the great and terrible moments we went through because of Nite’s appearance in Rainor. “Hopefully after Nite is gone, I can go fulfill some vows I made for her.”
“Do you mind telling what they are?”
“Two girls and owning a specific cabin we love to rent in Thaa Alora.” Syren and Vahloin both shower me with awes. When I reveal my daughters’ names and why Ulrika chose them, Syren nearly cries.
“That’s so adorable!” She sobs with a smile. “Can I be their nanny?”
Vahloin rolls his eyes and sighs before asking Syren, “Why do you want to do that?” While she answers his question, I see Rhyndac approaching from the right corner of my eye. We make eye contact for a moment before she enters Ulrika’s tent. Roughly a minute later, a cold breeze blows out from within.
“Whoa, that’s chilly,” Syren says after taking a quick breath through the sides of her teeth. “Why is it cold in there?”
“It’s not,” I say. “Rhyndac, what are you doing?” She pokes her head out as I’m about to peek my head in to see what’s going on. Our noses bump. “Oh! Forgive me.”
“She’s about to wake,” Rhyndac whispers.
“Are you serious?” I enter the tent the second she steps out of my way. The orbs around her body fall to the ground. Her body slowly descends on the bed. She grabs her stomach and rolls on her left side, groaning quietly.
“Ulrika,” I say, nearly screaming for joy. I carefully help her get into a sitting position. She grabs my hand that’s resting on her lap tightly. It’s tight, which is a good sign. Two weeks of sleeping seems to not weaken her strength.
“Kaio,” Ulrika says in a weak soft, raspy voice.
“I’m right here, my love,” I say, sitting beside her. Syren, Vahloin, and Rhyndac stand around me. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired, heavy,” she says in a groggy voice. “Where am I?” She looks at me, but a part of her hair moves over her left eye. She swats it away like there’s a nagging fly in her face.
“Ulrika?” Syren says as comes closer to view her.
“Who- who are these people?”
“You know them,” I say, putting her hair behind her ear to get it fully out of her eye. I point at everyone while saying their name and briefly how she met them.
“Oh,” she chuckles like she’s out of breath. “How did I forget that?” The weakness in her voice starts to worry me. She has to force it out to make her words understandable. “Is that Zahava?”
“Yes,” Syren says.
“She looks so gorgeous.” Her voice is starting to wain. “May I hold her?” Vahloin puts Zahava into Ulrika’s arms. Ulrika cuddles Zahava against her body without disrupting her sleep. She’s a natural. She’ll be a wonderful mother to our children once we get to that point.
“Kaioson told us you want girls,” Syren whispers.
“I do,” she says, then nearly coughs. “Excuse me.” Vahloin takes Zahava back at her request so she can cough. “Kaio, what’s going on with me?”
“Rhyndac?” I say, hoping she’ll give us an answer.
“I’ll make an elixir to fix it. I’ll be right back,” Rhyndac says. I stop her momentarily from leaving to thank her for her service. She nods and smiles, then walks out.
“Don’t talk until you’re feeling better,” I suggest.
“Okay,” Ulrika agrees in a weaker voice than before.
“Honey,” Vahloin says, tugging on Syren’s sleeve. “Let’s give them the room, yeah?”
“Kaioson, come by at the local tavern later, okay?” Syren says as they leave the tent. “We got some things to discuss.”
“Sounds like more work,” I say, out of their earshot.
“Really?” Ulrika says in a weak raspy whisper. “We should go on another break.”
“Shush,” I say with my finger over my mouth. “Do not speak.” Her lips dip down into the corners of her mouth to create the biggest pouty face she can muster. I tug on the end of her hair to take her mind off her voice to her long hair.
“Ouch!” Her voice cracks. “What’s snagged in my hair?” When she realizes how long it is, her eyes shoot open. She looks down at her chest to see the end of it. “What the hell happened?”
“You were in a comma.”
“How long was I out?” Every word is forced out. “Was it months?”
“Stop talking, Ulrika,” I say out of annoyance at her not submitting to my wish. “You’re losing your voice.”
“I don’t care,” she says, weeping without tears. “How long was out?”
“Two weeks, my love.”
“Gods,” she says, tucking her face into her hands. I embrace her and whisper in her ear how happy I am that she’s alive.
“While you were being healed.” I move away to point at the orb on the ground. “The magic in those made your hair grow.”
“Oh,” she whispers while clawing her fingers through her hair. “What happened to me? All I remember was being squeezed.”
“I killed him,” I say without any emotion or hesitation. “And I made sure he was dead.”
“Good,” she says, only using her mouth.“Did we win the battle?”
“No,” I sigh, digging my face into her chest. “We lost miserably.” She presses my head deeper into her chest while the other hand rubs and massages my back. Gods, I miss her sweet touch. It’s so gentle when she digs her fingers into my back. She takes this moment a step further by letting me lay my head on her lap to receive a facial and massage. I close my eyes, momentarily losing myself until she begins tapping on my forehead. “Yes?”
“How have you been?”That simple question is at a loss to me. I smile and shrug my shoulders hoping she’ll realize it is not an easy question to express. ”I understand. What can I do to make you feel better?”
“You’re already doing it.”
I lay in her lap for a time while recalling every moment we shared up to this point. My vow is at the forefront of my mind. A small nagging part of me wants to move on with our plan to have a family, even with the wars unfolding. I don’t think I’ll ever recover mentally if Ulrika gets hurt like this again. There are too many factors going against our wishes to continue fighting against that fanatical jealous goddess.
To add to my worries, Empress Tan Da seems to be not having any conflict, according to the Paladin agents, since disrupting Nite’s operation in Tawaragata. We can only speculate why that is. My gut is telling me there is something off. After what Nite has done around the world, I’m shocked Empress Tan Da hasn’t officially declared war on them after what they tried to pull off.
“Ugh,” I grunt at the thought of all the shit that’s happening. “Fuck me,” I utter under my breath. Ulrika taps my forehead again. I look directly at her to find one brow raised and her smirking. “Nite has me stressed.” She awes with her mouth, tilting her head slightly to the left when she nods. Parts of her hair get into her eyes. She lets out this type of grunt that sounds as if she’s pissed. “Hey,” I say. “What do you think about your hair?”
“It feels like I cheated,” Ulrika snickers, combing her hair with her hands.
“You look amazing, though.” She glances around the room and under the bed for something.
“What are you looking for?” I ask, checking at the areas she looks to.
“Something to cut my hair.”I nearly smile from being right about her wanting to cut it back to how it was. “Is something funny?”
“No.” I hand her my dagger from my waist. Before she lobs off lengthy portions of her hair, she presses the side of the dagger on her hair around her neck. She does it several times then glides the dagger down the back side of her head. “What are you doing?”
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“Measuring,” she says, exaggerating her mouth movements. She cuts her hair almost perfectly back to its original length without the assistance mirror.“I made a promise to grow it for you,” she blushes, shying her gaze from me.“I’m not going to let magic ruin the moment.”
“I love you,” I say after I kiss her. “I’m so thankful you weren’t taken away from me.”
“How did I survive?”
“Coretha,” I answer, nearly tearing up. “She saved us both.”
“Bless her,” she says as best as she can. She wipes her tears with her thumbs before they touch her cheek. I sit on the bed so we can embrace each other. The tighter we hug, the more we lose our emotional composure. We cry yet laugh. After a minute, we’re able to gain control.“So,” she says, sniffing her mucus back into her nose.“What’s our next move?”
“Next move?” I repeat. All I want to do right now is not think about what Nite is doing or the duties of finding the champions. The emotional sting of almost losing my wife still lingers. Living an uneventful, calm life will do us good. “I’m sorry, Ulrika. I almost lost you.” Her eyes never waver while I speak my mind. “I don’t think I can continue doing this work.”
“Kaio,” she says out loud before coughing again. “Are you sure you want that?” Rhyndac comes in, interrupting the serious moment I’m giving.
Rhyndac wiggles a clear liquid glass elixir in Ulrika’s face and says, “This’ll give your strength back. She stands back with her hands on her hips, watching Ulrika guzzle every last drop. “Feel better?”
“I just drank it,” Ulrika snaps in a clear voice. “Whoa! Holy cow! That was quick!”
“Good, my job is done.” She takes the bottle and leaves without saying another word.
“Thank the gods you’re back to normal,” I say as I lay my head on her lap. “If I had to endure another weak without you...”
“My poor husband. We must make up for the lost time.”
“Got any ideas you want to do first?”
“Let me think.” While she comes up with something, I get a head massage. “You know,” she chuckles. “It has been a while.”
“Ulrika,” I chuckle out of shock. “You just woke up after weeks of slumbering.”
“And?” She scoffs.
“We did it days ago.”
“And?” She scoffs again but raises her voice a tad. “By the way, where are we exactly?”
“Kromagia. We’re in the military barracks.”
“Can we fasten that closed?” She points at the entrance with her thumb. My dirty mind takes over the moment I think about us possibly having sex in a military barracks. The medical tents are spread apart enough that we can’t be heard if we’re quiet. “Kaio, answer my question,” she giggles and lightly squeezes my face between her thighs. “Can they?” She playfully whispers.
“I don’t know. I never looked.”
“Let me see.” I sit on the bed while she peeps her head out. “Pretty busy out there,” she says, walking back to me. “Remember last time we did it around soldiers?”
“Gods,” I chuckle, nearly laughing out loud. “You can’t be serious about this. You need to rest.”
“I need to rest?” She quotes like she’s in shock. Her voice pitches on the last word and she squints her eyes at me.
“I mean, we should do something else than that,” I stutter several times.
“What do you suggest, darling?” She says, soothing my thigh. “Sit around, look at your wife shock, and be amazed that she’s alive?”
“I guess so,” I say with no confidence.
“I don’t think so,” she says, smiling and chuckling. “But, I see this is not an option. Can we wander the city like we did when I first came here?”
“Sure,” I say, grinning. She takes me by the hand to lead me out of the tent. We both have to cover our eyes from the bright lights from the sun’s light reflecting off the white tents. “Where’s the exit?”
“This way.”
We walk through the streets of Tranquilith, going to some familiar places like the bakery, chocolate store, and makeup for the lost two weeks of time. I try to keep myself not get pissed about what Zadione and her cult have accomplished in fourteen days. I wish things didn’t go down as they did. The South is looking to be under her absolute control. Oraya’s army can’t repel Zandione’s forces and she’s considering evacuating further south to their capital, Murath. Ulrika says Oraya is doomed to lose and she’s wasting the lives of her soldiers. I have to somewhat agree even though I think Oraya should try to turn the tide. I’ll send my prayers to the gods to hopefully give Oraya the best possible outcome once I’m in private.
----------------------------------------
I take Ulrika to my childhood home to enact her desire for sex. Before she can unstring her shirt, I bring up wanting to start a family in Kromagia. I try to deeply express my feelings in hopes I can persuade her to have them here instead of having them in Thaa Alora. Unfortunately, she resists heavily by staying true to what we originally planned before we got married. She threatens me with no sex forever if I keep the same mindset after today. I know she’s playing around. Sex is too good to give up.
“C’mon. Think about it,” I say. “This is the best choice we got.”
“No,” she says aggressively yanking her shirt apart to show me her breasts. “But... you’re right.” She sits next to me and says I’m right again but softer. “Kaio...”
“Yes?”
“If I said yes, would you want to try now?”
“Ulrika,” I sigh. “I don’t think we’ll get what you want.”
“It seems like that,” she says, looking at the floor. “But, I’m hopeful we’ll win this war,” she says, giving me a gentle smile. “Sorry Kaioson but your wife is going to be stubborn for now.”
“Oh, Ulrika,” I say before I kiss her on the neck, pushing my head a bit to make the moment playful and hoping it’ll lighten her mood. She leans down to my shoulder and pokes my neck with the tip of her tongue. “It’s been a while since you did that.”
“You like that? Don’t you?” She whispered erotically in my ear while slowly sticking her hand down my pants. “Feels packed in there.”
“Hold on,” I say the moment she tries to unlace my pants. Once her eyes lock on me, I calmly strip naked. Her pupils dilate and her cheeks blush red once I drop my slacks.
“Why did it suddenly get so hot in here?” She chuckles with her knuckles on her mouth. “By the gods,” she says heavily emphasizing the lost word by slowing it down.
Ulrika and I make passionate love for nearly half an hour. She’s enjoying every position more than usual. She moans loudly and uses playful vulgar language to demand I stimulate her more. Her orgasms make her whole body spaz. Whatever is making her act so differently, I love yet find it somewhat alarming. I feel like Rhyndac gave her more than something to fix her voice.
Later in the day, we sleep together naked on my fur blankets while Ulrika’s wind magic circulates fresh cool air from the open window. The atmosphere is perfect for me to have a lucid dream. I see myself as if I’m looking down on us. We’re not under the cover, but I don’t feel the air hitting me. I slowly hover down closer to myself. Then an impulsive force drags me into my body. I wake up hearing Thyrna calling my name from the streets. I think I’m still dreaming, so I head back to sleep. Then I hear Syren scream my name.
“What?” I say, sitting up on my right side. The first thing that catches my eye is Ulrika’s ass before I check my room. No one but us is in the room.
“Kaioson!” Syren says from outside the open window. “I know you’re in there!”
“Kaio, who’s that?” Ulrika says in a growgy voice.
“Sounds like some people want my attention.”
“Who?” She leans on her elbow to look past me to where the door is. “Are they friendly?”
“Kaioson! Wakey, sleepy head!” Syren shouts in a playful alternating pitch.
“Very friendly,” I say, nearly laughing as I walk up to my window to see everyone. Vahloin, Haleema, and Rhyndac are here too. “What are you guys doing here?”
“You forgot to come to visit me! Remember?” It takes me a second to realize I have forgotten to see her at the tavern.
“I’m sorry. I had to... take care of Ulrika.”
“You took care of me all right,” Ulrika says under her breath. “Pissed the bed a few times,” she muffles with a slight chuckle.
“It’s fine. I understand. But we need to talk right now,” Syren says. Thyrna curls her finger to tell me to hurry up.
“I’ll be right there.” I scurry to put on my clothing.
“Hey,” Ulrika says in a groggy voice again. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
“Syren wants to talk. I’ll be right back.”
“All right,” she says and yawns. Her eyes water up to the point she has to use the blankets to wipe them away. As I’m heading out, I notice her watching me with half of her face digging into the pillow. We look at each other without saying a word for three seconds.
“Do you need something?” I ask. She slowly turns her head left and right without blinking or breaking eye contact, then waves me down to come closer.
“I’ll be here when you come back,” she says after kissing me on my cheek. “I love you.” I’m somewhat confused by what she did, yet I don’t find it random.
“I love you too,” I gently say and kiss her forehead before heading to the street. “So,” I say, clasping my hands together. “What are we all doing here?”
“We’ll talk about it in my school,” Thyrna says as she commands me to follow by curling her finger. “Coretha is waiting for us.”
“Not anymore,” Coretha says in my head. We’re suddenly teleported inside Thyrna’s school, standing before Coretha. “Greetings, everyone! How’s Zahava?” Vahloin answers her, saying that Zahava has been good. Their maid, Ceocerrya, will be babysitting Zahava for the duration of this meeting. “Before we start,” she says, looking at me with her eyes first before turning her head. “How’s your wife doing?” Everyone turns around to await my answer since I’m behind them.
“Thanks to Rhyndac’s elixir, Ulrika is back to her regular self,” I say. Rhyndac’s ears perk up when she smirks and nods her head.
“Bless her soul,” she sighs in relief. “Since I’ve become human, I’ve lost my foresight. I broke the rules.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I say out of sympathy. Since there is no celestial in direct contact with me, divine intervention might cease to exist. Coretha is the only one that seems to care for all the beings in this realm. If we lose to Zadione’s radical forces, will any other gods like Coretha defy Xanlos not to intervene? Will they stand by and watch all they’ve created be controlled by one singular woman? All of these questions leave me stricken with sadness for the future of our world.
“Coretha,” I say with defeat in my voice. “What’s our next move against Zadione and her cult?”
“Well,” she says, rubbing her hands as she takes a seat. “Take a look at this.”
A table emerges from the ground through dust particles. It shows a map with all the lands Zadione has and doesn’t have. Kromagia is safe from all sides. Empress Tan Da’s empire seems to be Zadione untouched. The map is painted purple to represent Nite’s control of all of the world. Thubet’s kingdom appears to be under attack by the purple boundaries maneuvering past her borders. The fairies are under their control, and the Succubi have some action on their northern borders. Far to the east, beyond the mountains where the drows like Rhyndac and the orcs live, is uncolored.
“Why isn’t Nite taking these lands?” I ask.
“It’s probably has to do with the fact that those are Zadione’s beloved creations,” Haleema says.
“You’re right,” Coretha confirms. “She wouldn’t dare enslaving them.”
Coretha explains to me that after Zadione lost her foresight, she tried to use dark magic to make a new race she can subjugate and make them worship her. The product of her failures is known to us as orcs, drows, succubus, and fairies.
“She wanted to make her own human and elves?” I say in shock. “Why didn’t Xanlos stop her from doing that?”
“That’s,” she chuckles nervously. “A talk for another day.”
“So, are they our enemies?”
“No,” Rhyndac jumps in. “But, some of us work for her.” Syren crosses her arms while looking directly at Rhyndac.
“Did you work for Zadione?” Syren says.
“No,” she smirks, then chuckles. “I worked with the cult for a time.”
“You what?” Syren’s face looks stunned beyond belief. She isn’t smiling, and her eyebrows are flexing between her eyes as they bulge.
“As an undercover agent,” Haleema says quickly. “She was within their ranks for years, Syren, feeding us information.”
“Rhyndac,” Coretha says, standing up from her chair. “Does your race despise, Zadione?”
“Possibly,” Rhyndac claims, shrugging.
“If so, I want you and Kaioson to travel to those lands and confirm it.”
“Huh?” I utter at the surprising request. Rhyncdac stands next to me with her hands crossed over her lap.
“Great idea!” Rhyndac agrees. “Kaioson will be a great companion for this assignment.”
“That’s wonderful!”
“Wait a second,” I say to break up the decision. “I just got Ulrika back,” I say while trying to think of more excuses. “And there are still other champions to search for.”
“Here.” Coretha pulls out a scroll from her sleeve to hand me. It’s the same list I already have but updated with a drow’s name. “I got a new one. Dreca Bondesi will be our last one.” I’m shocked to see this champion is a drow.
“Are you sure this drow is a good candidate?”
“Rhyndac believes so.” Rhyndac grins when I look at her. I don’t find the situation funny or positive in any way. This suggestion isn’t from Coretha, so I am considering not following it. “You don’t look happy about that.”
“What about the other champions we’ve made contact with?”
“Syren and Vahloin will gather them. It’s time we go on the offensive.”
“I will inform the Kromagian king about our decision,” Haleema says. “Including this plan. Do we have an accord?” No one in the room objects. “I’ll keep all of you updated.” She leaves the room to walk through a portal directly in front of the king’s castle.
“Here,” Coretha says, pulling another scroll from her sleeve to Vahlolin. “It’s the same champion list.”
“This is it,” Vahlolin says to Syren like he’s relieved or preparing for something.
“This is it,” Syren says calmly. “Good luck, guys. I hope we’ll see each other again.” She hugs me tightly, pulling me down to her height level. We embrace for a short moment before they take their leave to gather the champions Ulrika and I sought. Coretha leaves soon after like she’s in a hurry to get somewhere.
“So... is it only going to be the two of us?” I ask. “No one thought to bring my wife into this?”
“That’s because we knew she’ll follow you no matter what,” Rhyndac says. “She’s such a loyal and obedient wife.” There’s a hint of sarcasm within her voice. I don’t let it get to my head despite my annoyance. “You got a week to get ready. You’ll find me here with your mother.”
“Hold on,” I say, pressing the back of my hand in her stomach to stop her from leaving.
“Yes?” She grins.
“I’m not sure I want to do this anymore.” Her grin reduces into a smile before it goes away entirely. She puts her hands on her hip and leans forward, lightly bumping her forehead into mine.
“Giving up on us, are you?”
“I nearly lost my wife,” I say as calmly as possible through my teeth. “I risk breaking promises if I keep doing this.”
“We need you two,” she says, taking her forehead off of me. “You guys have helped us tremendously.”
“I can’t keep doing this.” I step out into the door with my hand on the doorframe. “Sorry, Rhyndac,” I say after sighing.
“Thank you for your service, Kaioson,” she says once I step past the door. “You’ll be missed.”
I walk back in silence with my hands in my pockets to my childhood home to tell Ulrika the entire plan. When I step inside, I find her setting two bowls on the kitchen table. The smell of seasoning flies into my nose. There’s a small black pot sitting over logs where the oven is. On the counter, there are chopped vegetables and some sort of meat.
“Making dinner already?” I say.
“Hey, darling!” Ulrika says with a smile. She stops what she’s doing to give me a kiss and a hug. “I didn’t know when you would be back, plus I was getting hungry.”
“What are we having?”
“It is a beef soup with some vegetables,” she says as she closes the door behind me. “I’ll have it already soon, my love.”
It takes a couple of hours to cook everything. The efficiency in her skills as a cook will never stop amazing me. I watch her run from the pot to the counter, adding each ingredient to the mix.
“Darling,” she says. She stands with her back resting on the counter, arms and legs crossed.
“Yes?”
“Come here.” She twirls me around the second I walk past her, grabs my waist from behind to pull me into her body, and then slithers a soft kiss to the back of my neck. “My husband,” she whispers nearly giggling.
“Are you okay, Ulrika?”
“I’m... just really happy to be alive. I can’t imagine you being without me.” That’s a depressing image I can never stop thinking about each time we face danger. I don’t want to widow her either. We need each other to survive this ludicrous nightmare.
“After dinner,” I say as I face her. “I’ll need to talk to you about our future.”
“Oh, Kaioson...” She frowns with her bottom lip forward. “What did they tell you?”
“They want us out there in a week.” Her arms slither away from my waist, leaving me wanting to keep them there. I step away to give her space. She hums while walking to the cooking pot, and removes the lid to examine the food.
“Will this shit ever end?” In my silence, I think about the possibility of a long grueling war. “Great,” she says sarcastically. “Where do they want us to go this fucking time?”
“Drows,” I say.
“Gods,” she utters under her breath as she returns to the counter. “Another quest? Another one?!” My sigh is all I give for an answer. “Kaio.” She slams her fist on the counter. “Why?” She yells. “We technically only have one person on her fucking list!”
“I know,” I say, keeping my voice calm. “But Coretha is sending Syren and Vahloin to gather them and the others.”
“Kaio,” she says somewhat whining. “I don’t want to do this shit anymore.”
I nod as I think more about the possibility of giving up this cause entirely. Ulrika and my vows are too important. I can’t keep putting my life on the line to safeguard the world’s future. That task is becoming too great of a risk with these quests Coretha wants us to accomplish. Today might be the first time in this fight I’m considering saying no to everything.
“I’m leaning on that path too,” I say.