Priscilla woke up feeling better rested than she had in a while, her dreams murky and undefined, but didn’t leave her feeling quite so afraid when she woke up.

  “Whatever you did last night,” Priscilla said, pressing a kiss against the glove, “it worked wonders, Asha. You truly are the most wonderful artifact ever, a legend amongst legends.”

  “I’m glad, master,” Asha said, and Priscilla frowned at the tiredness in Asha’s voice, pushing herself up to a sitting position.

  “Are you alright, Asha?”

  It took a long moment before Asha said, “It took more out of me than I expected, but I’ll be alright, master, so you don’t have to worry. Let me get some rest, and I'll get back into tip-top shape once more.”

  Priscilla didn’t sense any lies in Asha’s words, and let the topic lie because they were on a pretty strict timetable. She decided against donning her armor today, as there weren’t any major threats near Meadowyar.

  Departing just ten minutes after everyone was awake, Priscilla allowed enough time for just two indulgences – one was the absolutely delicious breakfast sandwich straight from Bella’s blessed hands that had a layer of egg, bacon, and cheesy potatoes; and the other was taking a route out of the city that allowed Kavil to look over the famed flower fields of Meadowyar as the dawn broke above the horizon.

  It was a beautiful sight as a breeze swept over the field, rustling the sea of petals that had begun to turn towards the sun. The sunrise mimicked the color of the flower fields, bright pinks, dusty purples, and rich oranges cut through by the blue of the sky peeking through the clouds.

  Kavil stared with wonder at the rolling fields of color, his mouth turning upwards into what looked like an unintentional smile, and that expression made the extra five minutes added by going this way worth it. His profile was backlit by the sun, giving Kavil an ethereal quality and Priscilla found she couldn’t look away, entrapped by the sight.

  “Can we have a picnic there when we get back?” Kavil asked, voice hushed.

  Priscilla went to exchange a fond glance with Sulaiman at that innocent question and found that he was staring at Kavil’s profile. It seemed Priscilla was not the only one who appreciated this view of Kavil.

  But that meant the burden of answering him fell on Priscilla’s shoulders.

  “We’ll make a day of it,” Priscilla promised. “Get Bella to cater it and just enjoy nature’s beauty and each other’s company. I’m sure Illnyea will need a day to relax after traveling for so long.”

  Kavil’s answering smile was so wide it was hard to see his eyes as he said, “I’ll hold you to it!”

  But the lightness of the morning faded as Priscilla was reminded why they were traveling in the first place when Sulaiman pulled out the marble to do a final double check of their course. Illnyea’s life was on the line and while Priscilla had tried hard to not linger on that fact, it had a habit of reasserting itself when she wasn’t actively thinking of anything else. And with the pace that the horses cut, it was difficult to talk to one another when the wind raced past them with a constant low buzz. Add in that bugs threatened to fly into any open orifice and Priscilla had ample incentive to keep her mouth shut. As it was, Priscilla kept her eyes in a near constant squint, wishing she had picked up some sort of goggles before leaving the city.

  Riding on a horse that had enchanted equipment that allowed them to go three times as fast as normal was a little disconcerting at first because Priscilla realized that if she was flung from the horse’s back, she was definitely breaking at least a few ribs, a limb, and her spine depending on the angle. Swallowing nervously, Priscilla told herself the likelihood of that happening was astronomically low – the only reason it happened the first time was because the horse died and came to a sudden halt.

  Still, Priscilla gripped the reins tight so she’d be able to stop at least some of her momentum should the worst happen.

  The road from Meadowyar was well-maintained and paved near the city but quickly faded into a rougher, but serviceable dirt road after an hour’s worth of traveling. They passed several towns and small villages on their westward journey, several people staring at them with wide eyes as they blew past them, leaving only a dust trail behind them. The land to the west was flat, mostly grasslands with occasional hills and small patches of woods breaking up the monotony between civilization.

  Time passed by quickly as nothing bothered them on their travels, and sunset was soon upon them.

  The horses took more time to slow down with the speed they had built up but eventually Priscilla and the boys had dismounted near the flat top of a hill with a clear view of the surrounding area. While technically they could travel through the night, they chose not to so the horses didn’t collapse from exhaustion, which would just make the trip even longer. Pitching up the tent wasn’t too hard, as Sulaiman had practice with this sort of thing and directed Priscilla and Kavil to move as effectively as possible.

  Once their sleeping situation was settled, then they went about setting up a fire pit. Sulaiman had to briefly go break a few branches from the trees that were nearby, while Priscilla and Kavil prepared the pit according to Sulaiman’s strict instructions.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Sulaiman returned and arranged the branches to his liking, stacking them in a careful manner. He snapped and they lit on fire. Magic sure made camping a hell of a lot more convenient.

  “Time for dinner!” Kavil said cheerfully, pulling out the bundle of food Mr. Ordan had given them when they departed. It was another delectable sandwich, though this one was a more traditional roast beef and a tangy mustard.

  “Fuck, do you think Bella’s single?” Priscilla asked Sulaiman as she licked crumbs off her fingers. “With cooking like this, someone ought to wife her up stat.”

  Sulaiman gave Priscilla a flat look. “As far as I know, she’s been happily married for twenty years.”

  Priscilla gave a dramatic sigh. “There goes my chances.”

  Kavil had a sudden coughing fit and Priscilla gave him a concerned look as she patted his back to help him through it. He recovered quickly after taking a gulp of water from the waterskin Sulaiman offered him.

  “So, you like women?” Kavil asked, the words coming out a little awkward like he started to regret asking the question halfway through.

  “Yup, though gals and guys both get my heart thumping,” Priscilla said casually, leaning back on her hands. “I like ‘em pretty and smart, and if they can cook, that’s a bonus that makes them ten times sexier because that means I get to enjoy delicious food without all the effort that goes into prepping it.”

  She had never been ashamed of her sexuality except for a brief period after starting high school, but Mr. –– gave her the talk and made sure she knew that there was nothing wrong with her. It had been an enlightening pep talk since she learned Mr. –– was gay, which was why he signed up for the martial arts classes in the first place so he could learn some self-defense. She smacked his arm for not telling her sooner and he called her a drama queen, but it made her feel more settled in her identity.

  Kavil blinked at Priscilla and then looked down at his half-eaten sandwich. “Oh.”

  Priscilla debated about keeping this topic of conversation going, as neither Kavil nor Sulaiman had ever had any romance arcs in the books, with Kavil believing his duties always came before love and Sulaiman never trusting someone enough to let them close, but based on how neither of them looked particularly gungho to keep talking, she decided to let it drop. Neither seemed to be judging her, and that was really the only thing that mattered to Priscilla.

  There was something else Priscilla had wanted to get done this evening, and now was as good a time as any to propose it.

  “Alrighty!” Priscilla said, slapping her thighs as she stood before she pointed at Sulaiman, who had just finished eating. “I challenge you to a hand-to-hand spar!”

  Sulaiman raised an eyebrow, as if questioning her intelligence for suggesting such a thing.

  “I know we just ate,” Priscilla said, “but after some stretching, we’ll be good to go! I need to burn off some energy and I’m sure you could use an outlet too. If we get too rough, Kavil can patch us back up.”

  Sulaiman paused, tilting his head before nodding.

  “I suppose it’s not a useless idea,” Sulaiman said, standing up and arching his back in a stretch. “What’s the rules?”

  “Don’t go for eyes or balls,” Priscilla said, winking at Sulaiman when he rolled his eyes. “First one to get three hits in wins. Kavil’s the judge.”

  Sulaiman had started to stretch his arms. “Don’t cry when you lose.”

  “Hah!” Priscilla laughed, giving Sulaiman a challenging smile. “Don’t whine when I beat your ass. Speaking of beating you…”

  Priscilla rummaged through her pack to pull out several rolls of bandages. Mentally pushing an apology Asha’s way, she took off her gloves and set them delicately upon her pack before wrapping her wrists in the bandages. Using a legendary artifact for just a sparring session seemed unfair but Priscilla needed some sort of protection for her delicate phalanges. She was old hat at this and had it done in a flash.

  “Come here,” Priscilla said, motioning for Sulaiman to come closer. He pointedly finished the stretch as Priscilla gave him an increasingly unamused look before ambling over.

  “What are you–”

  Sulaiman abruptly stopped speaking when Priscilla grabbed his right hand and turned his palm skyward. His hands were larger than Priscilla’s, his finger’s calluses rubbing roughly against Priscilla’s skin as she forced his fingers to spread wide.

  “While I’m sure Kavil could heal up a sprained wrist,” Priscilla said, starting to wrap the bandage over Sulaiman’s hand, “I figured we should at least pretend we’re taking care of our ourselves to prevent fractures and dislocations so he doesn’t nag.”

  “I don’t nag!” Kavil protested, looking affronted.

  Priscilla rolled her eyes, chuckling. “As your patient, yes, yes you do.”

  “You’re a horrible patient,” Sulaiman murmured, “that needs to be nagged so you don’t hurt yourself further.”

  Priscilla looked up to glare at him saying, “I don’t think you have any right to say that, Mr. My-Arrow-Wound-Can-Wait-For-Later.” She punctuated the point by tying the bandage tightly. “Give me your other hand, hypocrite.”

  Sulaiman did as she ordered and Kavil asked, “When were you shot with an arrow?”

  By the way Sulaiman suddenly stiffened, Priscilla abruptly realized that she hadn’t actually seen Sulaiman go to Kavil to get it healed. In the chaos after Kopica’a’s reveal, making sure Sulaiman got his wound looked at had slipped Priscilla’s mind.

  “Ooooh,” Priscilla said, drawing out the sound as she smiled, curling her hand around his arm to stop Sulaiman from moving, “sounds like someone’s in for some nagging of his own.”

  Kavil had stepped next to Sulaiman, hands hovering over his thigh with a healing light.

  “Jeroinin put a salve on it,” Sulaiman protested, “and the wound has closed. I’ve functioned perfectly fine–”

  Sulaiman sucked in a sharp breath as the healing magic sank into his leg. His fingers curled tightly around Priscilla’s reflexively, betraying what his face would not.

  Kavil gave Sulaiman a sweet smile that contrasted the steely look in his eye as he pulled back, tilting his head.

  “You’ll function even better since I’ve healed the scarring under your skin,” Kavil said. “Oh, and for the record, you’re both horrible patients.”

  “Is he good to spar tonight, doc?” Priscilla asked, barely keeping from laughing from the offended expression on Sulaiman directed towards Kavil, like he couldn’t believe he had been lumped in with Priscilla.

  Kavil sighed as he sat down. “He’ll be fine. If he had gone several months without treatment, we’d be looking at some long term problems from stiffness and chronic pain, but Sulaiman’s body is resilient.”

  “Then let’s dance,” Priscilla said, tying off the bandage and bumping fists with Sulaiman, who turned a supremely annoyed look to her.

  “Let’s,” Sulaiman agreed, voice dark.