Chapter Thirteen #4
Maxi knelt beside the guard and inspected his wounds.
A gash ran from his temple to the back of his head behind his ear, and his shoulder was heavily bruised.
With careful movements, Maxi made sure no bones were broken before placing her hand over the wound and dispersing her mana.
Sweat beaded on her forehead as heat streamed out from her palm.
Sensing that she would not have enough mana to tend to the others if she fully healed him, she stopped the spell midway.
“I-I’ve done what I can for him, for now…. Please clean his wound and give him w-water when he wakes up. The sentries should bring you boiled herb water soon.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“I-It would be…impossible for me to h-heal everyone. Is there…anyone else in d-dire need of treatment?”
“Two more are unconscious….”
Maxi suppressed a sigh and steeled herself. “L-Lead me to them.”
—
Maxi was spent after healing the two unconscious men. Was it normal to be this exhausted after using magic? Having never felt this lightheaded before, she began to worry she had made a mistake in pushing herself so hard.
“My lady…are you all right?”
“Y-Yes. I am merely tired from using so much mana…. I-I will be well enough soon. P-Please, do not worry.”
Maxi leaned against a tree and took a moment to gather her breath, praying that her words had been the truth.
While she had been treating the two men, the sentries had unloaded the rest of the supplies from the wagons, raised a tent among the trees, and were now transporting patients on makeshift bedrolls.
On the other side of the camp, other soldiers were boiling water over a campfire, and those well enough to walk stood guard around the perimeter.
Maxi watched them moving methodically around the camp as she waited for the dizziness to subside, staggering to her feet once her vision cleared.
She could not stay idle, not when she was the one who had insisted on coming.
After moistening her parched lips with lukewarm water from a pot, she moved on to the next patient.
Fortunately, it seemed like her practice had paid off, and she was able to treat the patients more efficiently than she thought.
Small wounds required thorough cleaning, application of powder coagulants, and a tight dressing, exactly as Ruth had taught her.
For broken bones, she realigned them with the help of other soldiers and bound them with splints.
She also made sure all the injured were given water infused with herbs to alleviate fever and clear their blood of any toxins.
They were still at risk of developing hyperthermia, even if they currently were not feverish.
“He is the last one, my lady, but his wound is rather severe. Will you be all right?” A middle-aged soldier with a bushy beard had led her to an injured man at the edge of the camp.
Maxi was alarmed when she saw the long gash on the soldier’s shoulder.
With just a glance, it was obvious that applying ointment alone would not be enough to treat the wound.
She would have to stitch it up with a needle and thread like Ruth had shown her, something she was not sure she was capable of.
“Is…Is this man the last…of the wounded?”
“Yes, my lady. Everyone else has been tended to. We intend to send those who can walk back to Anatol as soon as the scouts return to camp.”
Maxi looked around her. Sentries and workers covered in white bandages sat together on one side, eating watery herbal soup.
She did not think any of them would lapse back to an unstable condition.
After a final moment of weighing her options, Maxi summoned the last of her mana to heal the man’s shoulder wound.
Her vision went white as the last bit of mana drained from her body, but then, surprisingly, she felt almost normal. With a sigh of relief, Maxi rose unsteadily to her feet, wondering if she was getting used to magic after all.
Ulyseon had been pacing around her, and he quickly approached. “My lady, this place will be much more dangerous once the sun sets. You must return to the castle now.”
“I-Is there…still no news from the Remdragon Knights?”
“Scouts say that a few wyverns have hidden themselves deep in the valley, but I’m sure it won’t take long for the knights to root them out.”
“Th-Then…I shall wait for the knights. I-I think it would be safer…for me to return with them.”
The squire was obviously conflicted. “Would it not be better for you to return sooner so you can rest, my lady? You are as white as a ghost.”
“I-I will be all right…o-once I’ve replenished my mana by the fire. I won’t do anything else. I am too w-worried about Riftan….”
Ulyseon’s eyes grew wide at her words, as if he thought it absurd that anyone would worry about Riftan Calypse. She supposed most people probably did not think it necessary to worry for the knight who had once bested a dragon, but Maxi was beside herself. Even Riftan was not invincible.
“I-I shall go back to the castle…if they do not return by nightfall.”
Looking down at her adamant expression, Ulyseon let out a resigned sigh. “If you insist, my lady.”
“Th-Thank you.”
“But you must truly return to the castle if the knights fail to return by nightfall. Monsters will—”
Just then, Ulyseon shoved Maxi down, sending her sprawling across the ground as he drew his sword. A shadow fell across them and the ground shook. Maxi slowly pulled herself up onto her hands and knees and looked up.
A massive monster with burning red eyes was standing at the edge of the camp.
Its jaws were open, razor-sharp teeth on display.
How had such an enormous creature been able to sneak up on them without so much as a sound?
Half the camp had been blasted backward by the flapping of the monster’s silent wings.
If Ulyseon had not pushed her down, she would have been blown away like dust.
“Take cover, my lady!” Ulyseon shouted. The blade of his sword gleamed blue, and he swung at the wyvern, slashing through its shoulder joint.
The monster’s gigantic body lurched sideways as its legs buckled, knocking down trees.
The ground shook like an earthquake, and the wounded workers screamed as they ran for cover.
Even the sentries standing at a distance cried out and dispersed.
“Protect her ladyship!” Ulyseon bellowed.
“This way, my lady!” A soldier roughly pulled her up by the arm and began to run.
Stumbling, Maxi tried to keep up with the man as they fled from the monster, but her foot caught on a rock, and she fell to the ground again.
The soldier’s grip was so tight that he nearly yanked her arm out of its socket before she slipped from his grasp, and her scraped knee felt like it had split open.
“My lady! Are you all right?” the soldier called.
She hastily tried to get back on her feet, but she suddenly felt woozy, and her stomach twisted painfully.
Unable to bear it any longer, she dropped back onto her hands and knees and hurled.
Her chest burned with every heave, as if a dagger had been plunged into it.
Again, she struggled to her feet, gasping like she had forgotten how to breathe.
Suddenly, a golden flash lit up the surroundings, and Maxi turned to look back in terror at a raging fire consuming the monster.
“Riftan!” Princess Agnes’s sharp voice cut through the air like the crack of a whip, and a figure leapt through the air, swinging a sword at the flaming monster as it thrashed wildly.
The monster’s colossal head, at least fifty kevettes in diameter, dropped from its neck like a butchered chicken’s head. The monster’s body collapsed, the ground shaking violently again as it struck the earth. Maxi helplessly watched the scene with tears streaming down her cheeks.
“My lady! Are you all right?” Ulyseon rushed to her side and helped her to her feet.
Her limbs felt limp, as if all her bones had melted away. Her whole body trembled as she leaned against the squire, until she finally felt herself tipping over like a scarecrow in a stiff wind, and she lost all consciousness.
—
“Deep breaths. Slowly, now. Yes, just like that…”
Maxi felt as though she were drowning, curled up on her side while she gasped for air.
She felt someone gently stroke her quivering shoulders, and she barely managed to crack open her dry eyes.
The familiar sight of her bedchamber, illuminated by flickering orange candlelight, gradually came into focus.
Bewildered, she fixed her gaze on the corner of the dark room for a while until her vision adjusted.
A wave of nausea washed over her, and she groaned, writhing in pain.
The person holding her put a cold brass bowl to her lips. “You should let it out if you feel sick.”
Maxi looked up tearfully at Riftan through her disheveled hair. He looked as pale as she imagined she was.
“The dizziness is from being depleted of mana. You’ll feel better once you’ve let it out.”
Desperately holding back another wave of nausea, Maxi pushed his chest away with her trembling hands. “P-Please…c-ca-call Ludis….”
“It’s all right. Go ahead.”
She covered her mouth and shook her head. Tears trickled down her cheeks, and her stomach twisted painfully, but she did not want to humiliate herself in front of him again.
“I-I want…” She squirmed to free herself from his arms. Riftan tossed the bowl aside and pulled her to his chest, holding her close. Shaking her head, she tried to escape again, but his arms did not budge.
Holding her chin, he pushed two fingers into her mouth and gently pressed down on the back of her tongue, prompting her sticky bile all over his chest. She shook as she coughed it up, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Shhh…It’s all right.” Riftan rocked her in his arms as he rubbed her back, as one would when comforting a child.
Maxi sniffled in shame and revulsion at the vomit now covering Riftan’s hands and clothes.