Or was just being willing to die enough?
I don't understand…
'You thought we were dead,' Jermayan said. 'And I must say, without this young lady and her skill with a bow, we might very well have been.'
Jermayan paused to exchange a look of warm comradeship with Vestakia that left Kellen gaping in shock. Things had certainly changed while he'd been unconscious!
'But once you destroyed the cairn, the goblin army fled, and your healing regained its power. Once we found you, we got out of there as fast as we could. Fortunately Shalkan was able to light our way back to Valdien and Lily, and praise the powers of Leaf and Star they'd stayed where they were left,' Jermayan said. Kellen could hear the relief in his friend's voice.
'We bandaged you up as well as we could,' Vestakia added. 'Your poor hands! And I thought of bringing you here—this is one of the places where I hide from the Demons. And at least it's dry.'
'And there's plenty of fresh meat—if you like goat,' Jermayan added, smiling as if at a private joke. Vestakia giggled.
'Do you think you can sit up?' Jermayan asked.
'No,' Vestakia said firmly. 'I'll lift him up.' Gently she cradled Kellen in her arms and raised him into a half- sitting position. Abused muscles shrieked in protest, but he managed to keep from crying out.
Jermayan produced the inevitable cup of tea and held it to his lips. Kellen drained it thirstily, and then another, and then a large bowl of broth. He felt better after that—not well enough to try moving on his own for anything short of a Demon attack, but better.
'My hands,' he said, once Vestakia had returned him to a supine position once more. 'You said they were burned. I can't even feel them. Can I… do you think… will I be able to hold a sword again?'
'You are a Knight-Mage and a Wildmage,' Jermayan answered with a smile. 'The healers in Sentarshadeen are very good—and Idalia is there. I believe you will. But now, let us savor our victory. It hasn't stopped raining once in the last three days,' Jermayan said, sounding satisfied. 'And if it rains so out of season here in the Lost Lands, then the drought must be truly broken in the Elven lands as well. And as for Demons, my girl, your days of hiding from them in caves and under rocks are over. You're coming back to Sentarshadeen with us, and any Demon who comes after you will have to answer to me. As will anyone else,' he added meaningfully.
'To all of us, I think,' Shalkan said, stepping into the cave. The unicorn was covered in mud, but looking very pleased with himself.
Kellen sighed with relief, feeling himself relax completely. The Barrier was down, his friends were friends with each other, and he was alive. He couldn't stop grinning, even though it made his sand-abraded face hurt a great deal.
'We did it!' he said. It was finally starting to seem real to him.
'Yes, we did,' Shalkan said approvingly. 'And once you're well enough to travel, we can bring the good news to Sentarshadeen… although I suspect they already know, somehow,' the unicorn mused, switching his sopping tail back and forth.
'It will be a wet trip back,' Jermayan said cheerfully. 'And I'm sure there will be floods and mudslides and— well, it doesn't matter. We did it, all of us. The Barrier is down, the drought is ended. We've broken the power of Shadow Mountain.'
Vestakia dipped the cloth in the bowl beside her and began to bathe Kellen's face again with the allheal tincture.
'Thank you,' she whispered, bending over him. She kissed him, light as a butterfly wing, upon the forehead, then replaced her lips with the soothing cloth.
And suddenly, Kellen was anything but soothed. Suddenly he felt a peculiar unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach, and was utterly conscious of Vestakia's presence, her nearness, in a way he hadn't been even a moment before.
Now that he realized he was going to live after all, there was the matter of the future to deal with. And he was starting to get the feeling that his vow of celibacy and chastity was really going to be a lot harder to keep than he'd thought.
A whole lot harder.
QUEEN Savilla was angry.
