That night Illara barely slept.

  Every time I woke, she was lying awake beside me, quietly crying into the darkness. Each time I pulled her closer and held her tightly, hoping the warmth might offer some small comfort.

  By morning her eyes were red and swollen, though the tears had finally stopped.

  Sera and Ash did not look much better.

  Breakfast was quiet. The mood across the camp was heavy. The guards mourned their fallen comrades while we mourned Theo.

  Joan had regained consciousness and was sitting near the fire, still weak. Faie was feeding her carefully while watching her with obvious interest. Joan’s expression shifted between confusion and frustration as she tried to understand where she was.

  The rest of the morning was spent digging a pit.

  We put the prisoners to work alongside us while Faie stood guard. The soil was stubborn and the labour exhausting. After two hours of digging, we had finally carved out a pit deep enough.

  One by one we carried the guards’ bodies to the grave.

  Percy’s headless corpse went in last.

  Once the pit was filled again, Jenna stepped forward and raised her hands.

  “Solvarn, we return these men to you,” she said solemnly. “May their afterlife be peaceful.”

  The prisoners bowed their heads, honoring their fallen companions.

  We planted their swords upright in the earth to mark the grave.

  One of the captured guards turned to Cain.

  “Thank you for treating our friends with respect,” he said quietly. “We appreciate it.”

  “Of course,” Cain replied. “It’s the right thing to do.”

  Jenna cast a cleansing miracle over the ground before we returned to the fort.

  Theo would not be buried here.

  The plan was to take him back to his village so that those who loved him could visit his grave.

  Back at the camp we constructed a makeshift prison to hold the guards. It was little more than a crude wooden enclosure with a roof, but it would make guarding them easier.

  Inside, we laid bedding made from leaves.

  Jenna cast a preservation miracle over Theo’s body to prevent it from decaying during the remaining stay. Once the spell was finished, we carefully covered him with leaves.

  Percy’s severed head was preserved as well before being placed inside a bag.

  With that done, I went to check on Joan, who was still being tended to by Faie.

  I walked over to where Faie was sitting beside Joan.

  Joan looked pale but conscious now, leaning back against a rolled blanket. Her arms were still bound loosely in front of her, and Faie was holding a cup of water up for her.

  “Drink slowly,” Faie was saying very seriously. “You lost a considerable amount of blood. Rapid consumption may induce vomiting.”

  Joan took a small sip and squinted at her.

  “You’re… the one guarding me?”

  “Yes.”

  Joan blinked.

  “And you’re also the one giving medical advice?”

  “Yes.”

  Joan sighed.

  “I’ve been pierced with arrows, captured, dragged through the forest, and now I’m being treated by my captor.”

  Faie tilted her head slightly.

  “That is not entirely accurate.”

  Joan raised an eyebrow.

  “Oh?”

  “I did pierce you with arrows.”

  Joan stared at her for a moment.

  “…Fair enough.”

  I stopped a few steps away, deciding it was probably best to just watch for a moment.

  Faie was staring at Joan with the kind of focus usually reserved for complicated puzzles.

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  “You are recovering well,” Faie said after a moment.

  “That’s reassuring,” Joan replied dryly.

  Faie nodded thoughtfully.

  “You are also very tall.”

  Joan frowned slightly.

  “…What?”

  Faie gestured vaguely at her.

  “Your height is unusual. It is statistically interesting.”

  Joan looked confused.

  “I’m not sure ‘statistically interesting’ is how most people describe me.”

  Faie seemed to think about that.

  “I also find you attractive.”

  Joan choked slightly on the water she had just taken.

  “You what?”

  Faie said it again with the same calm tone.

  “I find you attractive.”

  Joan stared at her in disbelief.

  “You’re flirting with me.”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m your prisoner.”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m also extremely weak from blood loss.”

  Faie nodded.

  “I noticed.”

  Joan sighed.

  “You people are unbelievable.”

  Faie didn’t seem discouraged.

  “Once you are no longer a prisoner,” she said, “would you consider dinner with me?”

  Joan looked at her like she had just suggested something insane.

  “You are asking me on a date.”

  “Yes.”

  “I am tied up.”

  Faie glanced down at the rope.

  “That is a temporary situation.”

  Joan leaned her head back and laughed weakly, immediately regretting it.

  “Gods… don’t make me laugh. I’m dizzy enough already.”

  Faie nodded seriously.

  “I will attempt to be less amusing.”

  That was about the point I decided I should probably announce my presence.

  “Everything alright over here?” I asked.

  Joan opened one eye and looked at me.

  “Your friend is trying to court me while I’m a prisoner.”

  Faie corrected her immediately.

  “I am waiting until she is no longer a prisoner.”

  Joan looked back at me.

  “You see what I’m dealing with.”

  I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

  “I’ll… leave you two to it,” I said.

  Faie nodded.

  “Thank you.”

  Joan groaned softly.

  “This is going to be a very strange captivity.”

  The day continued slowly, Illara sat in contemplation by herself for most of the time. I was feeling restless after the action over the past week we had experienced.

  I decided to head out for a hunt, this time by myself, I wanted to give Drisnil her freedom she expected. We had more mouths to feed afterall.

  I headed out of the camp after letting Cain know where I was going, I headed directly into the forest. Once suitably far away I gave Drisnil full control.

  “Much better, I shall use this time well” Drisnil said.

  Drisnil continued along an animal trail, looking for signs of animals. The noise of the forest surrounding us gave me a sense of calm, the lack of human noise was freeing.

  We stalked a trail of paw prints that Drisnil found, they looked like wolf prints to me. Using the Silent stride boots made our footfall silent. After an hour we came across a pack of wolves, lying in the sun. There were a total of twelve wolves.

  Drisnil began to smile at the challenge.

  She quietly climbed a tree and perched on a branch, with, knocked an arrow and let loose.

  The first wolf fell to the ground, an arrow piercing its head. The other wolves startled, looking at us. A second arrow found its mark into the side of another wolf, felling it immediately.

  The remaining wolves began to run away as a pack. Knowing she couldn’t catch the pack she climbed down carefully and started to prepare her catch.

  After an thirty minutes the pack returned, stalking us. Drisnil knew they were there and was waiting for this.

  The pack attacked as a group, four wolves charged at the same time.

  Drisnil stabbed one with her rapier and caught another in the top of the head with her shortsword. She then summersaulted out of the way of the other two.

  We didn’t have a moment to rest as four more wolves were already charging. Drisnil ducked under the leap of one wolf stabbing upward into their heart. She used her rapier to catch another in the throat and rolled to the side to avoid the other two.

  The remaining wolves began to circle closing of our retreat. Drisnil was feeling a thrill from the adrenaline.

  Three charged again, Drisnil jumped over one stabbing downward it its back, the wolf yelped as it fell, the second and third were dodged by stepping around them like a dancer.

  Now there were only five wolves left, the odds were looking more in our favour.

  The wolves were snarling, trying to intimidate us.

  Drisnil seeing the opportunity charged one wolf, it tried to leap out of the way, Drisnil caught it with her rapier in the throat, it’s snarl cut short as it bled out on the forest floor.

  The other four wolves sensing the danger began to run.

  Drisnil threw the short sword at one wolf retreating, catching it in the back of the head. Retrieved her bow and shot another through the back and into the heart.

  The remaining two wolves got away.

  Drisnil let out a satisfied sigh, “I needed that after that frustrating fight with Percy”

  Watching her efficiency was unsettling.

  And yet, in its own way, it was beautiful.

  After preparing the meat, Drisnil dragged one carcass back toward camp, leaving the rest hanging from tree branches where scavengers would struggle to reach them.

  It was a long trek back, but with my uncanny sense of direction we eventually found our way to the fort.

  Just before entering the camp, I took back control.

  Cain noticed the wolf immediately.

  “A wolf? Nice,” he said appreciatively.

  “There are nine more,” I replied. “But I’ll need help retrieving them.”

  Cain raised an eyebrow.

  “You went alone, didn’t you?”

  I nodded.

  He shook his head slightly.

  “Alright. You can borrow a few prisoners, Ash, and myself. Let’s go collect the rest.”

  It took two trips, but by the time we were finished all the carcasses had been brought back to camp.

  At the very least, food for the remainder of our stay was no longer a concern.