Someone knocked on the door before entering. Rhobart and Ayla turned their heads to look at who it was.“Milton asked me to bring some food,” Godefray said as he entered. Two bowls of food were in his hands, and he put them on the table together with two spoons. He trimmed his hair and beard and was wearing clean clothes.Ayla was glad to see Godefray. Despite everything that had happened to them, they became not only close friends, but how they understood each other without the need to use words intrigued Ayla.Godefray looked at Ayla, and a silent conversation took place between them. ‘You look better, my Queen.’Ayla blinked. ‘You too, my Paladin. Thank you for everything you did for me.’‘Always.’Droyn entered the cabin. “Rhobart, there're Orcs and mercenaries on the main road. They seem to search for tracks. The Mages are setting some shields, but I wanted to let you know in case we need to rush out of here.”Ayla found it difficult to breathe. “They are looking for us!”Rhobart
Around a year had passed since Ayla last saw Drax. Ever since Drax became Saturas’ apprentice and came to live at the Royal Palace, he and Ayla have been friends. Even if Drax had not been the only child living in the Palace, he was the only one allowed to talk with Ayla. When Saturas sent Drax to the Water Monastery to have the Water Test, Ayla had never felt more alone. Drax closed the door and laughed bitterly. “Each time I see you, you either get into trouble or need healing.” He sighed. “You look terrible.” Ayla’s lips curved up. “I haven’t seen you in almost a year, and this is the first thing you say to me? That I look terrible?” Drax went to her, sat on the bed, and pulled Ayla in for a hug. Kerra hissed at him before moving to sit on Ayla’s lap. “I was having my last test when word came that King Rhobart claimed he would destroy all Myrthana and kill all the Water Mages unless you went with him to be his personal slave,” Drax said and looked into her eyes. “I feared the wo
Drax looked at Rhobart. “You might be a king, but Ayla is my friend, and I will not let her alone with you until you are calmer.”Rhobart clenched his jaw. “Drax, Rho won’t hurt me. I think it is time for me to have this conversation with him,” Ayla said softly, but Drax kept staring at Rhobart. “Drax!” Ayla hissed, and finally, the Water Mage left.Rhobart paced around the little cabin while Ayla and Kerra looked at him. His anger felt like torment in the middle of the sea. From time to time, he would stop and look at her, only to walk again.Rhobart stopped in front of the window, his back to Ayla. “I have been in battle with men and women for many years, and sometimes things have been kept away from me, but no one has disappointed me more than you did.”“Rho—” Ayla said softly.“I am not done talking!” Rhobart said, his voice harsh. “When you said that my plan would have not worked and that you knew you had to come to Myrthana, I thought that Sarya only warned you about it.” He tur
Ayla inhaled sharply. She thought of Nixx, and how Scar used to control him because of a blood oath. When Nixx disobeyed Scar’s orders, he died. What if she asked Godefray to do something, and he would not listen? “No, Godefray! I can’t accept your oath!” Even if a lot of time had passed, Nixx’s death still hurt.Godefray looked as if someone had slapped him. His throat quivered. “I promised you I would always be your Paladin!” His sword trembled in his hand. ‘Let me pay you back for everything I did to you!’ his eyes begged her.‘They forced you to do it! You don’t owe me anything!’‘And before Eluvene and Galian?’ Godefray asked. ‘Let me be your Paladin!’ he said when Ayla hesitated to reply.“You are my Paladin, and I don’t need a blood oath from you!” Ayla protested. She hoped he understood. “You are more than a Paladin to me, Godefray. You are my friend.” Ayla looked at the other Paladins. She knew some more personally because she had spent a long time with them, traveling. “You
Rhobart scratched his beard. “I think those two will end up killing each other. At least I am not the only one to dislike the Dark Mage. I don’t want her near you, and I mean it!” he said to Ayla. She decided not to argue with him. Not yet, at least. “We should leave! The longer we stay here, the bigger the chances of being found by the Orcs! We should have brought our armor with us! Damn!” Rhobart whistled a low tune, and his black horse rushed to him. “You are riding with me, t’xoria!” he said while helping Ayla get on top of Runner. He looked at Godefray. “Take Ayla’s horse!” he said before entering the cabin to grab Ayla’s messenger bag.Tizgar, Gorn, and Hewe started gathering their belongings and packing them in satchels while Milton, Drax, and Droyn checked the potions and magical plants’ supplies.Godefray went to where the horses were tied. Eluvene followed him.“What about the blood oath?” the twins asked.Ayla grabbed the reins. “While I grew up with Galian as my brother, y
Milton knew King Galian would not give up on looking for Ayla. But how did he find them so fast? Drax and Milton had cast spells to keep the grove hidden. Milton made sure the Dark Mage didn’t add mana to the wards he set. He even slept with an eye open, guarding the Dark Mage, but she slept next to Godefray all night long. Even the twins kept an eye on her.How did King Galian know their exact location?Milton turned his head and looked at Eluvene, but she was looking at the wyvern. She didn’t seem fazed by it.Milton clenched his teeth. The Dark Mage could not be trusted. How could Ayla be friends with someone that served Beliar?Godefray had a hand around Eluvene’s waist, his green eyes looking at Ayla, and it seemed they were silently communicating. Milton had been shocked when Hudde and Eude revealed that Ayla and Godefray were x’makide. The dark brown wyvern snapped at the trees as if he wanted to rip them apart to get to them. To Ayla. Galian was on top of the wyvern, directi
The Orcs reached Milton’s shield and used all their force to attack it. Eluvene and Drax added magic to the shields, while Milton drank two mana potions and prepared to send fireballs in the wyverns’ direction. The Paladins prepared their bows, arrows with tips made from magic ore, pointing at the Orcs. The arrows hit their targets, and some Orcs fell, only to be replaced by others. The mercenaries caught up with the Orcs and circled the horses of Rhobart and the others, making them stop. The Orcs and the mercenaries surrounded them.Milton put his right palm up; a big fireball appeared about it. He added more mana before sending it towards Galian’s wyvern, but the beast flew past it. Ayla released a stronger wind followed by bolts of lightning, forcing the dark magic wyverns to flee. A bolt of lightning hit Galian’s wyvern, and the mighty beast almost fell from the sky. More lightning bolts appeared in the sky, dancing around Galian and his wyvern. Another hit the wyvern close to w
Ayla picked up the ladle and a wooden bowl and eyed the cauldron filled with stew. What for others was a simple task of filling a bowl with food, for Ayla, ever since the Black Tower, it had become hard to do. Not only that her fingers spasmed all the time, but they also hurt when she tried to do the most simple things, like tying her laces.Rhobart and Milton had started working on her hands the previous day, but the results had yet to show. She knew she had to be patient. Some injuries took more time than others to heal.“Do you need any help, t’xoria?” asked Rhobart in a gentle tone. He sat on a rock close to the camp’s fire, writing on some parchments. Kerra was curled up next to his feet.Ayla’s eyes met his, and she gave him a soft smile. During the fight with Galian and the Dark Master, she feared for Rhobart and the others. A Dark Master was more powerful than a Shaman or a Seeker.She did need help, but as she looked around the small camp they found abandoned in a forest, she