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Chapter Thirty-One
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The Villain's Hero Chapter Thirty-Two
I set to work in Perditha’s house, mopping the floors and dusting the shelves, keeping my hands busy whilst my mind fretted over Aien, that uncomfortable twisting pain within my ribs as I recalled that terrible night at his father’s house and the way that he had looked at me in that dress.It had been so long that I had not tasted Aien’s lips, so long that my lungs had not been filled with his scent, and that I had not felt his hands on my body, and yet all it took was closing my eyes and I could recall all so clearly that I had to open them again to remind myself that he wasn’t there.I heard Caraway and Valerian’s laughter and was not surprised when the door opened to admit my siblings, Rue, Perditha, and… Aien. He eased in through the doorway, his eyes scanning the interior and, upon finding me, his cheeks coloring. The little front shop and treatment space of Perditha’s house was very full of tall, broad-shouldered, golden-haired dragons, and he was edged towards the other side of
The Villain's Hero Chapter Thirty-Three
We rode out from the village two days later, towards the spot that my siblings, by means of over-flying it in dragon form, had determined to be the best position for the initial campsite. Our convoy had grown. A number of villagers had joined us – young boys recruited as pages with the goal of training as squires, young women who had fallen for the charms and romance of the knights, and tradesmen such as the blacksmith following with their eyes on the golden coins in my sibling’s purses.Perditha’s addition was not a surprise to me. Rue’s efforts to win her affections were not as unsuccessful as they had appeared destined to be with the stops and starts of that first day. Perditha had been hesitant and wary, and perhaps another man would have pushed too hard without regard for her boundaries, but Rue was not that sort of man.The next morning, he had begun the day by chopping the wood in her yard and stacking it to season ready for winter. The sound of the axe had announced his arriva
The Villain's Hero Chapter Thirty-Four
On the road, our brief overnight stops had only merited the use of the small A frame tents, however as it was possible that we would stay for weeks at the base camp, the larger Fae-made war tents were erected, great multi-chamber constructions that cheerfully waved the purple standard with its golden dragon of Uyan Taesil, as well as the Nerith’s royals’ white skull with a golden crown and Fae rose wreath on a black cloth – the design a nod both to Akyran’s Dark Court inheritance and to Ecaeris’ Necromancer skills.With the rings of smaller tents, and wagon’s converted into accommodation, we swiftly formed a village of flapping canvas at the side of the river that had been the reason for the site’s selection. The healer’s tent was by far the largest of the structures, something which was rather ominous if a person stopped to think about it overlong. It was busy with healers and volunteers who were setting up the cot beds, tables, and shelves for the potions, elixirs, and bandages we m
The Villain's Hero Chapter Thirty-Five
The healer’s tent exploded into a chaos of blood and gore as the knights and hunters returned. The freneticism of stopping bleeding, stitching wounds, and applying potions kept me too busy to think, but I slowly began to piece together a story of what had befallen them. The creature had possessed a tail to accompany the pinchers that Val had mimed for me that morning, and that tail had been armed with some type of stinger.The injuries varied from burns from the poison of the stinger to cuts, and bruises from being knocked aside in the swing of its great tail. The burn injuries were most serious, but still relatively minor, the knights and hunters having been too many, too small, and too quick for the creature to stab effectively.Most of the knights and hunters had been covered by their leather or metal armor. The first step was to strip that from them without coming into contact with the poison or getting more upon the injured person. Hands, necks, and faces were the most common inj
The Villain's Hero Chapter Thirty-Six
In a daze, I made my way to the river and washed off the blood as Rue had bade me to do.My father had long had a saying that prophesies were rarely wrong, but our interpretations of them could be. There were, after all, so many different ways to interpret words.There might be time, I told myself as I watched the moonlight spread in the ripples of the water. The monsters had been the bane of our world for decades. There was no guarantee that this campaign would discover their origin. There was no guarantee that now was the time for the prophecy to be fulfilled.I pressed my hand over my stomach as the tears ran down my face. Maybe there would be time for this child to be born. Half a year was all that I needed to give it life.My breath dragged in on a sob and I pressed fingers icy from the water to my eyes, trying to stem the tears. My family would raise the baby for me. I did not fear for it, but I grieved what we would not have. How much time might prophesy give me with my child?
The Villain's Hero Chapter Thirty-Seven
At first glance, the camp looked no different, and I hoped that Rue was wrong about deserters, however as I went about my day, it became evident that there were gaps. Wagons were missing, fewer horses grazed, and tents were empty.People were tense, sliding sideways glances at my siblings as they moved through the camp. Although they maintained an appearance of dragon-stoicism, Tarragon, Rue, and the twins talked more frequently during the day in dragon, discussing what to do. In comparison to their frequent conversations, the rest of the camp seemed muted, their conversations carried out in hushed murmurs, interrupted, and falling into guilty silence whenever someone passed by.That night, I was woken by movement and murmurings outside of the tent. In the dark, I met Tarragon’s eyes. She put a finger to her lips and we both listened to the sounds of horses being led past, the clank of armor, and the creak of wagons.When the noises passed, Tarra rolled over and appeared to return to
The Villain's Hero Chapter Thirty-Eight
There was much to keep us busy. The injured in the healer’s tents needed to be washed, fed, and watered, their bandages and bedding changed. There were potions and poultices to make and administer, and spells to cast.The toxins of the monsters seemed to increase the risk of infection and the onset of rot into the wounds, and there were two patients that seemed very likely to succumb to their injuries – one a burn victim, and the other the man whose leg we had amputated the day before.“It is time,” Perditha decided grimly.I nodded, and we lifted Daerton’s chest of anti-venoms onto the tabletop, standing before it and inspecting the little vials with trepidation. I reached for a vial from the center. “The creature they brought back was not an arachnid. It did look a little like the creature these potions were made from, but only a little. I think the middle potions, that combines elements of both, would be the safest option,” I told her.“The creature…” She said slowly. “It is still
The Villain's Hero Chapter Thirty-Nine
I ran. My skirts tangled around my legs, and I dragged the fabric up, paying no heed to modesty as I ran, my heart in my throat and tears already in my eyes.Tarragon held Caraway in her arms, and I could see the steady drip of blood off his naked hip. Rue was standing on his own two feet, but the moment that Valerian transformed, he put his arm around Rue’s waist. Tarragon’s face was pale, her expression utterly blank, shocked beyond comprehension.“Cara!” I reached them. I could see that someone had applied a field-bandage to his stomach, but it was soaked through. “Straight to the tent!” I turned to Rue. He was also roughly bandaged, the wound to his forearm.“It’s nothing,” he told me, though his face was parchment-white and from the set of his jaw I could see that he was in pain. “A glancing wound. Enough to prevent me from flying. Nothing else. Tend to Cara, Daethie.”I nodded and turned to run ahead.Aien was making his way to meet us and stopped as our paths crossed. “Daethie?
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