the air inside the cavern buzzed softly now, no longer with screams or snarls, but with the hum of magic finally finding its balance. overhead, a crystal the size of a carriage hovered faintly above the ground-shimmering, ancient, and warm like sunlight. the royal magic ministry had arrived just in time, dragging with them the stabilizing relic: an aether core strong enough to pierce through the cursed magic of the marsh.
they'd set up tents. sigils. a whole portable warding field that turned half the battlefield into a pop-up hospital. incense burned in bowls carved from ashwood. mages flicked glowing runes into the air with steady hands, weaving through knights who stood like statues, guarding nothing in particular anymore. lines of soldiers kept watch in staggered rings around the perimeter, faces grim beneath dented helms. most were still shaken. one had vomited behind a bush and quietly pretended it didn't happen.
outside the crystal's reach, magic still crackled wild. it jumped like static from mossy walls, split branches with invisible force, rattled loose stones as if whispering, we're not done yet.
but here, inside the glow, healing spells were finally able to work.
just not for everyone.
evie sat on a slab of rock, ankle still tightly bound with strips of shirt and tension. no one had come to treat her.
not even a glance.
she'd seen one mage wrinkle her nose in her direction before turning on her heel to attend someone wearing polished armor.
the mages had prioritized sir kael, unconscious but stable, and the emperor, who very clearly didn't want to be prioritized at all. claude stood stiff and annoyed as three separate healers buzzed around him, weaving layers of magic into his already-closed wounds. one muttered something about residual trauma. another tried to hand him a warm cloth. he didn't even look at it. the third just hovered, nervously adjusting the straps of her spellbook.
evie rested her chin on her hand and stared flatly at them all.
"...'cause yeah, why not," she muttered to herself. "just the peasant girl with a possibly broken ankle. not like i fought a wyvern or anything."
tofu, curled in the crook of her hood like a gremlin burrito, sneezed in agreement. the tip of his nose twitched dramatically.
"if one more of them apologizes to him for the inconvenience of being almost killed," evie whispered, "i'm gonna scream."
a knight nearby shifted uncomfortably. he was probably twenty, baby-faced, and trying very hard not to make eye contact with anyone.
evie watched him. "boo."
he jumped.
and then, like the gates of hell had just opened-
"evienne arden eldore!"
evie flinched so hard she nearly fell off the rock. "oh no."
maerin's boots stomped into view, kicking up little clouds of dirt. she looked ready to strangle someone. probably two someones. definitely evie.
"don't 'oh no' me!" maerin snapped, her hands flying to her hips. "you were supposed to be back two days ago! i told you to bring back a gallshade beast's part, not disappear into cursed marshland, fight a wyvern, trigger a cave collapse, and break your damn ankle!"
evie held up a hand weakly. "technically, i didn't cause the cave-in-"
"do not get clever with me. i will throw you into that mage tent and make them fix you the unpleasant way."
"there's an unpleasant way?"
"yes. i'll tell them you insulted their spell circles."
evie grimaced. "okay, low blow."
YOU ARE READING
accidentally yours | claude de alger obelia
Fantasyone, she fell from the sky and into his arms-bloodied, burning, and already halfway gone. he's been chasing the smoke ever since. two, a monster hunter with too much magic. an emperor with too much power. they were never supposed to find each other...
