When next I came to and fluttered my eyes open, it was to a pair of gentle, feminine hands clasped over mine. I felt the warm heat radiating from that soft flesh over mine, and slowly, my body strength and my mind became alert.
With a smile on my face, I turned and saw Aria sitting on the side of the bed, her blond head bowed and her eyes closed as she whispered magic words I didn’t understand.
Was she healing me with her magic? This would explain why I suddenly felt better.
I watched her silently for a moment because I didn’t want to disturb her healing me. Of course, I wanted to throw my arms around her with joy and hug her tight. She was saved, which meant the rescue mission was a success.
Finally, she opened her eyes and stopped her chanting. When she saw me fully awake, she lightened up immediately, a bright smile on her beautiful face. I didn’t miss seeing tears brewing in her eyes, either.
She lowered herself until our faces were close and asked, “Alfie, how are you feeling?”
I grinned at her. “As right as rain. Thanks for healing me, Aria.” I licked my dry lips and asked, “So what about Brenna and Michael and his team?”
Aria nodded, chuckling. “They’re fine.”
I sighed in relief. “Thank God!”
Then Brenna came into the tent, and the moment she saw me, she rushed over, a bright grin on her lovely face. “Alfie! You’re awake.” She came to kneel by the bedside, and she said, “You’ve been unconscious for three days.”
Three days? I had been unconscious for that long?
As I sat up, Aria said, “We were rather worried.”
The moment I sat upright, I felt dizzy.
“You’re still very weak,” Aria said,. “Your qi was almost depleted.”
That was when everything that had happened came back to me, and I felt more than a little sick in the stomach. I touched my hand to my forehead to steady myself, and I asked, “Are we back at camp?”
Brenna nodded. “Though we’re ready to leave this afternoon again.”
I raised my head and looked at her. “Leave?”
She nodded. “We’re returning to the palace. The bandits are defeated, after all.”
I see. That was when I looked around, wondering about the soldiers who had been injured during the battle. But then there were none here at all. In fact, I just realized that this wasn’t the clinic tent.
“Where am I?” I asked.
“Lord Caleb’s tent,” Aria said. “We did suggest putting you in our tent, but Lord Caleb refused.”
Brenna said, “I suppose it makes sense to place you here. The clinic is filled with injured soldiers, after all. Also, Lord Aaron shared Lord Felix’s tent. Well, it’s more like Lord Aaron is keeping watch on Lord Felix in case he decides to go ballistic and kill every one of the bandits the team managed to capture.”
So the lords had managed to take home a few prisoners after this battle, eh? I wasn’t surprised after seeing how powerful they were, not only with their very competent soldiers, but with their own strength and ability as well. Of course, add that to the fact that Felix was a—
I felt my body tense and a headache coming.
Despite how much I wanted to deny that fact, Felix was indeed a demon lord. The real thing, complete with a full bulky body, demonic face, fangs, and two massive horns on his head. Then I wondered if all the other six lords were demon lords as well, and I knew in my gut that they were. Was that why they were wearing those masks with strange, intriguing signs, symbols, and scripts? Was it to suppress their demonic powers and, hence, hide their true forms?
Aria said, “Why don’t you lie back down and rest? You are yet to fully recover, after all.”
Brenna nodded. “I’ll bring you something to eat. I’m sure you’re starving.”
I nodded and thanked both women politely. Once they were gone a few minutes later, I closed my eyes. I was just about to doze off again when I heard footsteps coming into the tent.
Brenna? But she couldn’t be that quick. Besides, these footsteps sounded heavier. A male?
A moment later, the person sat down on the side of the bed. Then I felt warm masculine fingers touching the side of my face and stroking my cheek.
I held my breath as I knew it was Felix. Oh God! I didn’t want to face him now. Not when I wasn’t yet mentally ready. Not when I had just seen him in his demonic form and…
My heart raced, and I prayed he’d leave soon. But, of course, the man took his time visiting me, and his fingers lingered on my skin. Suddenly, I felt the warmth of his breath on my face, and a moment later, his lips pressed against mine.
He is kissing me again? No, wait. He was sucking my qi, wasn’t he? But why didn’t I feel weak like I usually did when he kissed me? Perhaps he wasn’t sucking my qi this time around.
“Little elf,” he said. “How long are you going to be sleeping? This beast is going to go mad, you know, if you don’t wake up.”
Is he baiting me? Well, it sure did work. I was about to flutter my eyes open and scold him severely for disturbing a sick patient when a voice said, “What are you doing, Felix?”
It was Caleb.
Felix said, “Nothing.”
Caleb sighed. “How long are you going to sulk?”
Oh, is Felix sulking?
“He escaped, you know,” Felix said. “Just when I was about to crush him, that bitch had to show up and save his ass again.”
“Well, we did steal his beloved,” Caleb said. “Of course he’ll be coming after us.”
“What, going so low as to start a riot and kill hundreds of citizens? That’s pretty sick for payback after all these years.”
Caleb sighed. “Geoffrey said we’re having a meeting with the others to deliberate on the matter when we get back. It appears it’s not just Acaedien that has shit stirring up. Ethan contacted Aslan, and the matter will be discussed during the international conference. It’s in the Wulin Kingdom. We’re all attending. Apparently, it’s important.”
“I’m looking forward to that, then,” Felix said. He sounded sarcastic, though.
Caleb asked, “How’s Alfie?”
“Not awake yet,” Felix replied.
“You didn’t just suck his qi again? He hardly has anything left in him after he fired that gun, you know.”
Felix said in that sarcastic voice of his, “Thank you for doubting my self-restraint, Caleb.” I felt him stroking my hair. Oddly enough, he was gentle. “Like I’d put his life in danger.”
“But you kissed him.”
“Because I wanted to.” I sensed him rise from the bed. Then I heard his footsteps walking away and his voice become faint as he said, “Come on. Let’s help pack up before Geoffrey returns.”
Once they were gone, I opened my eyes and stared blindly at the ceiling of the tent. Tentatively, I brought my finger to touch my lips where Felix had kissed me.
He had kissed me because he wanted to and not because he wanted to suck my qi. God, my mind was reeling in confusion. I had thought my pure qi had been suppressed and masked, so those with dark qi wouldn’t be attracted to me. But why would Felix still kiss me?
Brenna arrived some time later with a bowl of chicken soup and some freshly baked bread. God, but it smelled divine, and I devoured the whole lot in no time. It sure did feel wonderful to have my starving tummy filled and warm again. After drinking and taking a green glowing pill that Brenna told me was a sort of energy booster, kind of like a vitamin or something, I thanked Brenna gratefully.
Two hours later, I was feeling a whole lot better, and Brenna came to get me again. She was rather excited as she was dragging me out.
“The ships are here. The ships are here,” she kept chanting in excitement.
Once outside, I stared in awe as I gazed at the six massive airships elegantly gliding in the air, heading our way. I was floored. The sight was majestic and breathtakingly beautiful.
Very soon, the airships landed, and soldiers started packing up and transporting what was in the camp into the ships. Injured soldiers, too, were being lifted into the aircraft, along with military trucks and whatnot.
Brenna and I rushed down the hill toward where one of the bigger airships was parked, where Aria and Leona were. As we came close, I noticed the girls were talking to the blond-haired lord in white clothing who had put a spell on me. Next to him stood another blond-haired lord in a dark warrior’s garment. If I remembered correctly, he was the one who rode a winged lion like Felix and Caleb and was beating the crap out of the enemy during the rescue mission.
Once we came to a stop in front of them, Brenna curtsied low while I stared wide-eyed at the two men, wondering what I should do. Should I curtsy as well? But then I thought I was supposed to be a boy and that meant I should salute instead. I did just that and saluted the two lords like a soldier.
The slightly younger blond lord started chuckling like he couldn’t help himself, while the older one who’d put a spell on me simply smiled. He reached his hand out and tousled my hair.
I raised my head to look at him. Suddenly, he leaned his face toward mine and asked, “How are you feeling, Alfie? You’ve been unconscious for three days, which quite worried me.”
A loud voice said, “That’s because you went and sealed his qi. So of course he’d be unconscious for three days.”
It was Felix, and the moment he was right behind me, he pulled me away from the blond lord and wrapped his arms tightly around my shoulders.
The blond lord said, “It’s for his protection. But it’s already worn off now, which is faster than I expected. It usually lasts around a week or so.”
So that spell wasn’t meant to last forever until it was lifted again, then? It just wore off by itself.
Caleb, who appeared beside me, said, “I understand you mean well, Geoffrey, but Alfie’s qi is already low as it is. Sealing it even more will only weaken his body and mind. So please don’t do that again. Luckily, Aria used her blue qi to heal and revive Alfie’s diminishing pure qi.”
Geoffrey? This blond lord was Lord Geoffrey Lancaster? As in the main king of the kingdom? The father figure of the Acaedien citizens?