A/N: Two chapters in one day, a new record! It might even go to three, for Spy's Game. This is six months after the end of Perfect Torture (you do the math, I hate math) so they aren't in Tyra. Read on loves!
Daine Sarrasri took aim and loosed her arrow. It lit with black fire, Numair Salmalin's magic, and hit the hurrock in the forehead. Purple flames, belonging to the King's Champion Alanna of Pirates Swoop, and sapphire flames belonging to the King of Tortall himself engulfed a Stormwing each. Another hurrock had been foolish enough to land and he was brought down by a ruby colored snake, whose venom was the most potent in the world.
The last Immortal, a baby hurrock, flew away clearly smarter than the adults. They let it go. "Is anyone hurt?" The voice was that of Queen Thayet, called Peerless, the most beautiful woman in the world. A general murmur of 'no' filled the air. "Thank the Gods then," The beautiful Queen called. "We can keep going."
The group going back to Corus consisted of King Jonathan of Tortall and Thayet his Queen, the King's Champion Alanna the Lioness, her three children, Baron George Cooper of Pirates Swoop, Numair Salmalin, Daine Sarrasri, Lord Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, and the Immortal snake Mira. They had been in Pirate's swoop dealing with Scanran raiders for the past three weeks and all of them were battle weary.
--
"The gates of Corus are a welcome sight to see!" Lord Raoul called to his companions. And indeed it was true; they had missed warm baths and actual roofs while on the road. While the King would be given any comfort by any person, he had chosen not to impose on his people. "I'll miss sleeping under the stars at night."
"And the rain, don't forget the rain." Mira grumbled. She was cold blooded, a mark of her being a Serpentlyn. One of the few things that could kill her particular breed of Immortal was cold. So at night she had transformed into her snake form, usually icy blue to show she was cold, and curl up with whoever was warmest that night. Commonly it was Raoul himself, since he knew how to dress in layers.
"It is possible I won't miss the rain. The whole time I was worried I might roll over on you and you would bite me."
"Good thing you can sleep while being still." The griping went back and forth until the party reached the palace where they split into groups. Jon and Thayet went to see their children, Numair and Daine went to their workroom, Raoul went to find Buri, George took his kids to see their Grandfather Myles and Grandmother Eleni, and Alanna drifted off with Mira to the warm baths. At least two of them had their priorities straight.
--
"Magelet, come here. I have the crystal ready for the experiment." Numair held up a small crystal ball for Daine to see. It was the most perfect crystal he could find, and if all worked he would be able to redirect wildmagic with it.
"Alright." Daine walked over, smiling slightly at a thought. It had been six months since Numair had admitted that he loved her, six months since they had argued over if she was too young. Now, they were more than inseparable.
"Place your hand on it and channel your magic into it. If this works, Jon will be able to use your wildmagic in a pinch. If it doesn't, we will both spend a few days unable to get out of bed. We won't even be able to move, are you sure you want to do this?"
"I'm sure Numair. If Jon needs my animal's help when I'm not there, I'll give this to him. We can't let the King of Tortall die over something as small as not trying."
"You're right of course." Daine stood right in front of Numair, but she didn't hear his breath catch when her small hand went over his. She pressed her magic into the sphere and concentrated on helping Jon. She hadn't even been at it a minute when copper fie swirled within the crystal. It filled quickly, and Daine knew her work was done. Then, as soon as she let go, Numair collapsed.
--
"He'll wake up soon enough Daine, don't worry." Numair recognized his king's voice, and struggled to open his eyes. "And when he does you can chew him out all you want, but he'll be fine."
"Numair is a strong Mage Daine, but even he can't always judge how well a spell will work. My best guess of what happened is that he felt the magic draining out of him too quickly and knew it must be doing the same to you. So he covered your magic with his so that you could finish. But the magic was pulled out too quickly and it caused him to black out." That was Mira, her voice as cold and commanding as ever.
"I'm awake," He managed to mutter, trying to sit up. Instantly strong but small arms wrapped around him to help with the effort. Slightly larger arms were only a moment behind. When Numair opened his eyes Daine was sitting on his bed, arms around him, and Jon was taking a step back. "And you're right Mira that is what happened."
"Then you'll be fine?" Daine sounded worried, and she looked worried. Ever since she had been told that he loved her, she had been more protective than ever. But, he was the same way with her so he couldn't really say anything.
"I'll be fine Magelet. It was just a rapid draining. And it worked!"
"Ever the scholar, the fact that it worked is all you care about." There was a hint of amusement in Jon's voice as he observed his friend. "Daine was half hysterical when she came to get Alanna and me."
"Well, the most important thing is that we'll all live and that it worked." Intoned the Lioness. "Tortall would be in a dreadful state without its black robed Mage and Wildmage. And I wouldn't be too happy with you two. I would never speak to you again."
"I would never expect anything less." Daine told Alanna, who smiled. The others in the room left, so that it was only Daine and Numair. "I'll take care of you. Alanna said that you need to stay in bed for a few days."
"Thank you."