Chapter 24

Rika stared at Kael's extended hand for a moment. Is this the right thing to do? I was supposed to make a deal, but I already failed that quest.

"Well?" Kael raised an eyebrow, surprised by her hesitation.

As a fellow Earthling, is he on my side? Or is he out to make me fail? I don't have a real choice in this, do I? He can always threaten us. Bordering a giant, power-hungry country sucks! Rika shook his hand.

He gripped her hand tightly and yanked her towards him.

"What are you doing?! Umph!"

Kael sealed her lips with his, his hand wrapping around the back of her head.

Rika's heart raced, and she froze, her mind blank. What...?

He backed off and smiled. "Best way to seal this deal, if you ask me."

"You... you just... again..."

"Kissed you again? Why yes, I did, and I'd love for a repeat performance." He licked his lower lip.

"Tch." Rika's anger flared, and Wolfe's training ran through her mind. In an instant, Rika turned the tide on him. She stomped on his toes, making a bit of space as he recoiled in pain, and used that to take him down to one knee as she twisted his arm around his back.

Kael burst out laughing. "Now that caught me off guard! You're amazing."

Shouting burst out in the hallway. "How could you leave her in there alone with him?"

"Oh, sounds like someone's making a scene."

All of a sudden, Rika's vision blurred, and a wave of dizziness hit her, causing the room to spin. "Oh... What the hell?"

Kael felt her grip loosen and looked up at her. "Let me guess, you failed a quest?"

"What?"

"Your HP is probably depleted from the failure."

"What HP? I don't have an HP bar."

Kael's eyes widened. "You don't? You don't have a screen off to the side at all times with a list of all your stats?"

"What? No, I mean, I failed a quest thanks to you, but it gave no hint of effects like this."

"Oops." He shrugged. "It sucks to fail. I've had a few of my own so far."

"Ugh, this is horrible."

"Let me through!" The door burst open, and Dryden rushed in, panicked. "Rika? Are you okay?" He looked at Kael on the ground and smirked. "I heard you had lessons with Wolfe. I guess they paid off..." He immediately noticed her pale complexion and erratic breathing, and rushed over to her. "Oh no..." His jaw tightened.

She stumbled back a step, away from Kael, and Dryden caught her.

"What happened?" He touched her forehead. "You're burning up. You have another fever?"

"I..." Rika huffed. Damn, is this what it's like to fail a quest? It didn't say anything about HP taking a hit like Kael said. Wait... Hope down? Wasn't that one of the punishments? Is that my form of HP? But they don't tell me a number. "Ugh, I don't..." Her legs went weak.

"I knew this was a bad idea," Dryden muttered. "What did you do to her?" He glared at Kael, who got to his feet and fixed his clothes, smoothing them down and adjusting his cuffs.

He smiled. "I didn't do anything."

"Yeah, right. Like I believe that."

"It doesn't matter what you believe; it's the truth."

"Yeah? Then what happened to her?" Dryden picked her up, cradling her in his arms. "No one said anything about her being unwell before this."

"Doesn't mean I did anything. We made a deal—"

"And she had to take you down? I'm sure you didn't do anything to deserve it." Dryden rolled his eyes.

"In my opinion, no, I didn't."

Hard to put this all on him. I did fail, but he's also the reason I failed. Why would hope going down be so severe? Geez, give me a break. And here I thought Kael might be my biggest worry, but apparently, it's the system itself.

Dryden growled and turned away from him to find Alric standing in the doorway, watching their interaction.

"What happened?" Alric asked, confusion and worry strewn across his face.

"That's what I'd like to know." Dryden gazed down at Rika, who was taking deep breaths as she clung to his neck. "But I want to get her out of here first."

Ugh, my body is on fire. I don't know how long I can hold on at this rate.

Alric nodded and stepped in, off to the side. "Wolfe, summon Ferran to look after her."

"Sir." Wolfe saluted, his eyes on Rika as Dryden carried her away.

"Don't worry, Rika. I'm right here." Dryden set her in bed and kissed her forehead. "She's burning up even more now."

"What's going on?" Celeste burst through the door and rushed up to them. "What'd you do to her?"

"Me? I didn't do anything other than bring her here safely. She was alone with Kael."

Celeste's eyes widened. "Prince Kael of Aeuro?"

"The one and only."

"Alone?"

"Are you insane?"

"Me? I didn't allow it. His Highness did, though I don't know why."

"If you two are just going to argue, I suggest you leave the room." Ferran rushed in, Wolfe waiting patiently at the door for any instructions.

Dryden and Celeste both went silent and stepped out of the way as Ferran checked on her.

"Ferran?" Rika mumbled, his blurry figure leaning over her as he touched her forehead.

"Yes, Miss Rika, I'm here." He touched her neck for a few seconds, and then her wrist, before pulling her eyes open more to check. "Her pulse is weak and erratic, and she has a dangerously high fever. Celeste, bring me a gel pack."

"On it." Celeste rushed out of the room.

"Do we know what's going on?" Dryden asked, rounding the bed so he could hold her hand on the other side.

"Has she been using her powers?"

"She healed Wolfe and a bunch of other men recently, but she seemed fine after getting some rest. Other than that, not that I know of." Though he hadn't been around her enough to know for sure.

"She's showing signs of extreme magical drain. Considering how much magic she has, I can only imagine what she'd have to do to get this bad."

"Magical drain?" Dryden thought of the scene he had walked in on. "Could Kael have absorbed her magic? They were in physical contact when I ran in on them."

Ferran stopped for a moment to think. "I suppose so. I didn't know he was capable of it, but we definitely don't know the full extent of his powers."

"Kael," Dryden growled, wishing he could deal with him personally. "Wait, is there any way to give her some magic back? That way at least her symptoms could lessen, and sleep should be all she needs, right?"

"That's a bit unconventional and possibly dangerous. If too much magic is taken from them, they could end up dead or in a coma."

Dryden brushed Rika's hair back out of her face with his free hand and noticed her wincing in pain. "That means you can do it, right?"

"Well, yes; I could share my power with her—"

"Not yours, mine. I know I'm not a magician like you, but I do have magic."

"It'd be even more dangerous for you to do it."

"But we need to make sure you're safe and at full power. The barrier hasn't been put up yet, Ferran. You're too important to the kingdom."

Celeste came back in with a gel pack and handed it to Ferran, who used magic to chill it, and placed it on Rika's forehead.

"Is there anything else?" Celeste asked. "Water? Medicine?"

"It'd be good to have water ready for when she wakes up, but aside from something for the fever, there's not much medicine we can give her," Ferran said.

"Okay." Celeste nodded. "I'll make sure there's a pitcher waiting." She headed off again.

"Look, I'm the only one it'll work with. You, Wolfe, and Alric are too important in case something goes wrong. I'd love to steal magic from Kael, but he might've been the one who did this, so it might make it worse."

"If we give her time to rest, she'll recover."

"But look at her! She's in pain right now. Please," Dryden begged him. "Even just a little bit. For Rika," his voice softened.

"Fine. For Miss Rika." Ferran took a deep breath. He had guided someone in how to transfer magic before, but only once. "Lay down beside her."

Dryden followed his instructions, lying down next to Rika, and took her hand.

"Close your eyes and concentrate on your magic flowing into her. I'll help direct it." Ferran placed his hand over theirs. "Remember, not too much or it could kill you."

"Right," Dryden mumbled as his magic flowed into Rika.

"Okay, that should be enough. Let go."

"I'm still okay. A little more."

"No, let go now, or I'll recommend an extension of your ban with her."

"Tch." Dryden released her hand and sat up. "Oh... guess not." He fell back onto the bed. "Geez, that was worse than I expected."

"That's why I warned you!"

"I'll be fine with some rest. Can you check on her again? I don't want her bedridden for days."

Ferran nodded and checked on her again. "Her heart rate and breathing have settled. Even her fever has gone down significantly. Rest is all she needs. We should leave her be."

"Uh, unless you're offering to carry me away, I think I'll just pass out here." Dryden's eyes closed before Ferran could argue.

"Wolfe could easily carry you..." Ferran looked at Dryden's hand, which had found hers again. "But I don't think I can separate you two anyway. Who am I kidding? I don't want to. She's better off with you right here." Ferran sighed, knowing Dryden couldn't hear him. "Sleep well, you two."