Chapter 31

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Rika and Ferran went rigid at the sound of Kael's honeyed voice.

Clip-clop. He approached them on his horse and hopped off, taking in the scene of them together under the cloak with their clothes off to the side, and another scorch mark on the ground.

"Who would've thought that out of the five of us, the timid one would be the one to get her out of her dress." He gripped his chest over his heart and cringed. "I thought it would've been either me or the boytoy, really. Then again, I've already held your near-naked body up against me. It's really not the same unless I'm the reason for the undressing, though."

Rika went red up to her ears. "Shut up, Kael! Stop acting like you have any idea what happened!"

"The horse ran off scared; Ferran used lightning magic twice: once at the cliff, and once right here, and you went flying into the water where he had to save you?"

Rika's jaw hung open. How did he figure that out in the short time since he got here?

"T-that is quite the deductive skills you have." Ferran swallowed hard and glanced back at him. "And I didn't... strip her or anything."

"Oh, so you didn't help her take it off at all?"

"Well..." Ferran blushed and scrunched in on himself more.

"Oh, ho ho, so you did?" Kael gasped. "A shame I wasn't the first to help you with your clothes, but maybe I'll be next."

"In your dreams," Rika scoffed.

"Do dreams count? Then I suppose I already—"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!"

"Touchy, aren't you?" Kael walked over to their clothes to test them out. "At this rate, you might be able to leave tomorrow. Although I'm not sure it's safe to camp out here, and we didn't bring that many provisions, since it wasn't meant to be a daylong trip."

"Is everyone alright?" Wolfe asked as he finally caught up. "What are you doing?"

Kael pulled his coat off. "I think this should be long enough for our bunny to wear, so we can continue on our way. Ferran, you can keep your cloak."

"I'm not sure I'd be comfortable riding in just a cloak..." Ferran shuddered just thinking about it.

"I'm not sure your coat is enough for me either," Rika said. But at least it's long...

"Oh? So you want to take Ferran's cloak from him and leave him naked? How cruel!" Kael gasped.

Geez, it's like he knows how to turn everyone's words around on them. Insane with a brain. AKA dangerous. How can we deal with someone like him?

"As much as I hate to admit it, Kael's right. There might be more demons where they came from, and we don't want to be caught out here. I'm sorry." Wolfe bowed. "I should've brought more guards with me, but I thought we'd be enough, and I didn't want to leave Thornburg vulnerable."

"What are you talking about?" Kael asked. "You don't need more guards; you've got me, Wolfie dear." He smiled at Wolfe. "Isn't that right?"

Wolfe cleared his throat and tipped his head up to stare into the sky. "He came in handy during the fight."

"See? Everything will be alright as long as I'm with you. Now." He held his coat up to her. "At least it can close fully, and if you want, you can have my shirt, too." With his free hand, Kael started to unbutton his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Rika stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Well, if you aren't happy with just the coat, I can give you my shirt. If you really want, I can give you my pants, too. I'll be fine without them. I mean, it's not like we can put you back in the drenched dress, right?"

When she didn't answer, he continued to unbutton his shirt.

"Fine!" She reached her arm out from under the cloak to snatch the coat from him. How do I do this without anyone seeing anything? "Um... Can you two turn around?"

"Why? Are you feeling shy?"

"Wolfe!" Rika called out to him.

"On it." Wolfe grabbed Kael by the back of his neck and forced him to turn around.

"Thank you."

Without asking, Ferran turned away from her, still holding onto his side of the cloak, trying to hide himself.

"Thanks," she whispered to him and let go of the cloak as she rushed to put on Kael's coat. Oh, it's still warm. Despite knowing where it came from, she hugged the coat closer in comfort.

"A-are you done?" Ferran shivered, feeling a chill at his back.

Rika shot to her feet and did up the line of buttons, almost down to her knees, and pulled the cloak over Ferran's other shoulder. "Done."

Ferran tied his cloak closed and sighed, wishing he had more clothes on, or at least something less breezy.

"Well, well, don't you look magnificent in my coat?" Kael stepped towards her with his arms wide. "Ack."

Wolfe dragged him back.

"What?" Kael pouted. "I didn't do anything."

"You need to keep your distance from our saint," Wolfe said.

Kael's eyes narrowed. "That wasn't part of the deal."

"Too bad."

Ferran approached their clothes on the rack and touched his clothes to check how wet they were.

"You know, you're pretty delicate, so I'd be willing to give you some of my clothes, too. Shirt? Pants? Underwear is off limits, though," Kael offered Ferran.

"Uh, no, thank you. It seems my clothes have mostly dried, but I can't say the same about her dress."

Rika turned her back on Ferran so he could get dressed. Of course, I'm the only one left half-naked. Her eyes locked with Kael's, and he smiled at her. Oh! Her heart skipped a beat. No, don't you dare! He's a maniac! You're not allowed to react to him, no matter how handsome, nor because of the fact that he gave up his coat for you!

"Don't worry, little bunny; I'll keep your dress safe with me, since the big bad wolf won't let us ride together." Kael winked at her and grabbed her dress from the rack.

"Are you okay?" Wolfe asked, resisting the urge to reach out to her.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Do you think you'll be okay riding Mack again? I know you must've been scared, but that doesn't usually happen."

"I'll be as fine as I was initially." She chuckled. "It wasn't Mack's fault; it was mine. I set him off, so I can't blame him for it. I'd rather he not take off like that again, though, so maybe don't leave me alone on him."

The blue rose above Wolfe's head glowed. "Okay, will do."

Wolfe checked on all their horses, fed them, and made sure they drank some water before offering to help Rika up.

She held onto his hand tightly, still uncertain of herself, and followed his instructions from earlier. Wolfe hopped on behind her, took the reins, and they all readjusted their direction to head towards the stone dais.

I really wish I had pants on right now. This is somehow more uncomfortable than when I was wearing the dress.

Wolfe's arm around her tightened as he leaned in closer. "The terrain from here on out will be bumpier, but more open, so we won't get jumped the same way."

"Hopefully, there aren't any more attacks. How long until we get there?"

"Just shy of an hour."

Great...

"If you need another distraction, I'm willing to be your entertainer," Kael offered. "Jokes? Singing? Flirtation? Take your pick."

Another distraction? Wait, was he annoying me extra to distract me earlier? "No, thanks."

"Oh, shoot. Fine." Kael hummed as they trotted along.

Seriously, though; what is he after?