William only releases me when we're standing in the gardens of Dragit. "Daniel, Ryan-" He looks to the two next to us. However... Ryan is vomiting. Daniel looks ready to copy. "Yeah... You'll see worse."
"Don't say that. Please." Ryan whimpers.
William looks at me. "You're trapped here. If you try leaving the estate, you'll be teleported to your rooms in the castle. Your parents would be pissed if that happened."
"Yes." I close my eyes. The screams, bone crunching, slashes, crashes, and silence... The silence was the worse. Why did I not hear groans of survival? Maybe... Maybe they were as alive as the bear was... Barely alive. "Help them."
William turns to the knights on call. "All healers to me. Point had a strigipsx raid."
I watch as William gathers several. Soon he takes them away. Odin being there didn't stop death. He saved himself. His way of saving others was to put us in a shield. But those who didn't accept the shield... Faced... "How many do you think...?"
Daniel hisses. "Four were taken."
"But-"
"There was fifteen fighting excluding Odin."
So they had extra people from a nearby camp. Lyrie lived. Four were taken. Healers were needed. "Did anyone...?"
"Seem alive? How many answered you." Daniel leans on me. "I... Want to wash my eyes."
I cannot stop Daniel from walking off. Ryan pauses a moment before following. Not that I expected him to talk to me. He may have waited to see if the nausea was calm enough to move.
Knights have a high death rate. If they wanted to guarantee life, they would've stepped into the safety Odin gave us. They didn't. I didn't get to see any of it, but those sounds...
I was not a useful addition to any battle I've faced. That's how it feels. Even against the bear, I was useless. "What even am I?"
Mom appears next to me as I start walking into the Dragit mansion. "Thomas." She takes my hand. When I give her a review, I realize she was also involved in a battle. Blood covers quite a bit of her clothes, but none is slashed through. It wouldn't be her blood, then. Others. Humans? Or... "This was unexpected. You will no longer be joining Harvest. We need to pull in all red knights and ask for assistance from a mage tower."
"But, Strigipsx..."
"Are strong against mages? Yes. We know. But we also have the ability to create blockades. They're not going to steal the harvest. They wanted the goblins."
I gulp. Ergra's movement drew them into action. "So they sneak around to hide from more than just us."
"Yes."
"What does it look like?"
"A giant owl. It's feathers are reddish brown to match to many of the trees. Once it sees you, it's likely you'll be trapped."
And death would be likely. I can hear those words without Mom saying them. I wince. "Odin lived. Protected us."
"I can trust him to survive. And to protect you." Mom cups my cheek. "Are you okay?"
Those sounds of battle that lead to silence... That deafening silence when it should've been cheers of celebration... They left when they wanted to. It would've been luck if anyone lived beyond Lyrie and Odin. People I thought were so strong and capable... Gone.
"We're going to have more retiring." Mom tugs at her hair before stepping in front of me. She enters the mansion first. "Is everyone on task?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"I need to write to the king. Get me..." She looks at her hands. "Thomas, can you write for me?"
"Huh?" I notice her writing hand has a gash on it. I thought she wasn't injured. She can't heal herself. The healers should be at-
"Your Majesty!" Odin grabs Mom's hand. So he saw when I did. I didn't even notice him about. When did he return? I was... In a daze. "Thomas."
I freeze. "Anything."
Odin gulps. "I... I'm unlocking you. Do not touch any spell you don't know."
"You're what?" I grunt as a spell hits me. I sink to the ground at the level of pain coursing my body. The weight of something just makes all movement harder than I thought possible.
"Why would you do that? He could die from the mana."
"Only if he uses the harshest of spells. If he just learns healing and teleportation, nothing will go wrong." Odin pulls me to standing. Then I have a book in front of me. I notice it's Mom's a second later. "Cast it."
I blink. There is a spell I am looking at. I'm going to be used as a healer. I stare at my mother's hand. She... Took damage that would ruin her ability to write forever. Or learn from scratch how to write with her left hand. I can change things. The words just come to me without even looking at the book. I've read it before anyway not that I understood it. It's on the first page of Mom's book. I didnt' get far in any of the books.
And now...
The green glow of healing magic surrounds me and drifts off my hand to my mother. It surrounds her and sinks into several places to my shock. It wasn't just her hand? As the spell ends, I sink back to the ground. The weight is still too much and Odin isn't helping me stand now.
He caught Mom. I am happier he caught Mom. I didn't land haphazardly. The spell overclocks someone's own healing. Mom was going to pass out from the level I saw needed.
I pull the book to me again. Heal is just a broad spell. It can be called dangerous but it doesn't impact anything long term or truly serious. It would work for the hand because of the specifics. A little damage to the hand ruins writing abilities. The rest would've been bruises or scratches. Mom... Had a battle. It was just Vincent and her. "Mom..."
"You need to get used to the weight." Father says picking me up. I look at him and see Jessica behind him. "Your mana amount is more than most can handle at full growth. You are only barely strong enough now to not die from it." He carries me as if I am still a child. I'm not much smaller than him. "Follow me, Jessica. You're on watch duties. I can trust only you."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Father does work. Don't fear that."
"I would much rather never use such informal terms, Your Majesty." Jessica follows us.