Mason glanced at Amie. He knew she was annoyed, but for now, her worries seemed to have suppressed that anger. Considering how fast she had found him, she must have searched for him all night without getting a wink of sleep.
"I wasn't talking to you, Amie," he told her.
"Who in the nine hells are you talking to, then?" Amie scolded. "You are still being intoxicated by the bites, aren't you?"
"No, I'm fine. I only need to rest for a moment," Mason replied and sat back on the ground. Amie bent down beside him, looking over him in fear and concern.
Kiya and the other girls relaxed when they saw Mason sitting down, his eyes closing. Isolde continued defanging the dead guinqs, while Kiya resumed speaking with Sibyl.
I wonder how long it would take you to realize you do not have to talk while conversing with me, the voice in Mason's head said. And I did not leave you, love. Did you assume you woke up at the right time by sheer luck?
You want me to believe you made that insect bite me? Mason thought in his mind.
Since when do moths bite? And at first light at that! The voice chuckled. You see, I am not who you think I am. The last thing I ever wanted was to harm you.
And yet you watched those creatures bite me.
I thought you were going to call me for help.
Without knowing who you are?
Any name would have been better. I have never left you for a single moment. I watched you all night after all.
And you would have explained that to me after I've died?
You will not die by such an embarrassing means, rest assured.
"Embarrassing?" Mason ended up speaking out.
"Did you say embarrassing?" Isolde said, visibly surprised. "No one gets that many bites and lives to tell the story. Devil's bones! An entire horde of guinqs on you?"
Exactly! Mason thought. How is it embarrassing to die in those monsters' hands?
For now, I will heal your wounds and hide. That girl is a spellcaster. We shall talk another time. Guess who I might be by then, the voice said, and then, no more.
Mason searched his head, but the presence was gone. And as if to confirm that the voice's words were true, Mason felt a tingling sensation throughout his body. Then in the next moment, his pain was gone, and he slowly searched his body, but all his injuries had been healed.
He didn't have enough time to process his dumbfoundedness before Kiya's voice reached him. "Where are you going from here?" she asked.
Mason thought Amie would answer the question, or at least say something, but she turned to look at him with questioning eyes. "Umm…. We're going to…" Mason stammered. He held on for a moment before his wit kicked in. "Vin Town. We have a business there."
He'd overheard Isolde's whispers to Sibyl earlier about the cost of a guinq's fang in Vin Town. For her to have acquired those fangs, she must be planning to sell them there. And if Mason's guess was right, Vin Town was not far.
"What business do you have in Vin Town?" Sibyl asked.
"Why must we tell you?" Mason quizzed, hurling himself up from the ground.
"Alright then, we are heading to the same destination," Isolde chimed in. "Why not go together?"
Kiya gave her a look that must have been a subtle warning, and as a response, Isolde retreated to fetch the fangs she'd had gathered.
Kiya must have been the one the entity inside Mason was warning him about earlier. Even from a distance Mason could feel her aura commanding caution.
However, Mason felt something was wrong. The three girls have been seeing him for a while now without showing any reaction. Normally, any girl who laid her eyes on him would have shuddered with awe or lust. But these girls, even though he couldn't make out their features just yet, remained indifferent.
Mason rubbed his face, perhaps something was wrong with it. And then he realized the reason; his face was stained with blood, apparently his.
"Let us move," Kiya said, and with her companions, they began to reach for their horses. Sadly, Mason's mount had been murdered earlier, drained of its blood. He would need to share with Amie.
As Amie readied her saddle, Mason whirled around the surrounding area. "Where's the cart?" he whispered.
"What do you think?" Amie snarled.
"You left it?"
"Would I have had to do that if you had not abandoned me in the first place?"
"What a waste." Mason sighed in frustration. "We are going to starve to death at this rate."
"Come on, let's go," Amie said, offering her hand to him. Mason took it and pulled himself up to the saddle. Sitting behind Amie, they galloped after the three ladies.
The day had cleared, though the sun had not appeared yet. Considering the coldness and the color of the clouds, Mason did not need his instinct to tell him it was going to rain. And it would not be much longer.
"Do not dare repeat the act you pulled yesterday!" Amie said, her threat hanging forever. "Wherever you go, I will go with you from now on."
"Yes, ma'am," Mason whispered.
"I am serious, Mason," Amie groaned, sensing the sarcasm in his tone. "I will never forgive you if you abandon me again, do you understand?"
"You still wish to follow me, despite everything?" Mason wondered.
"Despite what? All the nonsense you told me two nights ago?" Amie hissed.
"You heard everything?"
"Of course. Royal emblem? Another world? Nonsense!"
"But… you were asleep."
"Yes. I got bored listening to your hallucinations," Amie sighed. "Also, do you even think demons can be seen by just anyone? Fiends are more powerful than the grotos, ordinary people like us will not live to tell the tales if we were to encounter them."
Well… I'm not just anyone. I am a demon myself, Mason wanted to tell her, but he couldn't, seeing the futility of explaining something she would not only find unbelievable, but also turn him into a crazy person.
Sometimes the truth that is right under one's nose can be more difficult to believe than a far-fetched one.
Mason decided not to argue with her; if she really wanted to stay with him throughout his journey, then she was bound to find out anyway.
It wasn't long before they reached a stream that bridged the trail. The three ladies were already there before Mason and Amie and they were filling their waterskins.
Mason dismounted after Amie and he rushed to drink to his satisfaction. He took his belongings and walked along the stream. After settling down a few distances away from the girls, he took off his tunic and began to wash himself off the blood all over his body.
There was a deafening silence, and Mason assumed the girls must be giving him some privacy. Undeterred, he continued watching himself. Satisfied with the look of his fuzzy reflection in the water, he nodded and put on a robe he brought out from his belongings.
"Mason!" Amie called from behind. Mason glanced to see her approaching. "Take off your robe, I must see them."
"S…see what?" Mason stammered, covering himself further. "You naughty girl, aren't you too young to be thinking of that now?"
"What are you talking about?" Amie furrowed her brows.
"What else do you think I'm talking about?"
"I do not care what you're thinking. Take off your robe, I must see your wounds."
"Ah, my wounds," Mason realized. He was actually the one thinking otherwise. But talking about his wounds, Mason had totally forgotten about it, and he had taken off his tunic earlier without caution of being spotted.
It would've been a game over if the three ladies had spotted his body looking fine despite the multiple bites he'd received earlier. He was lucky.
"Will you take them off, or should I?" Amie asked, reaching for him.
Mason took two paces back, waving his hand dismissively. "My wounds are fine. Why would you want to look at them?" he said.
"So I can treat them of course," Amie hissed, opening her palm to reveal a mixture of crushed leaves and herbs. "I am not okay with leaving your wounds untreated."
"Give it to me, I will do it myself," Mason said as he took the herbs from her hand. "You can leave now, I'll join you in a minute."
"You really need to stop treating me like a little girl," Amie grumbled, staring at Mason with hard eyes. "I am a mature woman, and it is time you see me as such."
"You were not like this with my sister. She was younger than I, yet both of you… You…" She abandoned the sentence and turned to leave.
"You knew about it?" Mason asked in surprise. "And you didn't say anything?"
Amie turned back, her hard look seemingly piercing his soul. "I am not stupid. I intentionally avoided you two," she revealed. "Or what do you expect me to have done in that situation? Argue with my sister over the man we both know I will spend the rest of my life with?"
"We are not even married yet, I was just betrothed to you against your will." She stepped closer to Mason. "But that does not mean I will feel guilty, or be a burden to you. Neither should you. However, you must accept me as your companion."
"Do I even have a choice?" Mason shrugged.
"You don't."
"That's fair. Sooner or later you will understand."
"What are you both doing? It is taking you longer than it should!" Isolde's voice came from the trail.
"If you do not have any objections then I suggest we go now," Amie said to Mason. She spun and went off. Mason followed her shortly after packing his belongings.