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“I wonder how they’ll feel when they find out a fae—a woman at that—is trying to be a Royal Guard.”

“Oh, they’ll pass out.” Eyfura laughed and applied salve to the bite marks on Kolfinna’s forearm. “They’ll never believe it. And they’ll hate you for it.”

“That’s a shame that people don’t think you deserve to be where you’re at.”

“I suppose, but I don’t let it get me down. At the end of the day, I’m a Royal Guard and I’m proud of myself.” Eyfura paused at the wound on Kolfinna’s back. “Can you take your shirt off? I need to work on this.”

Kolfinna’s gaze darted to the other soldiers and Royal Guards mulling around. A few were done with their treatment, while others were in the middle of it.

As if sensing her discomfort, Eyfura offered, “How about we do it outside the room?”

“But what if …” The question hung in the air. Kolfinna didn’t want to finish it.What if we’re attacked by another monster?

“It’ll only take me a moment.” Eyfura pointed to the corner of the room. “Or we can do it there.”

Kolfinna weighed her options. “All right. Let’s do it there.”

When they reached the corner, Kolfinna constructed a thin stone barrier between herself and the rest of everyone. It was the little privacy she could have.

Eyfura blew out air as she inspected the little hideout the stones created. “That’s a useful trick.”

Kolfinna carefully undid the buttons on her dripping uniform and slowly eased it off her body. It stuck to her like a second skin and she gritted her teeth together to keep from crying as her injured shoulder throbbed, the new stitches threatening to burst open with every movement. Finally, with Eyfura’s help, she managed to remove it. She threw it to the floor, where a wet puddle was already forming.

“You have a lot of glass in your back,” Eyfura murmured.

Kolfinna grimaced when Eyfura picked and prodded her exposed back. “It must’ve happened when I was attacked by …” She was at a loss for words about what to call the first creature she had encountered.

“Yeah, I figured.”

Like Eyfura promised, it didn’t take her long to clean the wound, pick away the pieces of glass, stitch the cut, and bandage her. The bandages wrapped over her chest and back, acting like a shirt of its own.

“That was scary out there,” Eyfura said, wrapping the roll around Kolfinna’s chest. “I’m almost done, by the way.”

“Itwasscary.” Kolfinna shuddered to think about the two very different monsters they had met. The worst part of it all was being helpless and unable to use their magic.

“I’ve never seen such … monsters.” Eyfura patted Kolfinna’s uninjured shoulder. “All done.”

“Thank you.” Kolfinna’s gaze drifted to Eyfura’s own wounds. She wasn’t as badly hurt as the others, but her right thigh was bandaged heavily and her left arm was padded in bandages as well.

“Of course!” Eyfura peeked over the stone wall at the rest of everyone and sighed. “Everyone’s shaken up. It’s kinda embarrassing, but what Blár said is true. We’re acting like we’ve never been on a mission before.” She pushed back a strand of hair and chewed on her lower lip, lost in thought for a second. She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I think it’s because we’ve never seen such things. Like, magic beasts are a different breed to handle. They’re not likethat. They’re more like pesky birds that shoot out fire from their wings. Or a giant horse that flies and spits acid. Something normal—definitely not like a nightmare. I don’t know how Blár is able to just … I don’t know, jump into action and not think twice about it? It’s hard. I guess it’s because he’s a black rank. But it motivates me to do better. I mean, we have to.”

Yes, they needed to do better. When the first monster struck Kolfinna, she had been frozen in fear and confusion. If she had been alone, she likely would’ve been seriously injured before remembering to fight back. Blár had been the one to attack and kill it. If he hadn’t been there … she didn’t want to think about how wrong everything could’ve gone. A wave of uneasiness made her stomach knot together. What if there were more powerful, more sinister, and more bizarre things waiting for them?

“Hi, ladies.” Mímir’s voice invaded her thoughts. He stood a few feet away from them, turning his head slightly so as not to catch sight of Kolfinna. “I’m the only water elemental left and instead of having a fire elemental dry the clothes, I thought it would be easier and quicker for me to just draw the water out.”

“Mímir! Yes, thank you. I’ve been feeling wet and soggy since we got back!” Eyfura said. “Please, go ahead.”

Mímir waved his hand and the water pulled away from Eyfura’s clothing. He splashed it against the wall, where it left a streak. Eyfura held up Kolfinna’s shirt. Mímir wordlessly did the same to the shirt and the rest of Kolfinna’s outfit.

“Great! You’re the best,” Eyfura said, beaming.

“Thank you,” Kolfinna said. She definitely felt better without the squelching, blood-soaked wetness of the clothes.

“Mímir, what’s our next plan of action?” Eyfura asked while Kolfinna hurriedly donned her uniform shirt. It still smelled strongly of briny ocean water and blood, but at least it was dry. “Like tomorrow morning, I mean.”

“You know that big staircase in the lobby? We’ll be moving up.” Mímir ran a hand through his hair and he peered over the party. “One thing I’m certain about is that this castlemusthave a powerful artifact or two, if not multiple. We need to find them and get out of here as soon as possible.”

“All right, sounds like a plan.”