Maxi felt as though she had been tossed about by stormy waves, only to find herself miraculously washed ashore. She stared up at the ceiling with hazy eyes.
"Did I...make a sound near the end?" she said in a constricted voice.
Riftan froze. She felt his chest shake with soft laughter. "I couldn't say. I was lost in the moment too."
Gently, he swept her disheveled hair from her face and peppered feathery kisses on her damp forehead, cheeks, and eyelids. Despite the tender intimacy, Maxi's anxiety lingered.
She listened intently to the sounds beyond their room. The distant, cheerful melody of a mandolin intertwined with the raucous, drunken laughter of the men. It appeared everyone was reveling in a grand fest.
Breathing a small sigh of relief, Maxi pushed Riftan, who was playfully nipping her shoulder, aside and sat up. "We are setting out early tomorrow...We should rest."
"Just a little more."
He brought her palm to his wet lips to kiss it. His member, which still filled her tightly, had grown bigger. As he slowly rocked his hips again, a tingling heat began to build in her stomach.
Maxi was clinging to his shoulders when footsteps jolted her back into rational thought.
"R-Riftan...we really must stop now."
With a groan, Riftan slowly withdrew. Maxi closed her legs as she felt lukewarm fluid trickle down her groin. Rising from the bed, Rftan walked over to a rack to light a candle, then returned to bed with a small basin of water and a clean towel.
"Are you hurting anywhere?" he asked while he wiped between her legs.
As Maxi shook her head, her eyes darted nervously toward the tent's entrance. Much to her relief, the footsteps were fading. It was likely soldiers heading to the river to fetch more water.
Feeling more at ease, she watched Riftan as he wiped himself with a fresh towel. The soft candlelight cast a golden glow over his bronze skin. She twirled a lock of hair resting on his broad neck around her finger, then lightly traced his sinewy forearm. There was a faint scar on the inner part of his right arm that she had never seen before.
She brushed it with her fingers and mumbled disapprovingly, "Why didn't you have that healed with magic right away?"
"What?" Riftan looked down at her in puzzlement before his gaze landed on the faint scar. Furrowing his brow, he said, "It was a minor injury."
The woman, looking visibly shocked, glanced back and forth between Ulyseon and the basket in Maxi's hand. Soon, her face flushed deeply, and she quickly walked away.
Ulyseon watched her leave with a puzzled expression. "She must have some urgent business to attend to."
Maxi swallowed a sigh, suddenly genuinely concerned for the handsome young knight's future. "I think...you should keep these, Ulyseon. They were given to you, after all."
Clearly not grasping her point, Ulyseon cocked his head. "But I want to give them to you, my lady. If they were gifted to me, can't I share them as I please?"
At a loss for words, Maxi stared at his guileless face.
Sidina, who had been riding beside Maxi, shook his head. "Appearances can be so deceiving."
Ulyseon glanced sharply at Sidina. However, he soon returned to his position without uttering a word, seemingly unable to be rude to a lady.
Maxi regarded the basket with a troubled expression. The blackberries seemed inviting, but she felt a pang of guilt for accepting what was obviously intended for someone else. After much consideration, she shared the berries with Sidina and Anette, not wanting the rare treat to go to waste.
As Sidina happily popped some of the blackberries into her mouth, she turned to the silent Garrow beside her. "How long until our destination?"
"We should reach Balbourne in three days," Garrow replied calmly.
"So soon?" Maxi asked in surprise.
"Yes, our return journey is shorter since we no longer have to liberate cities on our way. We can take the most direct route."
The long, dirt road that stretched ahead was marked with deep ruts. In a few days, they would stand before the Council of the Seven Kingdoms. Maxi's stomach suddenly tensed. Although both Ruth and Calto had assured her that the golem rune would not get her in trouble, she still felt worried.
There was also the matter of the Council's internal strife. They had prevented a war between the kingdoms this time by dividing Balto's nobles, but Maxi doubted that the armistice's opponents would give up so easily. Concern etched on her face, Maxi watched Balto's banners fluttering at the rear.
Richard Breston, who had been a source of discord throughout the campaign, was now curiously obedient to Riftan's commands. To Maxi, his compliance reminded her of a beast biding its time before pouncing on its prey. Balto would lie low for the time being, having nothing to gain from challenging the Council, but she feared they would seize the first chance to break the armistice. The peace was balanced on seven scales at present - it would not take much to upset it.
"We will camp there for the night."
Riftan's deep voice cut through her brooding. Lifting her head, Maxi saw the rebuilt walled city of Darund at the foot of the hill.