The Order of Dragonfire

Chapter 13

"I haven't come this far north for quite some time." Thorn spoke softly. "The shadowhawks only stray so far from the coast, so I haven't seen one for a while."

Alex shifted awkwardly in her seat as the conversation returned to the earlier events. The three of them had been back in Thorn's wagon discussing their plan for the upcoming days before talk turned back to the shadowhawk attack. Although she didn't like to think about what had happened, she was relieved that she might be able to clear her mind. The guilt of having brought them into danger was constantly on her mind and weighing her down.

"Look, this is getting far too dangerous." Alex looked down at her knees as she spoke.

"You've been a huge help and I'm very grateful, but you need to go back and forget about me. I'll be fine from here."

"Ah," Thorn smiled slightly. "I could tell something was troubling you. Alexia, this had nothing to do with you. Danger lurks at every turn, we would have eventually found ourselves in trouble whichever way we went. It may be that if we had carried on our original journey we would have been attacked by rivals or other wild beasts. And whatever happened Reynold would have been just as foolhardy as he was earlier, I'm sure. All you did was save my son, for which I am eternally grateful. So no, my friend, we shall not be abandoning you now, just as you did not abandon him even when the peril was so great."

Rain sighed and rolled his eyes at his father's slight.  Alex noticed that he kept feeling his side where the hawk's beak had torn through his flesh, as if it was bothering him.

"Is it still sore?" She asked, concerned that it may not have healed properly. Sometimes such spells were incomplete or healed wounds incorrectly, just as she had worried about when trying to set her broken bones. Still, she doubted that there was any serious issue. Rose's attitude may have been poor but Alex had to reluctantly admit that there was little doubt of her abilities.

"A little tender, but I'm sure I'll live." He grinned. "Thanks to you. And Rose, obviously."

"It was nothing, really." Alex laughed nervously, brushing her hair out of her face.

"I will need to see to the others. I doubt anyone will be asleep yet." Thorn rose to his feet and left the wagon. It was already long past sunset but after the trauma no one would be sleeping for a while. Alex looked back towards Rain.

"So are you sure it's all right?" She asked. Healing spells alone weren't always enough to fix serious injuries. When she herself had been near-mortally wounded when she first met Ava, it took days of spells and conventional treatment from the army's medics to get her back to normal. A shot through the chest was obviously about as serious an injury as anyone could get, but Rain's was almost fatal as well.

"I guess it's not perfect." Rain conceded, and it quickly became apparent that he had been putting on a brave face.

"Right, let me." Alex put her hand on his skin where the shadowhawk had torn through it, feeling for any signs of injury beneath the toned muscle.

"It seems okay... you're probably just drained from the fight, or the spell itself." Alex murmured, but still pressed down and and conjured one of her own simple regenerative spells. She had little opportunity to practice any school of magic besides dragonfire, but was somewhat gifted with healing abilities. Having his body stitched back together from the point of death would leave him exhausted for a few days, but that was a small price to pay for saving his life.

"Thanks 'gain, by the way. Shame I didn't get to see it." He grinned and stood up to leave. It must have been quite the sight sight for the observers, and she wondered what impression it had left with the rest of the group. She pulled on her hair slightly as she dealt with the uncomfortable thought.