The adrenaline had finally faded.
The forest was quiet. The moon hung high and bright.
Marcus stood in the clearing. He looked at his strange companions.
A floating fluffball on his head. A talking teddy bear. A dragon girl clinging to his leg.
It was a scene from a fever dream.
But then, reality crashed down on him. It hit harder than Elowen's kick.
He remembered.
He remembered why he had left the capital in the first place.
He remembered the letter.
Do not delay.
The Viscount's, his father's, words echoed in his mind. They were cold and sharp.
Require your presence promptly.
Marcus felt the blood drain from his face.
He wasn't out for a stroll. He wasn't on a vacation.
He was summoned.
He mentally checked the timeline.
He had received the letter two... no three days ago.
Then he departed the next morning.
Then the carriage ride. Then the ambush.
Then the kidnapping. The cage. The dungeon. The torture room. The escape.
And finally, the fight with Elowen.
