Blood Will Tell

XXI

It was early in the morning by the time Arden and Edin arrived home. The former had used her magic to park their cars while she carried his body to his room, and after entering his bedchamber and laying him on his bed, Arden hovered her hands over his body and began healing him with her light magic. She had already cast a spell to check what kind of injuries he sustained; to her relief, they were mostly physical.

Her arms felt a slight push against her steady stream of light. A hex. It was minor enough for her to remove it without having to resort to potions or any stronger spells, and so her mind muttered another wordless incantation. She let her hands fall to her sides once she had cast all the necessary spells.

Arden paced towards a chair not far from his bedside and took a seat there. Her gaze watched over Edin's body. A minute or two passed. A faint white glow began to radiate from his being, and his head twitched.

He would be alright.

Arden reclined in her seat and continued to monitor him. Meanwhile, her mind rewound to the events that led up to the rescue.

***

A freezing breeze brushed her cheeks as Arden raced across the grassless land. Light flowed down her arms and wrapped around her blades, her hands gripping the hilts firmly.

Ahead of her, shadow beasts coalesced into a rising tsunami. Darkness rolled across the land in a menacing wave.

Her lips tightened in a defiant expression. She pressed on, ignoring the cold pricking her skin. Her dark hair and uniform vanished under the shade.

The wave rose.

It crashed.

She cut through it.

SLICE!

Blinding light flooded the field in a flash. When it had faded, so did the shadows.

Arden cocked her head sideways. A remnant of black was scuttering away on her far left side.

She aimed one blade at it and thrust, sending a stream of white that burned up the beast upon touch.

Her eye scanned the rest of the field. She could no longer spot any beasts fleeing the scene, and the rest of her senses affirmed the shadows' disappearance; the air was no longer as frosty as it was.

Arden shifted her gaze to face the town she had just saved. A cadet was running up to her, panting. "Senior Arden, thank you so much!" he said. "We were almost—we couldn't—y-you saved us."

She acknowledged the gratitude with a short nod. "Any injured?" she inquired.

"We have one bitten by a shadow beast."

She bit her lip. "Take me to him."

The cadet nodded and began pacing in the town's direction. Arden followed and caught up with him, and as they walked side by side, she could perceive a makeshift sickbay.

Arden asked, "So there's only one injured?"

"Six," he replied, "but the other five have minor injuries."

"As in, bruises? Cuts?"

"Mostly bruises, one broke his arm."

"A broken arm isn't minor," Arden said. "Any casualties?"

"None, madam."

She breathed a sigh of relief. Arden hastened her strides, prompting the cadet to speed up, and they reached the sickbay a short while later. A couple of guardians were patching up their fellow men with bandages and other items found in first aid kits.