Reincarnated as the Villainess... Yeah, I'm Doomed

Chapter Forty-Three: The Strange Mana

A/N: Oh my gosh guys I have a new cover!! It's Callista, that is Callista!! The closest I have got to a real visualization of my characters is stick figures with different color hair as I plan out the scenes, so I am SUUUPER excited!!! Follow @aniblade on Instagram to check out more of her art, it's awesome!!

The sun had barely managed to peek over the trees when we began our trek. The distance we would be walking would be half that of the previous day, however, Ryland predicted that it would talk almost just as long because of the increasing number of beasts. 

"Someone's tired." Prince Philip joked, slowing down to match my pace. Unlike Elaine who was at the front of the group chatting happily with both Caden and Charles, I was struggling to keep awake as I tripped on roots every now and then. Ryland had positioned himself behind me for the time being so that he could make sure I didn't split my head open on a rock. 

"Fuck off," I grumbled, wondering if Ryland had put any strange mushrooms in the stew last night. How could I possibly have feelings for a morning person? It didn't matter how handsome he was, if you smile in the morning then you are not a human.

"Awe, you're cute when you're grumpy- ow!" Prince Philip shouted, clutching the back of his head. Ryland moved to the other side of me while he rolled his wrist. 

"How dare you lay a hand on the crown prince of this country, this is betrayal." Prince Philip whined, causing me to roll my eyes. 

"It wasn't betrayal, I was saving you." Ryland stated in his usual stoic tone, glancing at me. 

"From what?" 

I shot Prince Philip a glare, my jaw clenched. 

"Thank you Ryland, you are my most loyal guard." 

As we continued our walk, I stayed silent while Prince Philip chattered aimlessly, occasionally getting into small arguments with Ryland. 

"It's interesting, there haven't been any beast attack-" I clamped my hand over the Prince's mouth before he could say any more. 

"Shut up, you're going to jinx it," I hissed, my eyes darting around the dense forest. Even though I had accepted the fact that our characters were not bound by the story of the otome game, there were still many cliche's that happened in this world. For example, anytime I said that I didn't want to see someone out loud, I would always see them. Especially people like Valerie Ludovic and Nicholas Lytton. 

"Mwhaf" Prince Philip said into my hand, his eyes bugging out. 

"Hold on for a sec," I said, keeping my hand on his mouth as I closed my eyes. With a deep breath I spread my heat mana out, surveying the area for any beasts. 

Shit, Prince Philip had jinxed us. 

"Get down!" I screamed, tackling both Ryland and Prince Philip to the ground. The three of us hit the earth just as a large claw swung over us, barely missing our heads. 

A large winged creature that was a cross between a vulture and a lizard soared above us, preparing for it's next attack. 

"At least there's only one." Prince Philip breathed. 

That shit head had done it again. 

"Prince Philip, if you are going to lead this country without disaster, I implore you to stop talking." I gritted my teeth, pulling him back down as the vultures dived towards us. 

"There are five." Ryland said, brandishing his sword. The five large bird/ lizard creatures circled above us ready to descend on their prey. 

"I've got them." Caden shouted, raising his hand in the hair.