Dragon Blood [Alonia's Queenslayer #2]

7

Light rain sprinkled onto the deck of the ship, the sun barely reaching through the low, dense clouds and shining a sliver of light onto Eli, who was leaning onto the railing and looking off into the distance.

The ship crew had spotted land just before the mist set; they were close, and everyone was getting dressed and ready. Eli had managed to put her armor on with the help of the princess. Her shoulder was... well, not good. She couldn't really move it around without experiencing some aching, and she had spent two weeks half-asleep and unmoving. Apparently, her wound had gotten infected, and it refused to close, and apart from that, her shoulder had become more air than bone from the impact. Rileigh and the princess had spent every waking moment watching over her, shoving medicine into her throat, and tending to her wound; once she got over the fever period, they'd bring her books and keep her company; Ril more so than the princess. Not that the princess didn't want to, she just didn't really get the chance, because Ril was always there.

"Oh, who would've thought, you managed to put your guard attire on," Ril said, and Eli turned around, managing a grin through the pain. The rain made a ringing sound with each droplet that bounced off her shoulder-plates, and her hair was already damp.

Ril looked... elvish. More so than usually; he even had some fancy braid in his hair, which had managed to grow a bit during their voyage. He was wearing fancy white-and-purple clothes, which went well with his eyes. The only thing that betrayed that he wasn't some noble, or even mage, was the scar on his face and the fact that his shirt was sitting a bit too tightly on his biceps.

"Not without help. I'm basically a walking scar at this point," Eli joked, and Ril grinned.

"Well, I think scars are sexy, don't you?" He winked. Eli felt her cheeks burning, so she rolled her eyes to cover her embarrassment.

"Well, they do look hot on you," she said. "But I'm a woman."

Ril snickered, shaking his head. "So? Scars are still hot. I'm pretty sure I had a crush on you since we've first met. I still thought you were a guy back then. A cute, arrogant, over-confident human boy."

"Wow, so you straddling me in the middle of a field was actually a sexual advance."

Ril chuckled, swinging a hand over Eli's shoulders, careful not to put too much pressure on the injured one. "Sure, sure. But seriously. You look good. Having scars just means you survived something difficult. Isn't that cool?"

Eli shrugged, smiling, as she let herself lean onto Ril. He was warm, and it felt good to be kinda-hugged. She'd never really been fond of hugs; she hugged Tanya because that was what Tanya liked. But even an awkward shoulder-hug from Ril made her just wanna curl up and fall asleep like that, standing up and all.

"I guess it is. I just hope I won't have to make my left arm dominant after this."

"We'll ask them for healers. I heard their mages don't have to go under oath, so they should have... well, more mages all-around. Your shoulder's no longer mush, so you're doing fine, I think. Lucky you're a dragon rider, though."

"Well, I wouldn't have fallen into a monster's mouth if I weren't a dragon rider, so I'm not sure how lucky that is," she said.

Ril chuckled. "I guess. But you wouldn't have met me, which is obviously the best part. And, you wouldn't have gotten a chance to go to the continent."

"Hey, I wasn't complaining. I like fighting. Love it, even. A sword in my hand, the adrenaline, and, of course, the inevitable victory."

"Ah, still just as arrogant as they day we've met," Ril joked, and Eli chuckled.