As the sound of the owl pierced the night, I opened my eyes again. Perhaps for the fifteenth time. Or was it the twentieth? I wasn't sure anymore.
My eyelids were heavy, but I had long made up my mind not to sleep. No... It wasn't because we weren't safe here. The queen herself had directed me to one of the many bedrooms in the castle and assigned a few maids to take care of Lucy.
She lay on the bed in front of me, now dressed in a thin robe, her long black hair flowing in all directions. She looked peaceful, like she was merely asleep.
But I was well aware of the danger she was in.
She had used up her mana, which was fatal to a wielder, just like losing blood was fatal to a normal human.
Unlike a wound, mana depletion wasn't something that could be healed with magic. All I could do was wait, for her body to recover.
