Pushing herself to her feet, she aimed a kick for Letari, but she danced away laughing. The woman suddenly vanished as she was hit from the side by a flash of black.
She squealed as Kai hoisted her up into his arms and swung her around, leaving Etani to glare at him sulkily.
"You know… It's not fair that you hold out on us," Daemon said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a hard kiss on the cheek.
"You shouldn't continue to underestimate me then," she replied, her head tilting back as Dirdos loomed over her, bending down to kiss her forehead.
"You and I need to go head-to-head next time," the dragon purred, and she lifted a brow in curiosity.
"Why exactly am I here?" Sebastian asked as he approached, his eyes trailing down her form and back up again to her face.
"People don't tend to wait until we're in an open field to attack," she said softly, the full force of him hitting her like a slap to the face.
Dirdos growled softly, and she glared up at him. "Using fire was cheating."
"So?" the dragon asked, and she growled in response.
"No rules against cheating," Kai said, his arms wrapped around Letari's thighs and carrying her over to them.
There was no stopping the stab of jealousy that shot through her as Kai paid attention to her sister, but she forced it down as much as possible. She knew it wasn't abnormal, but it was petty, and she wanted her sister to be happy, but that didn't stop it from flaring up.
Kai touched her face, and she smiled slightly, looking up as Epharis and Alaric approached, the giant King eyeing the two of them thoughtfully.
"Don't get any ideas," Letari said to him, turning to see the man while her hands rested on Kai's shoulder to hold herself upright.
"Who said I was?" the giant man asked.
"Letari can, at least in part, read surface thoughts," Etani said, and everyone became very wary of the crazy woman.
"Oh yeah," Letari said happily and Etani shook her head, amused that they hadn't figured it out.
"It was an interesting display," Alaric said slowly, his eyes on Etani.
Etani only shrugged and slipped herself free of Daemon and Dirdos, sweeping the field and finding the thoughtful eyes of her uncle, given Kai was otherwise occupied.
He took her hand without hesitation and they headed back in the direction of the city.
"You're still bleeding," he said, and she looked down at the raw flesh of her thigh.
"It happens," she said, shrugging, and she smiled at his indignation.
"I got bitten a lot in Ceress," she said, laughing when he spun her out in a dance and then pulled her back to him.
"How did you heal from that if there was no human flesh?" he asked.
"Magicae," she said, allowing him to pull her forward and while he moved backwards, he guided her into the dance, moving them in a constant pace for the city.
"Magicae!" Letari cried, her fist in the air.
"What's Magicae?" Uzo asked as he drew her backwards against his chest for two steps before flinging her out again.
"Fruit that is grown in Ceress. It's supposed to be pure magic and sustains the inhabitants of Ceress."
"Why do you not go get some?"
"Because it would be dangerous to get."
"You would only need seeds."
"Humans taste better."
"Etani… are you going to be able to heal from that without your magic?"
She stopped dead, looking up at him for a long moment, then down at her leg that was still bleeding fairly well.
The group slowed to a stop, watching her as she placed one hand on Uzo's shoulder and lifted her leg to get a better look at the chunk.
It was small enough that it should heal over on its own without her needing to consume flesh, but still, it should have stopped bleeding by now.
Frowning, she turned to look at Vincent as he approached.
"I'm working on it," he growled at her questioning glance, bending down to look at the bite.
"If I die, I'm blaming you," she called out to Letari, who was staring back at her with wide eyes.
It wasn't like it was that big of a deal, but it was somewhat concerning, and she yelped as the masked man grabbed her leg and almost tipped her over to see the wound better.
Clutching Uzo, she glared at Vincent and then shrieked as he hoisted up her other leg and with Uzo, they carried her back between them.
"Put me down!" she yelled, the two men grinning, but she knew it wasn't a real grin. They were worried while she didn't care all that much.
They carried her like that the whole way, and she glared up at them both silently, pouting when they refused to let go and then they dropped her in unison on the grass in the courtyard.
Huffing, she sat up but then she tilted her head, feeling oddly woozy.
"She look about ready to puke to you…?" Versalis asked and everyone jumped back as she turned and vomited on the grass, though the only thing she had in her stomach was water and acid.
"I'd venture at 'yes!', all things considered," Dirdos said, and he crouched down to pat her back as she heaved, his long fingers pulling back the loose strands of her hair to get them away from her face.
Groaning softly, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, wiping at her mouth with her sleeve and looking around herself in confusion.
"Why did that happen?" she asked, unsure.
"My guess would be the hole in your leg," Dirdos said, and she looked at it. It looked as fresh as ever.
Accepting a knife from Vincent, Dirdos cut the leg of her pants off and she snarled as he pulled the fabric down, starting the wound to seeping blood once more.
A water skin was produced by someone and the red bruising and odd lines weren't a result from blood as she had first thought.
"Is that blood poisoning?" she demanded, staring at her leg. "How did I get blood poisoning? How is that even possible? I can't get blood poisoning…"
No one appeared to know the answer, and using Dirdos to claw her way up to her feet, she swayed as the world tilted on its axis and she staggered.
"That's impossible…" Letari whimpered, realising it was her bite that had done it.
"Mouths are full of bacteria; you are fairly well known for licking things, Letari. It's an infection we can treat." Versalis had gone into full protector mode, and he scooped her up off the grass.
"Do know how hard it is to be an assassin with only one leg?!" Etani cried, glaring at Letari over Versalis' shoulder. "If they have to cut it off, I'm going to beat you with it! Wait… That's the one with the bell, right?"
"Won't work," Epharis said, and she swore at him, glaring up at him.
"You're such a bastard…"
"I didn't bite you. At least not there… at least not today," he said, frowning as he looked at her leg.
That got her mind wondering on what the depraved Lich did to her when she was drugged.
"You haven't bitten her there," Dirdos said and Epharis looked around at him.
"How would you know?" the lich demanded
Dirdos only grinned at him and Epharis growled.
"Stay out of my time with my wife, dragon."
"I have to make sure you don't kill her, intentionally or accidentally," Dirdos said calmly.
"Right… Not like you are enjoying the show or anything…"
"Not even remotely. You're a depraved little man." Dirdos sounded amused and Epharis glared, but she was glaring at the both of them.
"I'm right here," she snapped, and they both looked at her.
"Yes, you are," Dirdos said thoughtfully.
"He started it," Epharis said.
"I want a divorce."
"Too bad."
"Alaric!" She turned on the king and he looked at her with the same expression of indifference that Epharis always had.
"I'm not giving you a divorce."
"You gave one to Jaia, you stubborn bastard!"
"Jaia and Selene were a special case."
"You're biased," she snipped, glancing up as they headed down the hallway to her rooms.
"I like having you as my sister-in-law. It allows me to keep an eye on you," he said calmly.
"Just you wait… The instant you set foot in Winter I'm marrying you off to a kappa. You're not the only one with power around here!" She was pointing at him dramatically and Versalis was laughing silently.
"I look forward to you trying to make me marry anyone, little Queen," he said, and she glared at him.
"Why a Kappa?" Dirdos asked.
"Carnivorous water dweller who take a great pleasure in drowning and then eating their mates. Fitting end for you, Alaric."
"Don't tempt me to give you your wish, Etani. I could marry you off to someone worse after giving you your divorce."
"Who is worse than him?" she demanded, indignant.
"Me," he said flatly.
She stared at him, her mouth opening and then closing before she slumped back down in Versalis' arms, fuming.