The first thing I tasted was air—
ragged, painful, desperate air
as I jolted awake.
My lungs burned.
My vision spun.
For a moment I thought I was still surrounded by goblins, still drowning in their screams.
But instead…
All I saw were trees.
Tall, shadowed trunks rising like pillars into a dark green canopy.
A dense forest, quiet except for the crackle of a campfire and the low murmur of voices.
I tried to move.
Pain ripped across my body like lightning.
A groan slipped out before I could stop it.
I looked down—
my entire torso was wrapped in fresh bandages, some stained with dried blood.
My arms.
My legs.
Even my ribs.
Every part of me hurt.
"He's awake!" Elise shouted.
I blinked.
Elise Black, who'd been pacing near the fire, spun around and pointed at me in shock.
Within heartbeats she and Sullivan rushed over, their faces twisted with worry.
"Rain! Rain, can you hear me? Are you alright?" Sullivan said, voice trembling.
I didn't answer.
Not because I didn't want to,
but because I… couldn't.
Their words felt far away.
Muted.
Like I was underwater.
All I could see was the road.
The blood.
The bodies.
The way they looked at me—
like I wasn't human.
Elise waved her hand in front of my eyes.
"Hey! Rain! Look at me!"
Her voice cut through the fog.
I blinked hard, and suddenly everyone was around me—
Sullivan, Elise, the escort guards—
all staring with concern, fear, relief.
"Are you okay?"
"Do you need water?"
"Get him soup, quickly!"
Sullivan barked the order, and one guard jogged off toward a pot simmering over the fire.
I swallowed, my throat dry and aching.
"What… happened?" I finally rasped.
"And… how long was I out?"
Sullivan exhaled slowly, looking at me with something like awe.
"You saved us, Rain. All of us. We counted… you killed seventeen goblins alone."
Seventeen?
No wonder my body felt like it had been crushed by a boulder.
Sullivan and Elise bowed deeply.
"Thank you," they said together.
I felt my face heat up.
"P-Please… don't. I… it was part of the job," I muttered, looking away.
Sullivan smiled gently.
"We're alive because of you. That is more than a job."
I didn't know what to say.
After a moment he continued, "We are in the Forest of Mist now."
"Forest of… Mist?" I echoed.
He nodded.
"At night the fog gets so thick you can barely see your own hand. It's a dangerous place to camp, but you collapsed before we reached safer ground."
That explained the towering trees and heavy silence.
"How long… was I unconscious?" I asked.
Sullivan hesitated, then said quietly,
"Five days."
My heart nearly stopped.
"Five days?!"
"Yes," he answered calmly.
"You lost a lot of blood. We thought… we thought you might not wake up."
Five whole days gone.
Five days of training wasted.
Five days closer to the Lionhearth exam.
My stomach twisted.
The guard returned and handed me a wooden bowl, steam rising from it.
"Soup," he said simply.
"Thank you…" I whispered.
I didn't sip it—
I devoured it.
My hands trembled as I drank every drop.
I hadn't realized how thirsty… how empty… I felt.
As I finished, Sullivan cleared his throat.
"I don't mean to pressure you, Rain… but do you think you can continue escort duty?"
I wiped my mouth, feeling some warmth return to my body.
"I have to," I said.
"I already missed five days of training."
Sullivan gave a small nod of respect.
"Then rest for now. Tonight, we keep moving before the mist gets too thick."
Night fell slowly, the edges of the forest swallowing the last light of day.
I tightened my bandages, stretched my aching limbs, and prepared myself.
Five days lost.
I wouldn't lose any more.
Not to goblins.
Not to exhaustion.
Not to fear.
The path to Lionhearth was still long.