That one hour with Aeson had exhausted her both physically and mentally. Using magic had completely drained her. She trudged slowly back to the house, where, to her surprise, the elves were already waiting with their horses.
Dorian stepped forward with concern, making a hesitant move toward her as if he wanted to pull her into his arms, but then he held himself back.
"You look terrible, what did Aeson do to you?" Marcus lamented as he came up to her and, taking her by the shoulders, very visibly assessed her condition.
Leonie gave a faint smile at his reaction, then shook her head. She did not want to admit her weakness in front of everyone, and she trusted that Aeson would not either. Everyone turned toward Aeson at once. Except Dorian, whose gaze slipped to Marcus's hands resting on Leonie's shoulders.
Suddenly he was seized by the urge to beat his friend to a pulp. The lines on his forehead deepened at the unpleasant thought. Marcus had apparently formed a close bond with the girl very quickly. But when, and why?
After all, if that was what made them happy, they had his blessing. Why, then, did he feel as if something had started gnawing at him from the inside?
"How was it? Did Leonie try to skewer you?" came Nir's eager voice from behind.
"Yes, I really riled her up," Aeson nodded cheerfully and winked at the girl. "She tried, but she needs to get up earlier if she wants to catch me."
"Can I come next time?" Nir turned excitedly to Leonie, and the girl immediately grew embarrassed. It was one thing to lose control like that, but to have an audience watching it? Before she could answer, Filarion replied in his calm voice.
"Tomorrow she'll be practicing with me, and no, you may not come."
He seemed to consider the topic closed, because Filarion then gracefully mounted his horse, signaling that as far as he was concerned, they were ready to go.
"What do you mean you riled her up?" Dorian asked Aeson suspiciously. This whole scene was growing extremely frustrating for him. Marcus being so familiar with the girl, and Aeson perhaps having hurt Leonie—was that why she looked so worn out?
"What did you do?" His voice had a menacing edge to it, and Marcus immediately moved closer to Dorian, leaving Leonie.
"We needed some way to get her to access her magic, and we needed quick results if we don't want her to go wild like a hurricane once we're back home," Aeson said with a shrug.
He clearly wasn't bothered by Dorian's anger, even when the man stepped closer in a threatening way.
"That's enough," Leonie cut in. She was very uncomfortable with them talking about her as if she weren't standing right there.
"You said we have to hurry. Let's go!" And she didn't just want to leave because she was afraid they'd start throwing punches any second, but also because she felt so tired she could collapse at any moment.
She slipped between Aeson, Marcus, and Dorian and turned to the last of them.
"Please, Dorian, nothing happened," she said.
It surprised her how protective he was being, and she didn't know how to feel about it—not entirely. It reminded her a little of the baron's possessiveness, except the baron had never cared about protecting her, only about owning her at any cost. Dorian, however, stood up for her even against his friends. That was… oddly heartwarming, wasn't it?
"Let's go," she asked again, stepping closer to him.
She laid a hesitant hand on his chest to draw his attention to her, since Dorian was still staring at Aeson like a predator at its prey.
The moment she touched him, it was as if a wave of heat rushed through her veins, as if her magic flared to life. Dorian felt the same.
He looked down at the girl in surprise. It was not the first time their magic had reacted to each other, but her touch startled him far more; his heart gave a heavy thump beneath her palm. His expression softened and he nodded once.
"All right."
He turned and was just about to tell Leonie she would be riding with him whether she liked it or not, but when he reached his horse and glanced back over his shoulder, he saw the girl had followed him and was now looking up at him expectantly.
He opened his mouth, then shut it again.
He had thought Leonie would insist on traveling with Marcus, and this unexpected turn of events unsettled him.
Aeson's appreciative whistle snapped him out of his surprise.
"Well, if I'd known that, we'd have found a woman for the team a lot sooner," he joked.
Dorian was just helping Leonie into the saddle when he shot a murderous look to the side.
"Shut up, or I won't be this lenient," he growled, and Aeson burst out laughing and swung himself onto his own horse.
Dorian did the same, vaulting up behind Leonie, and they set off toward elven lands.