The Forsaken Hero

”Sari,” I said, lifting a weak, trembling hand and resting it on her head.

The soft sensation of her silky hair between my fingers, and the kitten-like fur of her ears put me at ease. She looked up at me with wide eyes and a slow smile spread across her face. Then, she closed her eyes and leaned into my touch, nuzzling me lovingly.

I smiled faintly and stoked her head for a few more seconds before taking my hand away. She had been so weak, emaciated, and scared when we saved her. It had taken months for me to get to the point where I would accept someone’s touch like I know offered her. Just how resilient was this child? Had she really recovered so quickly?

A slight frown replaced my smile at the thought, and I looked up at Elinore, who was busy preparing an ointment for my sunpurge. ”Elinore, how long was...asleep?”

She grimaced as though she had been expecting the question. ”The battle against the Justice Hero took place a little over two weeks ago. You woke a few times since then, but only long enough to eat a thing or two. I’m not surprised you don’t remember any of that.”

”But you remember me, right?” Sari asked. Her ears twitched hopefully but drooped as I shook my head.

”I’m sorry, but I’m sure you were helpful,” I said, glancing at Elinore.

She nodded. ”It was like a spell had gone off. When we found you, Sari was sleeping as she normally did. I happened to mention your condition to Sarra, which she must have overheard. The next thing I knew, she was trying to sit up and said you needed her.”

”Is that right?” I murmured.

Sari nodded emphatically. ”You were sad. I waited here every day for you to wake up. Elinore said it was okay if I held your hand, so...” She blushed slightly and squeezed my hand. ”So I did!”

Sari was still hurting. I could see it hidden in her eyes, a shadowy hollowness and pain she let show whenever she thought no one was looking. The Joys were not so easily forgotten. And yet...

I squeezed Sari’s hand back. ”Thank you, Sari, you’ve been a big help.”

She beamed and hummed happily, beginning to stroke my tail again. I wasn’t sure why she found it so entertaining, but it felt kind of soothing, and I couldn’t bring myself to pull away.

”How is it?” I asked Elinore softly.

She sighed and sat back down, pulling my dress away and slathering my side with her special ointment. ”Like I said, it’s not good. I managed to heal all of your physical wounds without too much issue, but you came close–too close–to the edge this time. Look.”

She hiked my dress up a little higher, exposing my entire midriff. The sunpurge had gained a lot of ground, almost as much again as it had during the battle at Bluegate Keep. When I had first received the wound from the High Inquisitor, it was little more than a patch of glowing scars, with several cracks snaking over my hip. Now, it spread across my side nearly to my ribs and lower onto my upper thigh. Any sort of twist or movement of my waist caused it to flare up. It seemed like even walking would be a pain.

I winced as Elinore’s gentle touch scraped too much against the scars. She paused briefly to let the pain fade before applying the rest of the salve. It worked wonders, as usual, but I couldn’t help but feel it was a little less effective than normal. Had she used less than she usually had?

”I’ve half a mind to restrict you to your bed for the rest of your life,” Elinore muttered. She washed her fingers with a first-circle spell before replacing the lid of the salve. ”We don’t have much of this left, and I still haven’t made any progress on a more permanent cure, or even magic to alleviate the pain. I hate to say this, but if you plan on being active, or gods forbid, participating in another battle, you will have to bear through the pain.”

I nodded solemnly. That was along the lines of my own expectations, now. To live, breathe, and walk meant pain for me. But hadn’t that always been the case? At least my soul was better than it had been in the past, though not by much. The constant ache was still there, just dulled from when I first shattered it. I only ever felt particularly crippling pain when I pushed myself, or when channeling an enormous weight of mana, like at the Shard of Omniscience.

The scrap of fabric tickled my ears, and I looked up to see a figure ducking through the tent entrance. Korra straightened, blinking to adjust to the tent’s dimmer light, and then she saw me. Our eyes met, and her face lit up, and she was at my bedside in an instant.

”You’re awake! How are you feeling?”

”Watch it!” Elinore snapped, slapping her hand away as she moved to embrace me. ”She’s weak and in pain, barely even awake. Don’t you dare go hurting her with your brutish strength, you hear me?”

”Yes ma’am,” Korra said, dipping her head meekly. She carefully knelt on one knee beside Sari, taking a moment to ruffle the foxkin girl’s hair, then taking my other hand. Her scent washed over me, warm and familiar, and I felt tears gather in my eyes again.

”He’s gone,” I whispered, biting my lip.

She nodded, and some of her enthusiasm slipped away. ”Orion was a strong, courageous man. He died with honor, protecting you.”

”What about Victor?” I asked.

She shook her head. ”After he killed Orion, he managed to escape on his dragon. Most of his party, too, though we managed to kill the seventh-level mage. He didn’t seem too attached to their party, a temporary member perhaps, and they didn’t seem inclined to risk their lives to protect him.”

”Bastards,” Elinore muttered.

Sari stared at her with wide eyes, and the older healer blushed. It was an unusual sight, and we all stared at her until she shooed our gazes away with a grunt.

”Anyway,” Korra said, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, ”I’m glad you’re awake. Maybe now you can tell those damnable demons to leave.”

”Demons?” My head tilted to the side as I looked at her, my starry eyes fluttering with confusion.

”Yeah. Demons.”

At that moment, my senses registered a faint infernal presence—four of them, in fact—surrounding my tent.

I gasped and bolted upright, groping for my staff before it even materialized. A sharp pain stabbed into my side as the motion creased the sunpurge, and my panic devolved into quivering whimpers of pain. Before I could regather myself or even try and warn them, Korra’s hands gripped my arms, forcibly lying me back down.

”Take it easy,” she scolded gently, ”They’ve been there for weeks now without attacking. I highly doubt that’s going to change right now.”

”But it was lying! It wants to kill and devour my soul!” I said, still struggling futilely against her strength. Korra had been there when the blade demon admitted its intentions to Victor. Why wasn’t she doing anything? Hadn’t she heard it? Right now, four powerful demons were in the middle of our camp, waiting for the chance to strike. I couldn’t just let them kill anyone else!

Sari held my tail to her chest, unwilling to let it lash out of her hands with my agitation. Her hold sent a series of titillations racing up my tail, forcing the muscles in my back to tighten and stunning me from my resistance.

”But Starlight, the demons are nice!” the foxkin said. Her ears twitched as she smiled softly, and my heart shivered. It was the first time I’d seen her smile since waking up, and for demons, no less.

”My lady, I must insist you calm down before you end up hurting yourself more,” Elinore said. ”You’ve been asleep for a long time, and a lot’s happened. If it weren’t for those demons, you might very well have died, and Luxxa most certainly would have!”

I switched my gaze to her, my eyes going wide. ”They...saved me?”

”That’s what I’ve been trying to say!” Korra said, exasperated. ”After Victor used that seventh-level technique, the other demons caught up and forced him to retreat. They’re the ones who killed that older mage and gathered the rest of the Star Guard together.”

I didn’t want to believe her. I’d been betrayed too many times by those who seemed sincere in their offers and relationships. Levin had no reason to betray me, I had even healed him, yet he turned his sword on me. The demons had always lusted after my soul, and though my allies had pretended to betray me to gain an advantage on their unsuspecting enemies before, would a demon really do that?

I looked down at Sari, who still clung to my tail like it were some novel toy. She had her own tail to grab, right? And hers was much softer than mine, like kitten fur, if I remembered right.

The thought interrupted the frantic flow of questions and doubts, giving me a moment to think freely. After a few seconds, I reached out and ruffled her hair, causing her to smile again. She was so much stronger than I, so willing to trust. But she had a good sense of people, and I suspected her Eyes ability had something to do with that. Why else had she trusted me, a demonkin, when she’d been told how evil we were her whole life?

I met Korra’s eyes, and she gave me a slight nod.

”Alright,” I said with a long sigh. ”I suppose I owe them enough to at least hear them out.”