When the mage vanished, every muscle in my body untensed. I was so sure we were dead. Falling to my knees, I dropped my sword and shield and pulled at my breastplate. I hadn't been breathing.

Tristan limped over and dropped in front of me. Reaching out her hands, she took mine in hers. Placing her head on mine, she whispered, "Fuck."

That got a chuckle out of me. "Fuck indeed."

She giggled and squeezed my hands.

[Healing Light]

Her hands glowed with white light. I watched as it sank into my skin, and my cuts and bruises started feeling a whole lot better.

"I thought we were dead."

I sighed. "Yeah, me too. She was really strong."

"So strong."

"Hey, you two!" Jorn shouted to us from across the clearing. "I'm going to look around and make sure we're in the clear. You two rest up. If we're good, we'll be leaving in twenty. I'll holler if I find anything."

I waved my hand at him, and he disappeared into the trees.

When I'd caught my breath, I reached up and hooked my hand around the back of Tristan's neck. I pulled her to me, and our lips met. It wasn't a passionate kiss. There was no heat. No sparks of pleasure. Just warmth. Closeness. Love. She squeezed my hands tighter and deepened the kiss. Our tongues brushed, and I felt my cheeks grow wet with her tears.

When I finally opened my eyes, her sapphire eyes were gazing into mine, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. "I thought I was going to lose you."

"I did, too."

"When you were talking to her, what were you saying? Because I felt something... wonderful."

I nodded. "I told her what you meant to me."

"Which is?"

I hesitated. Was this the right time?"I—"

"I love you, first." Her eyes swam, and a crooked smile split her face.

I smiled back at her. "How did you know?"

"I could feel it. Right here." She placed her hand on her breastplate, directly above her heart, then she placed her other hand over mine. "And I can feel you."

Pulling her in, I embraced her. "I still want to say it." I buried my head in her neck. "I love you."

She sobbed, kissed my cheek, and buried her head in my shoulder. "I've been waiting to hear you say that for a while now..." She kissed my neck. "You're such an asshole sometimes."

"What, why?" I chuckled.

"Because, for one, you almost got dead in front of me. That was scary. And for two, I wanted to confess first." Her words came out muffled. "And you almost took it from me."

I laughed. "Well, excuse me for almost stealing your thunder."

"You're excused." She pulled away and wiped her cheeks. "I got my moment." Her face cracked into a smile. "It was perfect."

"Yeah, nothing more romantic than watching a blood sacrifice and almost dying. Sets the mood real good."

She giggled. "Honestly? I'll take it at this point. Reial seems determined to throw shit at us, so I think we have to take what we can get. Plus... isn't it all kind of thrilling?"

"I wouldn't cry if it all slowed down a little, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel pretty heroic right now. We just survived some serious shit."

"We did!" Her eyes sparkled. "We're kind of awesome."

"We are."

"You know something?"

"What?"

"I can't wait to get home."

"What? I thought it was thrilling out here? You telling me this quest isn't shaping up how you thought it would?"

"It's not that." She puffed her cheeks out. "I just thought we'd have more time, you know? I figured we'd go out, heal a couple of villagers, maybe fight a rat or two. Then, we could have found an inn, sat by the fireplace, had a few drinks. That night, we would have gotten freaky for the first time. Well, my first time. You know, beginner adventurer stuff. Instead, we're knee deep in some scary shit, and we're getting our ass handed to us by gloomfangs, shapeshifters, and black mages. Black mages who can face tank the best hits we've got. Hell, even Jorn barely put a dent in her. I feel heroic, but I am fully confident when I say that we weren't ready for this."

I laughed. "We really weren't." Her words hit me. "Wait, you wanted to get freaky?"

She rolled her eyes. "Do you think I snuggled against your junk the other night because it was comfortable? I mean, it was comfortable—we fit perfectly—but, come on. I was throwing myself at you."

"With everything going on, I thought... Wait. Does stress get you horny?"

"Very!" Her cheeks got red. "And it's your damn fault! I wasn't like this before I met you."

"I... I'm sorry?"

"You should be! You did this to me. I went through the change because of you. You should be taking responsibility, but you're too dense to get my hints. Shame on you."

I needed to ask what "the change" meant, but now wasn't the time. "I feel like this is a whole side of you I've never seen before."

"What? We just said we love each other. We're a thing, right?"

I took her hands in mine. "Yeah. I won't ever let you go."

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"See?! I feel the same way! Why be shy? Should I be some proper lady who hides her desires? I'm not some princess, Alex. Those are stupid human rules and, as a quarter elf, I choose to not-so-respectfully reject them."

I laughed. "It's just—"

"Just nothing! Do you think it's better to bottle it all up? You want me to be frigid and distant when we're going through shit in the future? Because you and I are going to go through some shit. I'm sure of it."

I held up my hands. That would suck. "No. Not even a little. It's just, you're so..."

She raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

"Confident."

"Well, when you almost watch your mate get incinerated by a scary mage bitch, things come into perspective real quick. Life's short as it is, and we're choosing a dangerous profession. Tomorrow's not guaranteed to us. We might as well live each day to the fullest. At least, that's what my dad always said. I get it now."

She'd never talked about her dad before. "He sounds like a smart guy."

"He was."

Damn you, Alex! Damn you and your terrible timing!

"Don't worry about it." She squeezed my hands and smiled.

Did I say anything out loud?

"You know what my mom says?"

Present tense. That was good. "What does she say?"

"Mom always says you love, and you love hard. And that's what I'm going to do. With you." Her face lit up. "And Greta said something about 'the others,' so I'm guessing there'll eventually be a lot of love going around for us."

I rolled my eyes. "There aren't going to be any 'others.' It's just me and you."

She made a face. "Don't you question the great Greta's visions! She's amazing, and you're just some guy. A hot guy, with a hot mirán at his side."

"I don't speak elvish. Care to explain?"

"No. Anyway, if our first quest is any indication, I think this might be how things go for us. So let's make the most of our time together, 'kay?"

When I nodded, she grabbed my neck and pulled my face to hers. Our lips met. This time, there was passion. A lot of it.

However, as we kissed, I started feeling awkward. Mostly due to the dead body half lying on an altar ten feet away. I was pretty sure the black oil stuff he'd rubbed all over himself had to have done something besides make him look disgusting. Pulling back, I said, "Um, maybe we should—"

"Shush." She attacked my lips with hers again.

Goddamn, she was way more fiery than I realized.

Right when I was getting over the body, as if by magic... no, exactly because of magic, his body started twitching and groaning.

I pulled away from Tristan a second time and said, "Tris, this may not be the best time, but I think that guy over there might be turning into a zombie."

"Grawwlllrrr..."

"For fucks sake!" She reached out and grabbed her mace. "What does a girl gotta do to get a single minute with her man?!" She stood up, marched to the altar, and lifted her mace over her head. "Go in the fucking light!" With a heave, she brought her weapon down on the zombie's head. A loud thunk sounded in the night, and the monster was still. Turning, she smiled and said, "There. Much better."

I was simultaneously amused, turned on, and horrified by her display of violence. "That was... I thought you'd be more squeamish about it."

She clicked her tongue. "What, do you think I'm some flower or something? Shit, I've seen plenty of dead people before. One little zombie isn't a big deal, ya know? Besides, he ruined the mood. The moment's gone now. I'm pissed."

"If it's any consolation, that was insanely hot."

"Mhmm. Noted." She rested her mace on her shoulder. "Come on. Let's get going. The faster we save everyone, the faster we get home and deal with these feelings we're both equally struggling with."

As I processed her words, the system flashed in my mind:

You complete the quest [Dark Things in the Forest].

You reach level 5.

+1 Strength, +1 Resilience, +1 Agility, +1 Power, +1 Will

You complete the Fighter task [A Good Fight].

You reach level 6.

+1 Strength, +1 Resilience

You receive the quest [Save the Templars].

"Did you get that?"

"Yeah," Tristan said. "I leveled, too. Just hit level five. I just learned the [Holy Light] skill."

That didn't sound right. She was a level higher than I was when we started this quest. I pulled up my character sheet to double-check, but I was definitely level higher now. "I'm level six. When did you fall behind me?"

She shook her head. "I failed the quest at Copperhill. Hard to complete one when you're unconscious."

"I didn't realize it worked like that."

"Yeah, well, I didn't either. I don't mind, though. You're the leader of our little group. It makes sense that you'd be stronger."

"It does?"

"Well, yeah. If things go badly, it's on you to keep me safe."

"I thought you were all in on this assertive badass energy?"

"Pshh, I'm still a girl. I want a big, strong man to protect me. It's hot."

I chuckled. "Big? How big are we talking?"

"Oh, you know. Just the right size." She grinned.

I shook my head. "I'm going to have to put you in horny jail."

Her eyes were glowing. "Or, and hear me out, you can do something about it. The second we get home. After a bath."

Before I could respond, Jorn reappeared on the far side of the clearing. "Hey kids, looks like we're in the clear. And, from the chopped-up trail, that cart ain't moving fast through the brush. We should be able to catch up before they reach Galden." He glanced at the zombie. "Hey, did that thing move?"

"Tristan took her frustrations out on it."

"I'm better now."

Jorn shook his head. A look of pure compassion crossed his face. "I know how you feel. But we'll get them back, guys. I promise."

Tristan and I looked at one another. That wasn't exactly what we meant.

***

"Alright, you mangy sacks of shit. Get your asses behind that cart and push!" The greasy-haired goblin I'd seen in the clearing, Rutz, was shouting at over two dozen other green-skinned humanoids. The other goblins grumbled and shot insults back at him, but most of them obeyed, moving behind the cart and pressing their backs against the large wooden vehicle.

We'd followed the trail until the trees grew small and the land grew hilly. Making sure to move from bush to bush, we eventually made it to a large cliffside. A small stone tunnel was carved into the hill. Around twenty feet from the mouth of the tunnel, the cart had sunk into thick mud and hadn't budged in the ten minutes we'd been watching, no matter how hard the goblins worked at getting it unstuck.

"Come on! Heave!" Rutz cried, but I could tell it was no use.

"Here's the plan." Jorn pulled us close. "You two are spent. So, I'll take them on. Once the battle starts, you two sneak in and find a way to break the lock on that cage open. When I see you, I'll charge into the mine. Hopefully they'll all follow."

"And if they don't?" I didn't like this plan so far.

"If I do enough damage, they probably will. Any stragglers, you two can take care of. Once you get the others out, head for Goodfield."

"And you?"

"Don't worry about me." His jaw clenched. "Alex, Nel's pretty injured, so you'll need to carry her. The others should be able to walk on their own."

"I have a better idea. "I reached into my belt pouch and pulled out one of the potions Ro-Saleh gave me. "Let's all drink one. That way, we'll be in top form." I looked at Jorn. "I'm not about to leave you behind after everything we've done."

"What is it?"

"Ro gave me three [Potions of Greater Healing]. Said we might need them. Looks like his instincts were spot on."

"That guy." Jorn shook his head. "How many you have?"

'I've got one. Tristan has two."

Tristan nodded and pulled out the potions I'd given her. Handing one to Jorn, she uncorked hers and went to drink it, but Jorn held her off.

"Wait. What if one of us gets injured in the fighting? We should save one."

I shook my head. "Doesn't matter if we save one if we end up getting carved up due to being too tired." I uncorked mine.

He shrugged. "Good point." Uncorking his potion and clinking it against ours, he said, "Cheers."

We all threw the potions back. The second the liquid hit my tongue, I felt every nerve in my body flare to life. My skin vibrated and tingled, and the pain that lingered on my everything faded away.

"Ahh, that hit the spot. That was one of the good ones. Adds a pep to your step."

Tristan's eyes grew bright. The Tower's morning light sparkled in her sapphire orbs. "If you get injured, I'll heal you all." She whispered some words under her breath.

[Bless]

I felt even more invigorated and empowered than before.

"Alright, new plan." Jorn was grinning. "We charge in there, kick some ass, and get our people back. If shit goes south, you two break off, and I make one final heroic stand. Sound good?"

"Yeah." Tristan's voice was firm.

"Definitely." I was getting fired up.

Standing, Jorn grinned. "Good. Now, let's show them what a Templar, a recruit, and a junior priestess are made of!" Turning, he roared and sprinted into the field, shield up and sword forward.

Tristan and I looked at one another. Nodding, we counted to three, drew our weapons, and rushed after him, screaming like death itself.

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