Heat exploded behind them.
Kaedros clenched his jaw as searing fire licked his back, burning through cloth, blackening ash where his coat once was. His skin crackled for a moment, then healed as quickly as if the heat wasn’t there at all.
His eyes flared gold.
"Taria," he said, voice low and tight.
She trembled beneath his arms, curled against him where he’d shielded her from the blast. Despite all their fights, all the monsters they’d faced, that had been too close.
His investment was nearly gone, just like that.
Her voice came small, shaken. "I’m alright... Are you? Kaedros, you..."
She tried to wriggle free from his grip, reaching for his face, his chest, trying to see if he was hurt. All she’d seen was the blinding flash, then his body shielding hers from the full force of the explosion.
"Are you burned? Let me see..." she pressed, her voice high with worry.
His hand tightened around her, just for a second.
His time and money was almost gone, just like that.
The explosion had been more light than fire. His Draconic blood, especially since he was a Sun Dragon him resistance to heat, and with his regeneration, even the worst of it had already vanished from his flesh.
"I’m fine," he said, releasing her.
Taria quickly moved around him to check. Her eyes widened. Torn cloth, scorched fabric... but no wounds.
"Your shirt’s gone," she said quietly.
"But you... you’re fine." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Thank you."
Kaedros shrugged, flicking away ash from his arms. He looked at her curiously as if she was a sword he thought was cracked. "I can’t afford to let you die. You’re still useful."
"But you... you didn’t even hesitate!" she burst out. "You jumped in front of an explosion for me!"
Kaedros frowned. "I wasn’t putting my life on the line. Don’t be ridiculous. Why should I put my life on the line for you? If my life was in danger, I would use you as my shield."
"Still," she murmured again, disappointment in her tone, "thank you."
He shrugged. "So. What caused the explosion?"
Her expression fell back to focus, she steadied herself. "The metal band. Right before the blast, it started glowing."
Kaedros nodded. "Engraved with explosive glyphs. Triggered by the death of the monster."
He eyed the small crater the blast had carved into the dirt. "Self-destruct failsafe. The Celestial Order didn’t want this thing falling into someone else’s hands."
Taria grimaced. "So it wasn’t because I kicked it?"
Kaedros snorted. "You’d be dead if it was."
That made her feel oddly better.
"But how did it get here? From the city?" Kaedros asked, lifting his nose into the air. He sniffed, but the air was clean again, no lingering chemical trail.
Whatever scent it had left was gone.
"Maybe it escaped from nearby?" Taria offered.
"You think they had an enclosure outside Solmere, but it has no wings to fly."
"Why not? That’d explain how it got here without bounty hunters seeing it. Or the guards. Something must have brought it here."
"Unless the guards saw it and are now corpses."
Kaedros shook his head. "Even for a mutated Scabber, this one was weak. Starving. It wouldn’t take down a trained bounty hunter."
He glanced at her. "I mean, you killed it."
Taria raised her spear with a scowl. "Alright, alright! I get it!"
Kaedros’ gaze turned sharp again. "Either there’s a hidden enclosure nearby... or someone smuggled it out or into Solmere."
"Or maybe it wasn’t the Celestial Order at all," Taria said. "Could’ve been someone else using their insignia."
Kaedros narrowed his eyes. That bothered him. The Order had no need to hide their experiments, they flaunted their work all the time. That insignia was real. But the self-destruct rune...?
"That doesn’t match their usual arrogance," Kaedros muttered. "Either it wasn’t the Orde... or it was, but a different faction. Maybe an offshoot. Or a rival group."
Taria frowned. "So what now? We just... forget about it?"
He nodded. "Yes. Doesn’t concern us."
She hesitated. "But there are villages out here. Small, ordinary humans ones."
Kaedros raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"They’ll get hurt if more of these mutant monsters are running around."
Kaedros gave a dismissive shrug. "Solmere is responsible. They’ve got patrols."
"You and I both know how lazy those patrols are. That’s why we still get bounties to kill monsters this close to the city," Taria argued.
"Still not our problem," Kaedros said flatly. "And how are you going to defend anyone? We’re both stage one rank one. Don’t get carried away."
Her eyes lit up. "But maybe... with your casting and my...."
Kaedros moved in a blur. His right hand snapped forward, and with a light strike to the side of her neck, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground.
Her breathing was steady. She had been knocked uconscious, but unharmed.
"You talk too much. Why do humans talk too much?"