As we reached the second floor, movement flickered in the corner of my eye, stopping me short. Azurith tensed, his hand darting toward his staff, but I raised a hand to stop him. “Relax. This little guy’s a friend.”

  I knelt beside the garlic snail, holding out a hand. “He’ll be joining us from now on.”

  The snail hesitated for a moment before sliding up my arm. I stood just in time to catch Clover’s fondly amused expression and Azurith’s bewildered one.

  “I should’ve known you wouldn’t forget about that,” Clover said with a soft laugh.

  I grinned. “Of course not. Dinner’s going to taste so much better now.”

  Azurith frowned, eyeing the snail with clear wariness. “Those creatures eat meat. And you’re... bringing it with you?”

  Clover waved dismissively. “Don’t bother arguing. Trust me, it won’t work. He’s set on adopting it, and it seems to like him. As long as it doesn’t harm anyone, I’m letting it be.”

  Azurith shook his head but dropped the subject. The rest of the trip back to the surface passed in silence until we finally stepped through the dungeon’s doors. I took a deep breath of fresh air.

  “I didn’t realize how nice the air smelled until now,” I said.

  Clover nodded. “The deeper dungeons are worse. More rotting corpses—”

  She broke off, wincing as I flinched. Flashes of Gregory pierced my thoughts, grief threading its way under my skin.

  “Sorry,” she murmured, gripping my hand. “That was insensitive.”

  I forced a smile. “It’s fine. We’ll come back and... handle that later. The herb is more important right now.”

  She gave my hand a squeeze before pulling out the herb. “The phoenix was right—it’s in bad shape. But hopefully, it’s enough to heal the others.”

  “Are there any other dungeons nearby we can check if it’s not?” I asked.

  She nodded. “There’s one, but it’s more dangerous.” She glanced back at the dungeon door, snorting softly. “Then again, it probably doesn’t have a phoenix, a basilisk, or a rift between planes, so maybe it’d actually be easier.”

  Yeah, this dungeon had been a nightmare.

  Azurith tensed, and before I could ask what was wrong, he slammed into Clover and me. “Get down!” His shout rang in my ears as a series of thuds followed, something hitting my armor and bouncing off.

  I pulled us behind a nearby boulder. “What was that?” I asked, pulling Clover close as we crouched.

  Azurith scowled. “Bandits. It’s common for them to ambush tired parties outside dungeons and steal their loot.”

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  Of course they had to target us. Of course. Because nothing could ever just be simple.

  Clover peeked over the rock, her eyes narrowing in irritation. “We can’t stay here forever. My lance can take them out—if I can see where to aim.”

  Azurith tilted his head, listening intently. “There are four of them,” he said, pointing to the right. “That way, a good distance back. One’s coming closer.”

  Clover grinned, the toothy smile a touch feral. “They’re in for a nasty surprise if they think we’re easy pickings. Frederick, you ready?”

  I nodded, setting the snail down and positioning myself as a human shield. Our weapons glowed brighter as we braced for Azurith’s signal.

  The crunch of footsteps grew closer. Azurith nodded, and Clover lunged, her mace connecting with a sickening crack. I followed, the volley of arrows bouncing harmlessly off my armor.

  The first bandit slumped to the ground, and we retreated behind the rock.

  “Good work,” Azurith said with a nod toward the unconscious bandit. “Three more to go.”

  “Of course—” Clover began, but her words cut off with a muffled scream as a flash of brown leapt from the grass onto her.

  I grabbed the weasel and yanked it off, holding it at arm’s length as it clawed at my hand. In its tiny paws was the herb.

  “You thieving little rat!” Clover snarled, her tone dark and dangerous. “I’ll skin you and wear you as a belt!”

  The weasel shuddered as though it understood her, then began to glow.

  Azurith cursed. “It’s a self-destruct spell!” He snatched the weasel from my grasp and hurled it as far as he could.

  I threw myself over Clover and Azurith just as the explosion hit. Heat washed over me, but thanks to the phoenix’s blessing, it didn’t burn as badly as it could have. I silently thanked the bird and sat up, glaring at the blackened patch of ground.

  “Rude,” I muttered.

  Clover snorted. “Darling, you’re an adult. You can curse.”

  I shrugged. “Old habits. After raising five siblings, it just kind of stuck.” I glanced around. “But let’s focus—where’s the herb?”

  She scanned the area, only to freeze a second later. Her eyes locked on the blackened ground.

  Silence stretched as she stared, her expression drained of all emotion. Then, she muttered. “The rat had it.”

  I groaned. “After everything we went through, some stupid bandits after a cheap win screwed us over?”

  Azurith’s eyes narrowed, fury flashing. “They’ll regret that dearly.” He moved to stand, but Clover was already ahead of him, her hair shadowing her face.

  The air around us shifted, charged with mana. My skin prickled and the hair along my neck stood to attention. When she finally spoke, her voice was low and ice-cold.

  “No. They’re mine.”

  She lifted her head, and the sheer fury in her eyes sent a chill down my spine. The air crackled, sparking with raw energy as she stormed forward.

  I followed without hesitation, stepping into place behind her.

  She shot me a warning look, but I didn’t budge.

  “You can beat them bloody,” I said, meeting her gaze, “I won’t step in to save their lousy hides, but they have arrows. I’ll be your shield.” I’d recovered some of my mana during my nap and I cast Bolster, ignoring the flare of exhaustion that followed as the protective spell settled over me.

  “Fine,” she relented. “But if they so much as touch you, I’ll make you puke with what I do to them.”

  Was it bad that I found that incredibly attractive?

  Shaking the thought away, I focused on the fight ahead. I could question my weird preferences later. Clover would charge in with or without me, and I wasn’t about to risk losing her to some low-life bandits.

  Besides, they had no idea what kind of beast they’d just woken.