Lich for Hire

Ambrose had not ridden much despite his long career as an adventurer. He was a mage. If terrain posed a problem, he flew over it. He might ride on horseback for rare instances of long-distance travel, but that was it.

Riding a black panther was a first for him. The experience was terrible.

When Catherine rode, her body rose and fell in perfect rhythm with the panther's stride, as if the two were about to merge into one.

When Ambrose rode, he felt as though his bones were being shaken loose. If not for the fact that his agility now allowed him to leap straight up and spin seven and a half times in midair, he would have been thrown off immediately.

Only later did he learn that horsemanship was not included in a ranger's standard skillset. Catherine had honed that skill herself.

But she refused to impart her skill to him. Though she might not be able to win against Ambrose verbally, she still believed in her heart that he was enslaving Naomi.

She wasn't entirely wrong. A lich like Ambrose, accustomed to commanding and binding others, would never have formed this contract if Naomi hadn't been so deeply wounded by "family" that she submitted to him wholeheartedly.

One willing to command, and the other to be commanded—Ambrose and Naomi were truly a match made in heaven.

Even if both sides consented, Catherine wasn't wrong to claim that Ambrose was "taking advantage of her vulnerability."