I Stopped Simping and the Heroines Lost Their Minds

Arthur woke to Merek arguing somewhere outside the guesthouse.

"I’m telling you, there were at least five."

Kara answered loudly enough to carry through the open window. "There were three."

"One came at me from behind."

"That was a branch."

Arthur opened his eyes and started laughing.

Apparently Merek’s battle against the corrupted wildcats had already improved overnight.

He stayed in bed for another minute before hunger finally won. By the time Arthur reached the communal lodge, breakfast was well underway.

Derren was sitting at one of the long tables with a plate in front of him. Rhea sat across from him, drinking from a wooden cup.

Rhea noticed Arthur approaching and gave him a flat look.

"Morning," Arthur said as he pulled out the chair beside Derren.

"Don’t."

Arthur sat down anyway.

Kara joined them a few moments later and reached across him for the bread. Halfway there, she paused and sniffed once. Her eyes moved from Arthur to Mara’s clinic across the yard, then slowly toward Rhea.

Rhea pointed at her before she could open her mouth. "Don’t."

Kara’s grin widened. "I didn’t say anything."

Arthur laughed while Rhea dropped her forehead against the table.

The front doors opened a few minutes later, and Mara walked in. She spotted Arthur at the table as she crossed the lodge and ran a hand over his shoulder as she passed.

"Feeling better?"

"Excellent medical care," Arthur replied.

Kara choked on her drink. Rhea squeezed her eyes shut. Mara simply stole a piece of meat directly off Arthur’s plate and kept walking toward the kitchens.

Lysa paused beside the table. Her eyes moved from Arthur to Mara across the room, then back again.

"You survived the night."

Arthur glanced toward the kitchens. "Apparently."

Lysa’s mouth twitched. "I wasn’t asking about that." She looked down at her daughter. "Rhea, I need the western markers checked."

Arthur found Derren outside later that morning. Torr and the others had escaped the clinic and claimed the sunny side of the building. Joren had his injured leg propped on a crate, while Merek sat nearby with his arm strapped against his chest.

Kara was still refusing to let the wildcat story die.

Torr watched Arthur walk over. "Still heading to Lornfell?"

Arthur paused. He actually hadn’t thought about transportation since disappearing into the eastern woods.

Derren gestured toward the empty space in the trading yard. "Your caravan left."

"Of course it did," Arthur said.

Torr shifted against the wood. "Were they supposed to wait while you chased a giant wolf through the woods?"

Arthur considered it. "Would’ve been polite."

He looked toward the lodge. "Did Bram leave anything?"

"Actually, yeah." The lodge keeper was passing nearby and pointed toward the counter. "Note for you. Been sitting there since yesterday."

Arthur collected it on the way inside.

Bram had taken the wagons out the previous morning once the western road cleared. Another caravan for Oakhaven was expected through Rauk Hollow in a few days.

Celia had added one line beneath Bram’s message.

Still very lucky. —Celia

Arthur snorted. "She cheated."

Derren glanced at the note. "You still lost."

Arthur folded the paper and slipped it into his pocket.

Rhea came out of the lodge carrying a bundle of marker cords.

Arthur nodded toward them. "Western perimeter?"

"Yeah."

"Sounds exciting."

Rhea gave him a look that answered that question well enough.

Arthur fell into step beside her anyway.

They followed the western trail out of Rauk Hollow. Rhea replaced three markers before either of them said much.

"You’re still thinking about your aunt," Arthur said while Rhea tightened another marker.

She gave the knot one last pull before looking at him. "I’m trying very hard not to."

Arthur’s grin earned him a shove in the shoulder.

Rhea moved toward the next tree, then glanced back. "Was she really that shameless?"

Arthur only looked at her.

She sighed. "Never mind. I know my aunt."

Rhea stepped onto a root to tie the next marker above eye level. Her tail brushed Arthur’s shoulder once, then again as she reached around the trunk. When it swept across his face, he caught it lightly and moved it aside.

Rhea stopped with one hand still against the tree and looked back at him, her ears going flat.

Arthur released her tail. "Occupational hazard."

She finished the knot without answering and hopped down. A moment later she walked past him toward the next marker, deliberately dragging her tail across his leg on the way.

When they returned to Rauk Hollow, Derren was leaning against the lodge rail.

Derren looked over as they approached. "I think I’m staying another day."

Arthur leaned against the rail beside him. "Getting attached?"

"I prefer roads where everything isn’t running in the opposite direction."

Torr called after them before Rhea could go inside.

"Rhea. There’s something I forgot yesterday."

Lysa was already sitting beside him at one of the outdoor tables. Rhea dropped onto the empty bench while Arthur and Derren stopped nearby.

Torr rubbed at his jaw. "A few miles before I lost Hati, I crossed an old cut trail. Wasn’t one of ours. Somebody had chopped through the brush and driven stakes into the ground. There was a broken digging spade lying nearby."

Rhea frowned. Lysa reacted faster.

"Prospectors."

Arthur looked between them, and Rhea explained. "A small group came through about a week ago. They were looking for mineral deposits and asking about the old survey trails."

"They asked about water too," Lysa added. "Wanted somewhere to camp once they got farther east."

Torr nodded. "That’s the same direction Hati kept going."

That got Rhea’s attention. She leaned toward him. "How far did you follow him?"

Torr gave her the rough distance. Lysa went quiet for a moment before looking east.

"There’s an old spring around there. Hunters used the cistern years ago, but it mostly dried up. Nobody bothers with it anymore."

Derren scratched at his jaw. "Could be nothing."

"Could be," Arthur said. He looked at Lysa. "How long to reach the spring?"

"Long enough that we’re not starting now." She pushed herself away from the table. "Tomorrow."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "You’re coming?"

Lysa looked at him. "Someone apparently has to make sure you follow instructions."

Rhea groaned. "Mother."

Arthur and Rhea walked together until the road split toward the guesthouse.

Arthur and Rhea walked together until the road split toward the guesthouse.

"Be ready early," Rhea said. "My mother doesn’t wait for anyone."

Arthur glanced at her. "Neither do you."

"Runs in the family."

His eyes dropped briefly toward her tail. Rhea caught him looking and shifted it to her other side.

"Don’t get used to grabbing that."

Arthur grinned. "You dragged it across my leg."

Rhea stared at him for a second before turning toward home.

"Be late tomorrow and I’m leaving without you."

"Sure you are."

One of her ears flicked back at him, but she kept walking.