“You should not endanger yourself on my account,” Aakuta groaned weakly.

Tears welled up in Lady Mystic’s eyes as she cast a healing spell on the dark mage.

“You still care about me after what I did to you?” sniffed the Emperor’s daughter. “Why?”

“You did what you had to do,” replied Aakuta. “Should I stop loving you because of that?”

Lady Mystic smiled tightly, but tears continued to cascade down her cheeks. Suddenly, her eyes grew large and she stared incomprehensibly at Aakuta.

“You are lucid,” Lady Mystic remarked. “How is that possible? No one has ever emerged from that chamber without being insane.”

”Dobuk has never met the likes of me,” Aakuta grinned before grunting in pain. “At times I can concentrate on other things, but not for long. The pain distracts me.”

“And the pain will be worse for you than the others because you can think,” frowned Lady Mystic. “You will be more aware of it. I must do something. Can you walk?”

“My arms and legs still function,” Aakuta nodded as he rolled over and got to his knees.

The pain in his newly cracked rib shot through the mage, but he tried to ignore it. Lady Mystic stood and helped Aakuta to his feet. She draped one of his arms over her neck and wrapped one of her arms around him. Slowly she guided him across the street and into the alley that led to her home. When she got him through the door, Lady Mystic guided the dark mage to a chair at the table.

“Sit quietly while I mix you a potion,” instructed the Emperor’s daughter.

“A potion?” questioned the dark mage.

“It will relieve your pain,” nodded Lady Mystic as she began mixing ingredients in a large flask. “It won’t last long, but it will give you a small amount of relief for a time.”