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The problem with being the only mage in the team sometimes, Bellara found, was that she was very bad at noting her own mana usage. Usually she had other mages in the Veil Jumpers calling her out when she started to shake and her spells stuttered; the Fade pulled and tugged around them all, making it easy for them to take care of each other. Most of the others had a good grasp on their mana levels, but she'd always struggled with moderation.
Now that she was following a dagger-wielding rogue who preferred to bring one mage with him at a time, however, she had no such failsafes. They'd been cornered by a venatori magister's horde of demons, Davrin and Rook both cutting through them with their weapons as Bellara called forth so much electricity she swore the ends of her hair were being singed by it.
It wasn't until the adrenaline of battle faded that Bellara noticed just how hard she was shaking, tremors wracking up her spine as the world spun around her.
"Bellara?" Davrin called out.
"I'm fine!" she exclaimed, even though she wasn't, having to lean against a stone wall. She pressed her forehead against the cool stone, a groan escaping her lips as the exhaustion hit her all at once. Her hands trembled as she fiddled with the seam of her shirt, a grimace slipping over her lips when she felt some demon goo over it.
Davrin's boots echoed on the tiled floor as he rushed up to her. Only a moment later did she realize she was collapsing—she managed a weak unh of complaint just as he scooped her up over his shoulder.
"By the Void, Bells," Davrin hissed out as he stepped towards Rook, who nodded at him and started to lead the way out of the alleyway and towards the eluvian in the Shadow Dragons' headquarters. "You can't do that to yourself. Be more careful."
Bellara groaned, closing her eyes as she leaned her face onto Davrin's spine. At her response, he moved her around somewhat, until she was with her head on his shoulder and he was holding up her torso with his whole arm, his hand on the backs of her thighs.
"'m sorry," she mumbled. "I have a hard time telling when it's too much. I just want to help."
Davrin softened a little at that. He was struggling to hold her weight up with one arm, as strong as he was, and she tried to be less of a dead weight for him, holding herself up with one hand on his shoulder. The fact he was carrying her made her feel like a fainting maiden from the serials she read, butterflies forming low in her belly. Rook rolled his eyes at her when he caught her smiling against Davrin's shoulder.
"You can't tell when you're exhausted?" he asked.
Bellara nodded. "Can't tell when my mana's getting low. With the Jumpers, there was always another mage around, and we can sort of feel it? So they'd just call me out, tell me to take a break or drink a potion. And now…"
"Now the team is usually a mage and Taash or me," Davrin said thoughtfully. He clicked his tongue. "You've got to be safer. Better to drink a potion than end up collapsing, right?"
She nodded. "Yeah," she agreed. Now that she wasn't casting, her mana was replenishing, making the trembling start to wear off. Though she still was exhausted down to the bones. "I have a hard time with it. I'm sorry for worrying you. Though being carried back to the Lighthouse is nice!"
Davrin scoffed, his hand snaking over her thighs, his arm pressing over her spine just as he gripped one of her legs. He relaxed the hold as soon as it registered.
"No, no, it's fine," she giggled, "grab me, reposition me if you need! I know I'm not super light."
Rook groaned behind them. "Can you stop flirting in front of me?"
Davrin laughed and moved Bellara around so she was in a proper bridal carry, one of his hands on her upper back and the other on her legs. He looked down at her, their gazes locking, and the fire in his eyes made her stomach flip. Another giggle, this time more nervous, escaped her lips.
"Didn't know I was flirting," he teased as they got closer to the Lighthouse, the Shadow Dragons' base empty enough for no one to raise their brows at the sight of a muscular elven man carrying an elven woman like one may a bride, as another elf followed behind them.
"You're insufferable," Rook said. "Just get on with it."
Bellara chuckled and looked up at Davrin, e yes twinkling. "Well, get on with it, knight in shining armor," she said. "All a Warden needs is to be a hero for a lady, isn't it?" she teased, lady dripping with sarcasm.
Davrin scoffed just as they got to the eluvian. He set her down and she stumbled forwards, almost right onto his throat, before she steadied herself. The world spun around for a few moments and Davrin gripped her arm to keep her from falling.
After a moment, his hand slid down to settle over her own, not quite holding it. She did the honors and smiled up at him.
"I'm going to make sure you don't get that low on mana again," Davrin said.
Blood rushed up to Bellara's cheeks and she nodded as they walked into the eluvian, hand in hand, the future waiting for them. What a good thing it was for her to have such problems, sometimes.