Everything was sore.

  Healing magic only accelerated a body's natural healing process. The great thing was that Adventurers’ bodies naturally healed faster than the Mundane, so there wasn’t a lot that was required for simple scrapes and light bruises. The downside was that bodies still needed nutrients to heal and they still needed rest. The higher level you were, the less rest you needed, but I didn’t think that requirement went away completely.

  I knew there were spells that would alleviate exhaustion, but eventually, you were going to have to stop and rest to recover from a long day of fighting. It was past 9pm by the time we made it back to the RV and I was ready to sleep.

  Trent had already fixed the window somehow and was lounging on the couch when we walked in. Aelin ran over to the driver’s seat and touched the glass.

  “It’s like it never happened!” The blonde giggled as she rapped the glass with her knuckle. “Is this stronger material?”

  “I put a reinforced enchantment on it.” Trent opened an eye to look at us. His face took on a quizzical expression as Aelin started the RV. “Where are we going?”

  “Nakten wants some real food and since we don’t have a car…” Aelin bounced in the seat. “I’m driving us to the restaurant.”

  Trent sat up and looked at Miel.

  “They’re your students.” She waved her hand as she dropped into the booth. “You can deal with them.”

  I chuckled. “As much fun as it would be to watch one of you ‘deal’ with Aelin, I’m going to go grab a shower, then head to bed.”

  Nakten’s ears perked up. She slid across the floor to my side. “What some company?”

  “Nakten…” I sighed. “No. I want a quick shower, then some sleep.” The invigoration spell that Nevah had used earlier had helped, but it wasn’t going to take the place of actual sleep, just postpone how tired we felt until our bodies were truly worn out. I had a feeling that the others were going to crash before long, but if they were hungry for food first, I wasn’t going to tell them what to do.

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  The Anubis laid her ears back and sulked over to the couch and dropped beside Trent. I didn’t wait for anyone else to say something; I just retreated back to the back and turned on the water.

  Quick showers were something that the Temple had drilled into me. Considering that the water came from an enchantment that was powered by the energy from monster crystals, I wasn’t sure why they had been so adamant about us getting our showers over with as fast as possible, but years of routine had drilled into me that I needed to be in and out in a few minutes.

  Today, I felt like splurging. The heat of the water felt good on my back and helped to soothe some of the tired muscles. I could also feel the sway of the RV and knew that Aelin was still driving us around town. While I didn’t have anything against the others, I was really hoping that I’d be able to go straight to bed, which wasn’t going to happen if I walked out there before they went into the restaurant.

  There was a knock on the door, then Ether walked into the bathroom. “Atlas?” She closed the door as the RV came to a stop. “Are you going to be much longer?” She motioned at the door. “The others were wanting to clean up before they ate.”

  My heart sank. While there was a facility at the Temple for Adventurers to clean up, it wasn’t private like the one in Klix. Miel hadn’t wanted to let everyone filter into communal showers, so she’d herded us all back to the RV before anyone had a chance to clean up. I’d forgotten about that when I’d gone to the shower first.

  “I’m done.” I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. “Give me a second to get some clothes on, then whoever wants to go next can hop in.”

  Ether lingered for a moment as she watched me dress. For a moment I thought she might undress and pull me back into the shower, but she simply ducked out of the bathroom without a word.

  Once I dried off and put on some shorts, I walked out of the bathroom. Aelin and Nakten were chatting about something, but I was too tired to worry if the topic had something to do with me.

  “Shower’s open.” I thumbed towards the back of the RV. “Sorry, I forgot you all needed to clean up first.”

  I slid into my bunk and closed the screen. I knew that once she got clean, Ether would find her way inside, so I didn’t lock it. There was a small part of me that was worried that Nakten might try to be the one who climbed in, but I was confident that as long as Ether was out there, it wouldn’t happen.

  I closed my eyes and it didn’t take me long before I was fast asleep.

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