. Caught as I was in such a strange situation, I didn’t know what to do next. I stayed in place as she declared, “My Lady, please accept my deepest apologies. I accepted from you such a promise when I knew you would be unable to keep it. We vampires bear too great a burden to place additional burdens upon …

. “I, Tiana of the High Forest, First Daughter of the House of Pendor and daughter of the Lady Sasara, Duchess Pendor, humbly raise my hand in acceptance of your benevolent request. With a warm heart, my ears have received your proposal of marriage with deepest affection. With… with…” As I bunched up my brow, growing confused, I heard the …

And with that final word from the HR Manager, Volume 2 comes to an end. Fushigi is here with you again, Dear Readers. Also known as the author, Eric Fretheim, also known as Eric the Fred, also known as … just kidding. I hope you’ve been enjoying reading about the life and times of Lady Tiana. Volume 2 is complete …

Allia never rose from her seat. She stared down at me for a long time. I could feel an alarming amount of mana circulating within her, so I prepared myself. Finally, I had to say something. I thought of reminding her that she needed to respond, one way or the other, but she already knew that. Instead, I told her …

. I didn’t learn until we were already in Bray Seaport that I had someone else to dread meeting. I paid to put Arken and company up in a decent inn after realizing they were planning to head to the same seaside dive that we had used when we passed through this town on the way out. I wanted him …

. … Princess? I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I just said, “My mother is Deharè of the High Forest. That is the truth.” Her lips pursed and her brow bunched up. She stared pointedly at my torso. “But I’m sure I can see miasma in you, like in a monster.” “The part about me being half-vampire …

. I re-sheathed my blade– it was still hot enough to hurt– and flew quickly to where Arken, Melione and Lute were. Lute whirled on me with his knife, ready to defend his charges. I was proud of the kid, but I lightly smacked him on the head with the flat of my hand anyway. “I’m on your side, dummy.” …

. Aenëe’s face grew red and, while drawing her blade, she yelled, “You shall pay for insulting My Lord, you fake!” By the time her blade was out, she had already closed the distance, but I was still holding my sword, one handed. I already had a considerable amount of fire mana circulating inside me for a follow-up fireball, but …

. The wagon continued forward for several paces while I was expecting them to stop. When I realized the driver intended to carry us all the way up to the not-so-hospitable-looking skirmish line facing us, and had possibly been instructed to do so in advance, I stood and whipped out my sword. “Stop,” I ordered, mixing in a bit of …

. The Mines wagon was just that. It was just like a farm wagon, although it had box sides instead of a simple flat bed. Most of us sat on the floor, leaning against the sides, but agile Brigitte stayed perched on the side, where any rational person would fear getting pitched over onto the road from the incessant jostling. …