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The hand traced a meandering path along the line of her neck, only to still as Jaegar considered her words.

When he replied, it was with an unmistakable tone of placid finality.

"Those terms are acceptable. For now."

Kyra exhaled what might have been a relieved breath, though it was impossible to say for sure.

"Very well, then. It will have to wait until this evening after dusk, when my duties have concluded for the day."

Jaegar acknowledged this with a final inscrutable nod, already turning away from her to cross over to the tent\'s interior seating area and lower himself into one of the high-backed chairs with casual nonchalance.

"Then I shall wait." His tone brooked no further discussion as he made himself comfortable, folding his hands across his lap in a posture of meditation.

The princess paused only long enough to spare him one final, indecipherable look before sweeping from the tent\'s confines, calling out tersely to her handmaidens.

"Attend to Master Jaegar\'s needs while I\'m away. See that he wants for nothing until my return."

As the tent flap fell closed behind Kyra\'s wake, leaving the wizard alone with only the young maidservants for company, a strange sense of stillness descended over the space.

Wasting no time, the attendants bustled about their newly appointed tasks: drawing bathwater, fetching refreshments, and preparing to indulge this strange man\'s every whim.

For his part, Jaegar allowed the ministrations to occur around him unimpeded. Easing into a lotus position upon the chair, he slipped into the first stages of a trance-meditative state, focusing his remaining energies inward to rehabilitate from the day\'s taxing exertions. There would be enough time later for whatever indulgences Kyra intended as compensation for his services rendered.

***

Out in the main command pavilion, the situation seemed to have stabilized somewhat in the wake of Jaegar\'s departure.

With the looming threat of the unstoppable sorcerer temporarily removed and Daikrimore\'s forces shattered beyond any hope of rallying meaningful resistance, the Wrescian leadership could turn their full attention to salvaging what victory they could from the ashes of this hard-won field.

Kimon was already issuing a fresh volley of decisive orders—consolidating the battered troops, overseeing the treatment of casualties, and organizing labor crews to begin fortifying their position in preparation for an immediate push into the heart of Daikrimore\'s kingdom itself.

With their invasion force decimated and leaderless following the loss of the commanding general, the road presumably lay open for Wrescia to strike while their enemies\' morale was fractured, forcing an unconditional surrender.

As the camps erupted into a flurry of grim, determined industry, Prince Tavorn sought out his sister, finally locating Kyra, where she stood gazing out towards the horizon as the first bloody tendrils of sunset began streaking across the twilight sky.

"You were right to separate that monster from our presence," the prince began without preamble, features still drawn in barely restrained unease. "But I confess, I cannot fathom what designs he yet harbors."

He moved to stand by her side, boots crusting over with the land\'s vital essence, So much spilled this day. "What did you do to make him accept your request?"

To Tavorn\'s surprise, Kyra did not respond immediately, as propriety would dictate. She seemed to weight his words as one would scatter tea leaves in search of some hidden meaning. Until finally...

"He expected only what any man would presume owed," she replied at last in carefully measured tones. "A chance to slake his...more prurient urgings with a supple form. Nothing more."

Tavorn reeled back as if she\'d struck him, sputtering indignantly.

But Kyra merely continued staring out towards that crimson-doused horizon as if nothing untoward had occurred.

"He is to be a....a dalliance, then? For you?" The prince could barely restrain his disgust. "By the gods, woman! He\'s a wretched cur, through and through! Feral and beastly, he is dangerous even when sated by his paltry needs. Have you no shame or sense to entertain such depravities?!?"

"It is merely a single indulgence," Kyra replied, dull and monotone. "One small price for the bounties his devastating power secured."

Tavorn opened his mouth to protest, outrage curdling on his tongue, only for Kyra\'s withering glare to strike the words from him. In that moment, she looked utterly unlike herself—cold, remote, alien.

"You may not envy the necessity," she stated grimly, "but our entire kingdom stood upon the precipice of oblivion before this ordeal began. If extending such courtesy achieves lasting peace and victory at last, then so be it. The debts owed have been weighed and will be paid as agreed, no matter my personal misgivings."

Tavorn then said, "Are you trying to claim the throne?"

Kyra scoffed, "Dear brother, you don\'t need to worry about your measly throne. My ambitions… lie far beyond the realm of our kingdom."

Without another word, she turned on a heel and retreated back towards her tent, leaving the prince to stare mute and bewildered in her wake.

As the sun started its final descent towards the evening horizon, it almost seemed to caress the ranks of soldiers with a sanguine benediction, as if blessing and bearing witness to whatever would transpire when it at last departed the world.

Inside that flickering sanctuary of tawdry canvas, Jaegar awaits the coming of dusk with eyes open yet senses turned inward, energies rebuilding from the day\'s depleting expenditures.

As the world outside carried on around them all, he and the demure maidens surrounding him hung suspended in an eerie, dreamlike calm before whatever storms lay waiting to break over them all.