Page 58 of Marked
“Let me see that wound.” Ace crouched beside me and pulled back the leather near my sliced skin. The blood had stuck to the fabric and the leather made a sickening ripping sound as Ace peeled it free.
Blinding pain gripped my body, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
“I should’ve called you a mule,” he said. “You’re certainly stubborn like one.”
“But…I’m…mouse.” My teeth chattered.
“Definitely. And a princess. You’ll probably want my head cut off after this.”
“After what?”
Ace leaned in, scooped me up and splayed me out on the ground. I’ve never been tossed around like some sort of ragdoll, and Ace had done exactly that twice in one night.
Numbness with sharp jabs of pain spread over my body.
Fabric ripped.
I didn’t have the energy to raise my head off the ground, but if I had to make a guess, Ace tore my shirt off to examine the wound.
My body might be shutting down, but my mind still worked. Sort of. “Pretty lame excuse to get my shirt off,” I muttered. “Going to go for the pants, too?”
Ace snorted. “If I wanted in your pants, you would’ve already stripped for me.”
“I should consider myself fortunate to be spared such a disastrous fate, then. Thank you.”
More pain shot through my body.
Ace placed his hand over the flat of my stomach and pushed down. A warm sensation trickled over my skin, whispers of a touch that called to my restless magic inside. “Shush. I’m almost done.”
“Almost done what?” I tried to focus on the sensation rolling over me in waves, but numbness spread over my body, followed by a chill. I shuddered and tried to sit.
Ace pushed me down again.
He was the most irritating man.
“Okay, Mouse.” He leaned over my body and blocked my view of the night sky overhead. “All done.”
“Thank you,” I said, though I wasn’t particularly sure what I was thanking him for. “Did you salvage any of the shirt, or did you just rip it off as another souvenir for your trophy case?”
“Your shirt is fine.” He reached under me and lifted me enough to place me back against the log. My shirt sleeve hung open, but the rest of the garment covered me as before.
Nala got up to move closer, flopping down in the dirt beside me, her head over my lap and her legs sprawled out. She hadn’t voiced a single protest while Ace manhandled me.
Ace sat beside me and pulled some seasoned jerky from his pocket. “Want some?”
I nodded and instantly regretted it as pain washed through my entire body.
When I didn’t reach up to take the meat, Ace shrugged, ripped off an end and held it to my lips. I opened my mouth, and he plopped the meat onto my tongue.
“I thought I would enjoy seeing you speechless,” Ace said. “I find myself mistaken.”
I gently chewed the meat. My body still screamed in agony, but the pointed sharpness began to ebb with the fading pain, and the cold chill in the night air beginning to seep in.
Hopefully, that meant my immortality super healing was kicking in. Normally, it didn’t take so long to act, but I’d also never been poisoned before.
Nala curled up beside me in a tight ball, tucking her snout into her body and hind legs. An owl hooted nearby, concealed by the inky darkness of the forest.
The salt from the cured meat hit my tongue and made my mouth water. “This is good,” I said, chewing more.