Page 28 of The Midnight Arrow
Without waiting for me to respond, Lorik gathered up the Sever’s limp body and its head…and shot up into the sky, the powerful gust of his wings awe-inspiring.
He disappeared overhead, the only memory of the Sever was a line of dark blood on the forest floor, which I kicked some dirt and leaves over to erase it from view. The truest Sever? Or not a Sever at all? What had he meant by that?
Peek nudged up against my leg, his big, luminous eyes staring up at me. I looked to the sky again but didn’t see any sign of Lorik. I looked around the clearing of my cottage, to the darkness of the Black Veil, which I’d never been truly frightened of before.
Now? There was an ominous feeling I couldn’t help but shake. That Sever might draw others?
Hurrying back into the cottage, I made certain Peek was inside before I bolted the door. There was restless energy building in my gut. I’d been in a silent daze for most of the day, emotionally drained, and now this had happened. I paced the floor of my cottage, Peek watching me from the window sill where the glass was still open, as if he were standing guard.
It didn’t take long until I heard the familiar gust of wings, until I heard a heavy weight land on the cobblestones outside my door.
“Marion,” came his voice. Relief made me dizzy, and I rushed to the door, unlocking it, before Lorik stepped inside.
He smelled like the Sever, his chest smeared with its dark blood from when he’d carried it away. I didn’t know what he’d done with the body. I didn’twantto know, truthfully. Whatever he’d done, he’d done it quickly.
“Are you okay?” I rushed out, seeing a bloom of blood beneath the bandage at his shoulder. He’d torn the sutures.
“Fine,” he said, tone gruff. “Are you?”
He was studying me carefully. Was he worried that I’d be frightened of him now? After what I’d seen him do?
My mind latched on to his wound. I looked at his blood-slicked chest.
“You should bathe,” I told him, seeing a streak of the Sever’s blood a little too close to the bandage’s edge. I didn’t want another infection taking root. “I’ll…I’ll draw a bath. And then I’ll look at your shoulder.”
“Marion.”
“Let’s get you clean, all right? You’re bleeding. Then we can talk.”
When I stepped into the washroom, I realized my hand was shaking when I turned the taps. The water would be cold this time of night.
“Did you want me to heat the stones in the hearth or?—”
I sucked in a sharp breath when I turned, when I heard the gentle whoosh of his pants hit the floor.
“I’ll do it,” he told me, standing before me fully naked, and I held my breath, hoping my face wouldn’t burn right up. He maneuvered around me, all endless, muscled flesh. I was used to his bare chest, but I wasn’t prepared for his bare backside, rounded but dimpled with sharp muscles at the sides. His thighs…strong and smooth.
His cock…
I swallowed, glad his attention was on the bathing tub. He skimmed his hand over the surface. Just like the washing basin outside, he heated the water quickly, steam rising with his swift magic. His soft cock swung forward with the movement, the head of it darker than the shaft.
Even soft, veins curled up the sides.
Even soft…he was shockingly large.
My nails bit into the palms of my hands. I cleared my throat, turning quickly to get a fresh bandage from my cabinet in the front room, rummaging around, clinking bottles noisily, buying time as I got my heart under control.
Just a body,I thought. As a healer, especially when I’d lived in Rolara, before I’d hidden myself away in the Black Veil, I’d seen plenty of naked bodies. Males, females—it didn’t matter. They were just bodies to me. Bodies that needed tending, that needed healing, that needed care.
Lorik needs care,I told myself.
He had a beautiful body, but I reminded myself of my healer’s oath and blew out a quiet breath, gathering my supplies just when I heard him sink down into the tub.
Good.
“Let me get the bandage off,” I told him, eyeing him as he leaned back in the bathing tub, his wings tucked uncomfortably inside. It was laughable small for someone his size, but at least it covered his distracting cock.
Kneeling at the side of the tub, I set my supplies next to me and unwrapped the bloodied cloth. Water trickled when he cupped some in his palms, splashing his chest to loosen and soften the Sever blood. I handed him a clean washcloth, and he began to scrub, his brow furrowed in concentration, his lips pursed in an almost pouting expression that I thought was oddly adorable.