Page 30 of Realm of Wind and Vines
Both Orion and I gape at her in shock. I don’t think I have ever heard her laugh before. It was a surprisingly pleasant sound.
She quickly snaps her mouth shut again, looking equally stunned herself for a moment, before she arches a mocking eyebrow at Orion instead. “How hard did you hit your head? Those pants are awful.”
A sly smile curves his lips. “I could take them off, if you want?”
“You probably should.”
He blinks at her, looking genuinely stunned, before she turns to me.
“You as well,” she says. “These wet clothes in this cold cave all night will give us all hypothermia.”
I nod in understanding and then look down at Draven again. Apart from the white shirt I’ve tied around his hips and wounds, he’s already naked. But his body still shakes with either pain or coldness. My throat closes up. I try to swallow down the dread while I start stripping out of my own clothes, but it works poorly. Every glance at Draven’s wounded and bloody body sends waves of panic through me.
Like all of us, he has faster healing speed than humans. But his wounds are far too deep. It will take too long to heal on their own. But I still have magic left to use, so if he were to suck it out of my body, it would heal him. However, I have no idea how itworks, so I don’t know how to give him the magical energy on my own.
Once I’m down to my underwear, I place my hands on Draven’s cheeks again and try once more to wake him.
“Draven, please, you need to open your eyes,” I beg. “Okay? Just open your eyes and tell me how to transfer my magical energy to you.”
He doesn’t. And his body continues trembling.
Lying down on the cold stone ground next to him, I carefully wrap my arms around his chest and drape my leg over his as I press myself as close to him as possible. The arrow wound in my side throbs, but I ignore it. If I share my body heat with him, he might at least stop shaking.
“Aren’t you going to lie down and hug me like that too?” Orion asks from Draven’s other side. He has now stripped out of his wet clothes, and there is a devilish smirk on his lips as he looks up at Isera.
She narrows her eyes at him. “You’re lucky I haven’t strangled you.”
“Choking turns you on, huh? I might be willing to agree to that. Though I’m usually not on the receiving end.”
Isera growls something under her breath while yanking off her final garments, leaving her in only underwear.
“Draven, please,” I whisper against his cold skin. “Please wake up.”
His eyes remain closed, but his body shakes a little less now. I hold him tighter against me, willing my own meager warmth into his body.
“We really should share body heat at least,” Orion continues. “Hypothermia and all.”
For a few seconds, Isera just glares down at him as if she is fighting the urge to stab him. Then a soft snarl escapes her lips, and she sits down next to him with jerky movements. With a flick of her wrist, she summons that ice gag that looks distinctlylike a massive cock and holds it right above Orion’s face while she locks threatening eyes on him.
“If you ever tell anyone about this,thisgoes down your throat,” she warns. “Permanently.”
A sharp smile spreads across his lips, but he says nothing.
Isera dismisses the ice she summoned and lies down next to Orion. He immediately rolls over on his uninjured side and wraps his arms around her body. A low growl comes from her throat, but she doesn’t push him off.
Lifting my hand, I gently brush a few wet strands of hair from Draven’s forehead. My fingers linger on his cheek.
“Please,” I beg again, whispering the words against his skin. “Please, wake up.”
He stirs slightly but doesn’t open his eyes. And it’s a restless stir. Closer to a wince of pain.
I call up my magic. Reaching out, I search for that violet spark of pain in his chest.
When my magic connects, I have to bite my lip hard to stop a gasp. The flame of pain in his chest is so massive that my vision blacks out for a second. Dragging in a long calming breath, I scramble to raise my mental shields so that I can separate his pain from my own.
Once they’re in place, I steadily begin lowering his pain.
A shuddering breath escapes his lips.
