Page 110 of Dark Fey Captive

It had been deeper an hour ago and would have fallen out on its own in a day or two, but I didn’t tell them that. They were already afraid enough.

The second one was less painful to remove, but I let out a tired breath once it was done.

Arena leaned in and kissed my cheek.

“You are amazing, Nav.”

“Very,” Gwen said. “I can’t believe he didn’t move at all. That had to hurt like a bitch.”

“Just let me clean these and add a few stitches,” Tori said. “Gwen, would you mind stepping out? I heard Mom and don’t want her coming in and causing trouble.”

Arena leaned in and kissed me again, this time on the lips, as Gwen left.

“After this, I’ll take you to my place so you can sleep.”

I nodded, already looking forward to holding her.

It didn’t take long for Tori to place the stitches, and I sat up, feeling them.

“Don’t let him lift anything heavy for a while,” Tori said. “Nothing that will pull at the stitches. Keep them covered. Keep him hydrated. I’m sure he lost a lot of blood.”

“He did.” Arena’s worried gaze shifted to me, and I kissed her hand.

“I’ll check on him tomorrow to change the bandages.”

“Thanks, Tori,” Arena said, standing.

She led me out, and I saw many of the females from the shore lingering nearby. Their gazes tracked our progress around the central hut until Arena stopped at the entrance to another small one.

“We’re in here,” she said, pulling aside the cloth covering.

Ducking to enter, I swept my gaze over the space, noting the narrow beds on each side of the entrance and two totes near the back wall. That was it.

“There’s no fire,” Arena said, entering behind me. “But we have plenty of blankets to keep warm, and even though it doesn’t look like it, it’s pretty wind-and-water resistant.”

The light in the space dimmed considerably when she dropped the heavy cloth covering the door.

“It’ll hold you,” she said, pointing to the one on the right. “I promise.”

Constructed of branches the size of my forearm, the bed did look sturdy, but wasn’t like the ones humans usually slept on. Was this where Arena slept? No fire? No warmth other than her clothes and the blankets?

I touched the stack covering the bed and found she did not even have the softness of a mattress under them. Only boards.

“Will it hold both of us?” I asked.

“It will, but you might be more comfortable without me.”

“No.” I pulled her into my arms, hugging her close. “I will sleep better if I hold you.”

She sighed, wrapping her arms around my waist and resting her head on my chest.

“I think I’ll feel better if you hold me for a while too,” she said, making my heart race. “You really scared me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Just get better, okay?”

I grunted, and she kissed my chest before slipping from my arms to pull back the covers. While her back was turned, I stripped out of my shorts. The stitches pulled uncomfortably, but didn’t stop me.