Declan tried to hide a smile behind his beard, but Jena could see that he had no trouble believing he could prove her wrong about that. She squirmed out of his arms and suddenly landed on the chair in the middle of the rubble. Jena looked at him suspiciously, but he was wading toward the pile of stuff that used to be his bedroom to look for clothes and shoes for her. She tugged a blanket out from under the chair and wrapped it around herself. It smelled like dust, mostly; but it also had a faint woodsy smell that she was starting to associate with her mountain man. Wait. Her mountain man? She shook her head violently and very firmly turned her attention to what Declan was doing.
Jena watched him dig for a while. She just wanted to see if he was successful. It had absolutely nothing to do with his broad shoulders.
"Ah! Here," he smiled as he handed her the dusty shoes that he had dried by the fire the night before along with the somewhat ragged remains of her skirt. She pulled them on gratefully after putting on the enormous pair of wool socks he found a few minutes later. Declan helped her down from the pile of the remains of his home.
"All right, which way?"
Jena pointed in the direction of her house and they started walking through the woods. They spent the next hour in mostly silence. Jena's thoughts were tumbling around trying to figure out who was trying to hurt Declan (or her??), what kind of power had made such a powerful explosion, and why she couldn't seem to stop stealing glances at Declan as they walked. She was grateful that he had saved her, of course. And just the fact that he had the right herbs on hand meant he knew quite a bit about the nature he inhabited. The most intriguing thing was that he knew enough about fairy anatomy to realize that the herb was the only thing that could stimulate the right energy paths to help her breathe again. And then there was this strange attraction to him. She had worked with humans before in her doula and healing work and had met plenty of single men. None of them had affected her like this.
Jena's line of thought broke off when she saw some rare winter mushrooms growing close to the base of a tree above the snow line. She hurried to gather some and stuck them in a large pocket on the huge shirt she was still wearing.
Suddenly, Declan gave cry of surprise. Jena's head snapped up from the mushrooms and she saw an arrow sticking in Declan's chest, perilously close to where his heart was. A black clad figure carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows jumped lightly down from a tree a little way into the forest and disappeared. What was going on??
At least she was well-trained for situations like this. Even the mushrooms came in handy to help staunch the bleeding as she carefully removed the arrow. Declan's face was gray and his eyes closed. Jena had to use her own magic more than once to seal off bleeding vessels inside his chest and to repair a nick on the side of his heart wall. By the time she was finished saving his life, she was drained. It had grown dark; her healing had taken most of the afternoon. She dragged Declan's heavy weight into a small hollow sheltered by several trees and mostly free of snow. She wrapped them both in the blanket she had been using as a cloak and set a ward of warmth closely around their bodies as night fell and she fell into an exhausted sleep. At least Declan's face looked better, and his breathing sounded easier. As she drifted off, the thought pulsed in her mind over and over... what was going on?
Jena watched him dig for a while. She just wanted to see if he was successful. It had absolutely nothing to do with his broad shoulders.
"Ah! Here," he smiled as he handed her the dusty shoes that he had dried by the fire the night before along with the somewhat ragged remains of her skirt. She pulled them on gratefully after putting on the enormous pair of wool socks he found a few minutes later. Declan helped her down from the pile of the remains of his home.
"All right, which way?"
Jena pointed in the direction of her house and they started walking through the woods. They spent the next hour in mostly silence. Jena's thoughts were tumbling around trying to figure out who was trying to hurt Declan (or her??), what kind of power had made such a powerful explosion, and why she couldn't seem to stop stealing glances at Declan as they walked. She was grateful that he had saved her, of course. And just the fact that he had the right herbs on hand meant he knew quite a bit about the nature he inhabited. The most intriguing thing was that he knew enough about fairy anatomy to realize that the herb was the only thing that could stimulate the right energy paths to help her breathe again. And then there was this strange attraction to him. She had worked with humans before in her doula and healing work and had met plenty of single men. None of them had affected her like this.
Jena's line of thought broke off when she saw some rare winter mushrooms growing close to the base of a tree above the snow line. She hurried to gather some and stuck them in a large pocket on the huge shirt she was still wearing.
Suddenly, Declan gave cry of surprise. Jena's head snapped up from the mushrooms and she saw an arrow sticking in Declan's chest, perilously close to where his heart was. A black clad figure carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows jumped lightly down from a tree a little way into the forest and disappeared. What was going on??
At least she was well-trained for situations like this. Even the mushrooms came in handy to help staunch the bleeding as she carefully removed the arrow. Declan's face was gray and his eyes closed. Jena had to use her own magic more than once to seal off bleeding vessels inside his chest and to repair a nick on the side of his heart wall. By the time she was finished saving his life, she was drained. It had grown dark; her healing had taken most of the afternoon. She dragged Declan's heavy weight into a small hollow sheltered by several trees and mostly free of snow. She wrapped them both in the blanket she had been using as a cloak and set a ward of warmth closely around their bodies as night fell and she fell into an exhausted sleep. At least Declan's face looked better, and his breathing sounded easier. As she drifted off, the thought pulsed in her mind over and over... what was going on?
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