“RAVEN!” Thauglor’s bellow from shore shakes the air itself, carrying every ounce of a father’s anguish.
“I have her! Her wing is broken—I don’t know what to do!” I yell back, my voice cracking with panic. I hear the massive splash as he hits the water, and feel the waves from his powerful strokes reaching me seconds later.
“Fuck, it’s the main bone. It looks like a clean break.” Thauglor assesses his daughter’s wounds with hands that tremble despite their steadiness. Other than the broken wing, she has several minor cuts on her face—debris wounds that seep blood into the water. “Mina, call Ziggy! We need the doctors and a wing splint—Raven’s right wing is broken!” He stares into my eyes, and something passes between us.Recognition. “Thank you for killing the drow.”
I nod, all choked up, unable to push words past the lump in my throat. Finally, I have my mate in my arms, and she’s gravely injured and unconscious. The irony tastes like copper and ash.
“Should we keep her in the water? It seems to be supporting the wing well.” I ask softly, staring down at my sweet angel. Her face is so peaceful, so still.Too still.
“Yes, the cold water will keep the swelling down and put Raven into a state of torpor. She won’t be in pain if she’s hibernating.” Thauglor says as he looks back at Mina, who stands on shore with Ziggy and what looks like three doctors materializing beside her. Hemlocke and Corvis appear moments later, their faces stricken.
I change how I’m holding Raven, adjusting my grip to better support her neck. Tears roll down my cheeks—hot against my cold, wet skin. For the last few months, I’ve killed every threat that rose against her. Hidden a good half dozen bodies far from where we live, buried deep where no one will find them. I gifted her the drow head—in hindsight, it probably terrified her instead of impressing her. The brush set I thought was a useful, beautiful gift. Maybe finding that scared her too. I was courting her the only way I knew how, but all I did was make her feel hunted.
Carefully, I press a kiss to her forehead, my lips lingering against her cool skin. I hold her steady so her wing isn’t further injured, my arms beginning to ache from holding her.
Corvis wades out into the chest-deep water with the doctors carrying their supplies in waterproof bags. I want to phase out of here and vanish into the shadows where I belong, but my blink hound won’t let me. He’s locked onto our mate, refusing to abandon her. “I’m glad it’s you, Keir.” Corvis reaches out and rests a hand on my shoulder, the touch warm and grounding. “Thank you for saving her.”
His silver eyes fall to our mate in my arms, and he looks just as broken as I feel. The acceptance in his voice—the lack of accusation or territorial anger—nearly undoes me.
“I was knocked out. I didn’t see her fall.” My eyes search her face, memorizing every detail. I want to pull every ounce of pain she might be feeling into myself, bear it for her.
The doctors splint her wing with materials that smell like antiseptic and treated leather. Thauglor supports his daughter’s wing with massive hands that are surprisingly gentle, while I hold her body still with Corvis’s help. The water laps against us, creating small ripples that carry ash and debris.
“You saved my progeny. I owe you a life debt.” Thauglor says as he reaches out and rests his free hand on my shoulder, his grip firm and warm despite the cold water.
“She’s...” I swallow hard, my throat tight with emotion I’ve suppressed for months. I draw in a deep breath that tastes like smoke and burnt stone. “She’s my mate.” Gently, I brush the wet hair away from her face, holding her tightly against my chest. It’s the first time I’ve admitted it out loud. The first time I’ve said it to anyone other than myself in the dark hours before dawn.
Our eyes focus on Raven as the last of the splinting goes on her wing. The doctors work with practiced precision, wrapping the damaged bone in layers of treated fabric. Ziggy wades out through the water and looks between me and Corvis, a knowing smile spreading across his face. “Told ya.” He says with a wink, looking at Corvis.
“When you’re right, you’re right.” Corvis says with a small smile, though his eyes remain worried as they track over Raven’s still form.
“We’re done, sir.” The head doctor tells Thauglor, his tone professional. “It’s a wet-to-dry bandage. She needs to be side-lying with the wing supported by pillows. High protein diet to speed up the healing.” The clinical delivery helps ground me, giving me something concrete to focus on.
“Will she fly again?” I ask, guilt gnawing at my insides like a living thing. If I’d been faster, if I’d caught her before she hit the water...
“A full recovery is expected. We need her down at the clinic in a week for the first bandage change. My nurse will drop off a pain relief tonic to the lower nest for her.” The doctor looks to the nurse on the shore, who’s taking notes, her pen scratching against paper.
“Thank you, Doc.” Corvis says as his eyes move over how tightly Raven’s right wing is wrapped. The white bandages stand out starkly against her black wing membrane. He scoops her up carefully, cradling her against his chest, and I help position her good wing so it doesn’t just hang limply. We walk out of the water together, our clothes heavy and dripping. I can feel every eye on us as we head toward Hemlocke and the rest of her family.
I want to vanish, but I can’t; my blink hound won’t let me. He’s claimed her, and he won’t abandon our mate.
Hemlocke rushes forward and kisses Raven’s forehead, his pink eyes bright with unshed tears that threaten to spill over. Then he looks at me, and I brace for anger, for rejection. “Thank you.”
The simple gratitude hits me like a physical blow.
“There’s a small apartment in the lower nest. It has four bedrooms, and it’s close to the clinic downstairs.” Mina says as she walks closer to examine her daughter, her golden eyes cataloging every injury with maternal precision. “Ziggy, take them there, and then you and Keir—was it?—can move everyone down there for the time being.”
“What about Lily and Thorne at Malivore?” Corvis asks, knowing how Raven wanted to keep them close and protected.
“Lily is safe to move back into my part of the upper nest. Thorne and Evan can live in the other apartment downstairs near you.” Mina says, and I watch Corvis nod slowly, processing the logistics while our mate lies unconscious in his arms.
Before I know it, Ziggy pulls us through time and space to the lower nest. The sensation of phasing when someone else controls it is different—less controlled, more chaotic. Reality folds in on itself, and then we’re standing in a warm hallway that smells like stone and fire and home.
When we arrive, it feels safe, not scary like I was expecting it to be. The walls are warm under my palm when I steady myself. The lighting is soft, welcoming. The air carries the scent of cinnamon and something sweeter—baked goods, maybe.
Maybe living in a dragon’s nest isn’t a horrible thing after all.
Maybe, just maybe, I’ve finally found where I belong—with her, with them, protecting the female who owns every part of me, even the dark, violent parts I’ve kept hidden for so long.
