Page 31 of In Darkness Forged

“Three minutes,” he snarled furiously. “I leave you unprotected for three minutes, and you are already covered in blood!”

She was really very near the end of her strength, but she had enough for this. Bending down, Aislin clenched her teeth around the urge to throw up, grasped the creature’s head by the tip of one long, pointed ear…

And threw it right at his face.

There was nothing wrong with his reflexes—he snatched it out of the air and somehow did not drop it when he realized what he held. He turned over the gruesome artifact, eyed the clean, sharp cut, then shifted his gaze to Aislin.

She hefted the bloody hatchet.

“Just because it doesn’t have feathers doesn’t mean I can’t kill it,” she said coolly.

And then spoiled the whole thing by fainting again.

* * *

Aislin was vaguely conscious after that of the crackling of a fire and the warmth of fur, but she did not wake again until the day was nearly gone.

Her head was pillowed on something soft that moved when she did, and when she opened her eyes, she encountered the steady regard of a curious, lupine gaze. The scrutiny did not last for long—Cuan watched her thoughtfully for only a few moments before subjecting her to an enthusiastic but slobbery greeting.

Aislin was too weak to do much more than lay there, shut her eyes as tightly as possible, and submit to being thoroughly washed.

“Here.”

The voice was close, so Aislin’s eyes jerked open, leaving her blinking and sputtering from the significant amount of drool coating her face.

“Hold still.”

A soft cloth that smelled at least marginally better than the wolf’s tongue swiped across her face, removing the worst of the damage and passing more gently over the bruises on her right cheek.

When Aislin could see properly again, she discovered the night elf crouched in front of her, a cup in his hand and an unreadable expression on his face.

“Drink,” he said.

A thousand thoughts flitted through her mind, but Aislin took the cup and sipped tentatively at the contents. Some sort of tea or broth, she decided. It was not a taste she would typically have found pleasant, but after the past few days, the concoction seemed almost unimaginably delicious.

She drained the cup and handed it back. “Thank you,” she croaked.

“Food?” There was still a strange lack of expression on her companion’s face.

“Yes.” If needed, she could match him, monosyllable for monosyllable.

He rose to his feet and returned to the small fire burning nearby.

Sitting up slowly and carefully, Aislin waited for the world to stop spinning before turning to Cuan.

“Thank you,” she said again, laying one careful hand on his foreleg. “After sleeping for so long, I feel much better.” He huffed at her, shook his head, and lay back down.

Aislin didn’t think she was quite ready to stand, so she waited as the night elf returned, bearing a wide, sturdy leaf with a small portion of some flaky, white meat on it.

“Go slow,” he ordered brusquely.

She nodded and accepted the leaf, trying not to eye the meat too closely. Had he gone hunting while she was unconscious? Or worse, had he…

“This isn’t…” She blurted out the words before she could stop herself. It probably sounded horribly ungrateful, but she really didn’t think she could eat… whatever that thing was.

His answer seemed to mock her. “Did you think it would be chicken?”

Aislin’s gaze flew to the chunks of meat in front of her. Was this a test? Some twisted way of proving that she wasn’t tough enough to accompany him on this quest?

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