Page 52 of Elora and the Crow

“Thank you, Cece,” he said, smiling at her.

“Of course. How is it feeling? Still sore, I imagine,” she said.

“Yes, but it’s much better,” he said. “Right now, it’s my hand and my head that hurt the most.”

“You have a horrific head injury,” Elora said, “but Cece’s paste will help that, too. She’ll make a fresh batch this afternoon, and we’ll put it on your back and skull again, okay?”

He nodded. “How long have I been out?”

“About sixteen hours,” Cece said.

Elora gave him a tentative look. “Do you feel dizzy or sick to your stomach?”

“A little,” he said.

“What about confused?” she asked.

“I don’t have brain damage, Elora,” he said with a grin.

“You’re not wearing pants, Jonah,” she said.

He glanced at his body, amused by how Elora’s gaze landed on his crotch and then immediately skittered away. “I rarely wear pants in my own house. That’s not a brain damage thing, it’s just a Jonah thing. Sorry.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining,” Cece said.

“Cecelia,” Elora said.

“What? If I had a body like that, I’d walk around half-naked all the time, too,” Cece said.

“Are you hungry?” Elora asked.

He wasn’t, but he wanted Elora to eat, so he said, “A little.”

“Okay, well, let’s make some soup or something,” she said. “Then you can go back to bed, and we’ll work on the spells. Oh, and Charissa dropped off another potion for you. It’s a general healing one, and she said it would taste awful, but I really want you to drink it, okay? Her potions are much more powerful than any healing one I could do.”

“Sure, I’ll take it,” he said.

“Good.” She glanced around the room, her cheeks going pink again. “Sorry about the mess and the, uh… smoke.”

He laughed. “It’s fine, little witch. But remind me to grab the fire extinguisher from the kitchen before you make your potion again.”

“It’s a paste, not a potion,” she said, “and I’m sure I won’t make the same mistake this time, but your point stands. We’ll bring in the fire extinguisher, just in case.”

CHAPTER17

Jonah woke up the minute Elora entered the room despite how quiet she was. He might have been in pain and suffering from a head injury, but now that he was starting to heal, his survival instinct had returned to full force.

He kept his eyes closed as she sat on the side of the bed before brushing her hand across his cheek. He smiled and opened his eyes. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she said.

The only light came from the hallway, and it wasn’t enough to see her face clearly, but she sounded tired.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “How are you feeling?”

“About the same,” he said.

---