Page 51 of Medusa

“What…” He tried to sit up straighter and gasped, grabbing at his ribs.

“Stop that,” Hera chided him, batting his hand away. “Now that you’re awake, you can drink the rest of this.” She gave him the vial.

Jaden downed it in a gulp and then winced.

“That tastes like black licorice. Disgusting.”

“I’m sorry that my healing potion tastes terrible. I could let your lung continue to be punctured and your ribs continue to be broken if you’d prefer,” Hera said, a wry twist to her mouth.

“Thank you,” Jaden replied, abashed.

“You’re going to need to sleep for a bit after this,” Hera told him. “Why don’t we get you inside? And under no circumstances are you allowed to shift for twenty-four hours.”

“Yes, Doc,” Jaden said meekly.

“I’m not a doctor and you know it, cheeky boy,” Hera said, getting to her feet.

Together, the three of them managed to get Jaden onto his feet. It scared Maddie to feel how weak he was. It was unnatural for someone who normally brimmed with vitality to shake with fatigue after only a couple steps.

She unlocked her front door and the women helped Jaden into the living room, where he collapsed onto the couch.

“I’ll get you a blanket,” she said, taking the stairs up to the second floor two at a time to her linen closet. She grabbed a pillow and pillowcase as well as the blanket and trotted back down the stairs with her load.

“He’s out like a light.” Hera met her at the door. She pressed a finger to her lips and chuckled softly.

Maddie peeked into the living room to see him curled up on her couch, looking entirely too large for it. “Will he be all right tomorrow?”

“The medication should help him sleep for about four hours, after which he should be fully healed,” Hera said. “I’m not one hundred percent sure because I haven’t tested this potion yet. It’s safe to use, of course. He’s just the first test subject.”

“Gotcha.” Maddie nodded her understanding. “Thank you so much for coming.”

“Of course. Us McKellen girls have to stick together.” Hera hugged her around the linens.

Maddie bashfully hid her smile at that, even as her stomach flipped uncomfortably. Jaden had all but called her a fling.

Was she a McKellen girl?

“Please let Augustine know Jaden’s here and sleeping. They can bring him some clothing and collect him in the morning.”

“They’re probably worried.” Hera smiled in understanding. “I’ll go in person to tell him.”

“Thank you.”

After Hera left, Maddie covered Jaden’s nude body with the blanket and stuffed the pillow into its case. There was no way that she could get it under his head, so she left it nearby where he could reach it.

She made a quick sandwich and then got ready for bed before settling on the couch beside his.

His face was relaxed in sleep, smoothing out the harsh lines of tension around his eyes and mouth.

Jaden is so beautiful.

Maddie found herself mesmerized by the deep, even breaths he was taking, the blanket rising and falling with the motion of his rib cage expanding. The bruises that had been so stark against the skin of his chest were fading quickly, already a pale green, almost yellow. It made her blood boil to think about how he’d gotten those bruises; they were fist-sized, and she knew the fighter he’d faced in the ring the night he’d been taken hadn’t made them.

At least he has his powers back.

And then it finally fully hit her; Jaden was a dragon shifter!

She’d been raised on fairy tales where the dragon shifters were the villains. Obviously based somewhat on Typhon and his ilk, rather than the gentle, caring McKellen brothers. She wondered why there weren’t more stories about what they’d been up to. And then she wondered iftheywere as old as Typhon claimed to be. Jaden didn’t seem to be as jaded—she snickered to herself at the unintentional pun—as Typhon, and neither did Finley or Augustine, from what little she knew of them.

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