Page 48 of Trapped By Claws
"And you just take it?" I'd seen him shatter the ship like it was matchsticks. The other fae were strong as well, of course. But he could have done something. Or was he condemned to simply be their punching bag.
"So long as they don't hurt Tagger, I can manage. If you fight them too much, they just get meaner. And there's nowhere else for me to go. They can get fairly creative. This time they only had poison on their boot tips and claws."
"I didn't—I didn't even see those," I whispered.
"You're not supposed to see it. It's not deadly. Just painful." He stared at the wall, his eyes hooded. He swallowed hard. "Mena…"
"Yes?" I crouched beside him.
"If I asked you to swear to me that you would never leave me—even knowing all of this about me—would you swear it?"
My eyes widened. "What?"
It was a simple yet heavy question. One that should have been easy to answer at once.
Except for that look in his eyes. They pleaded for something—not a yes. But the desire.
And my hesitation—if that look was true, it cut him deeper than the blade Lishen stabbed in his side.
My heart shattered. "It isn't that—Corvin, I?—"
"I don't want to talk anymore."
"Corvin," I started.
"It's all right," he said roughly, shaking his head. "It was stupid of me to think otherwise. I'll find a way to fix this. But I don't want to talk right now."
He refused to say much more, and chills came upon him again. Fever raged in his veins.
When the stew was finished, I fed it to him. He murmured his thanks, but he still refused to look at me. Almost as if he were ashamed.
Though I was exhausted, it was hard for me to rest. Even the slightest sound disturbed me.
Time was meaningless. I could estimate it roughly based on the fact that the broth in the stew kept cooking down, but it was hard to be precise.
In between my other tasks, I tried to make glue to mend my spoon. It didn't work, resulting in a sticky mess.
His healing was slow. I made him eat and drink every few hours, and I read from the book from my mama's desk. At least as much as I could. My thoughts often drifted to her.
Had Mama found the portal she was looking for? A way to reach the Oracle and find another clue in Erryn's disappearance? Mama was stranded on the island until the boundary moved and help came. Then she'd no doubt be back on her way to finding Erryn. She'd have to.She probably wouldn't leave that staircase as she searched for answers.
My heart twisted a little bit as I remembered the charge the fae had given: my mother was calling out for her daughter now.
But did Lishen mean Erryn or me?
Who would she choose if she had to?
Could there be a deeper hell to thrust anyone in than to choose between two people you loved?
I held my head and rocked back and forth, trying to calm the storm within me. Each time I drifted off, I startled awake soon after.
The only thing Corvin asked for was the medicine from the jar. He took it several times. Not once did he enjoy it, though he did enjoy the stew and tea I brought him. And though he refused to talk, as time passed, I noticed him watching me through hooded eyes, his gaze sad but hungry. It was clear he wrestled with something.
After all was cleaned up, I curled up beside him and put my arms around him. Just because he might be cold.
That was the only reason.
Wasn't it?
