Page 31 of Luna Cursed

The elf swore impressively for a prince. "Let me guess? Varg has rats."

"Apparently so."

"Fuck. I'll go and take care of the plane. You look after Tor," Arne said and rang off.

Ciara put down the phone and looked at Tor. "I need you to hang in there a bit longer. He's sending the plane. I'll find us somewhere safe."

Tor didn't reply. She brushed his hair back and saw that he'd passed out. It was probably for the best. Ciara took a deep, steady breath and drove away, the sound of sirens already in the distance.

17

Arne was true to his word, and Ciara's phone buzzed within an hour with a message saying the plane had landed. She had used some of their T-shirts to stop Tor's back from bleeding everywhere, but she hoped the plane would have at least one first aid kit. The bond throbbed between them like it knew one of them was hurt.

Ciara pulled up outside the hangar Arne directed her to, and two tall elf guards appeared.

"Miss Ironwood, let us assist in getting Tor onto the plane," they said in greeting. She waved them on, too tired to want to argue with them. Tor grumbled but still let them put him on a stretcher and carry him aboard.

Ciara grabbed everything out of the car and walked to the plane. She was cold, and her wet jeans were chafing like crazy.

"I don't know what to do with Tor's car," she said, just remembering about it. She was so damn tired.

"Not to worry. We have one of the guards going to drive it back to Oslo," one of the elves replied. They had placed Tor face down on a dark blue couch. "Do you require anything from us before we take off?"

"The first aid kit and a bottle of whiskey," she said, pulling out some dry clothes and heading into the tiny bathroom. She was pale, splattered with blood and ash.

Tor's blood… Ciara leaned over and threw up in the toilet. The cuffs should have stopped the shifter from doing any magic at all. How was it possible? Tor could have died because her equipment was faulty. Charlotte was going to be so mad that her cuffs didn't work either.

Ciara washed her face and used a travel kit toothbrush to clean her mouth. She scrubbed as best as she could and got into some dry clothes. Not wearing wet boots was a relief.

Tor hadn't moved from the couch, but someone had placed a bottle of whiskey and some glasses on the small table beside him. On the floor was a large first aid kit. The captain announced they were taking off, and Ciara sat down and buckled in. Tor didn't move with the plane, just lay facing the back of the couch.

Ciara waited until they were horizontal again before getting up and going to his side.

"Looks like I'm the one who gets to play nurse," she said, trying to lighten the mood. Tor turned his head so he could look at her.

"You're wearing too many clothes. Take a few off, and I'll start feeling better," he said.

"Yeah, you're in no shape to give me the fucking I deserve," Ciara replied. She went through the kit and pulled out all the things she needed.

"Do I get a whiskey before you start digging into me?" Tor asked.

Ciara poured out two glasses and offered him one. "If you need the courage."

"I saw you gouge a man's eye out today, bunny. There's nothing wrong with my courage," Tor replied, taking the drink.

Ciara didn't look at him. She only took a pair of scissors and started cutting up the back of his ruined shirt. The guards had placed white towels under him, so at least the couch didn't end up too bloody.

Tor finished the whiskey and passed it back to her. "Let's get on with it. I don't need my wounds to start healing the wood inside of it."

Ciara used saline to wash the cuts and abrasions. Luckily only a few had dark bits of wood still lodged into them. The bond between them ached again.

"Tell me, do people sharing a bond feel each other's pain?" she asked, picking up the tweezers.

"Not usually? Why…ow, fuccckkk," Tor groaned as her tweezers dug into the first cut.

"I didn't feel a thing," Ciara hummed, dropping the splinter into his empty whiskey glass.

Tor shot her a baleful glare before his face cracked, and he started laughing. "You're the worst, you know that?"

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