Carl woke slowly. The first thing he noticed was the dull ache in his thigh where Wren had shot him. He flexed the tightly bandaged muscle and grunted as the ache jumped abruptly to unbelievable pain.
He took a deep breath of the cold night air. A long fire crackled next to him, warming his entire right side with radiant heat. Someone pressed tight against him on the other side.
He blinked the ash and smoke from his eyes until he could see the stars, then slowly turned his head to look at her. After all the shooting he'd heard after Wren returned to his camp, Carl had feared for Helona, and her touch warmed him both inside and out.
Her raven-black hair, often iridescent in sunlight, now absorbed every lumen of starlight and firelight and blended into the night like a shadow. The feather she wore twitched and spun in the breeze.
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