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Once the sounds of the spiders had vanished, Elena sank to her knees, weariness and pain destroying her facade of control. I scooped her into my arms and walked a bit deeper into the wood, away from the carnage of battle.

“I’m okay.” Her voice was weak, and her eyes were unfocused. She had been so strong, dueling with Arachne and bringing us through the ordeal alive. I leaned her forward to check the wounds on her back.

“I need to rinse these. The poison is keeping you from healing.” I reached into my pack for a skin of water. Pulling her face against my chest to stifle her cry, I poured it down her back. I hated her agony, but this was the only way. Once satisfied I’d removed as much poison as possible, I then laid her into the nook of the tree. She was so pale—ghostly white like the mist.

I quickly set up the little tent I’d found in Daphne’s pack. It was just large enough for two. Though a dusky gray color, compared to the Darkwood, it may as well have been glowing white. I grabbed some dirt and muck from the ground and smeared it along the outside, camouflaging it. Once I set it all up, I lifted Elena and placed her inside. I gently removed her torn shirt as she laid her head on my shoulder. The wounds on her back were still red and raw, but she was healing. Good. The water had done the trick, and her skin was sewing itself back together. She sighed as I held her away from me and slipped a clean T-shirt over her head.

After laying her on her side, I moved to leave and stand guard, but her hands fastened around my neck.

“Stay,” she breathed. Her eyes were closed, color gradually returning to her face.

“I need to watch for trouble.” I ran my thumb over her soft cheek.

She pulled me to her, and I let her. Her eyes fluttered open for only seconds. “We made a deal. We’re safe for tonight. Stay.”

I had never been able to deny those sparkling green eyes, and I wasn’t going to start now.

When I bedded down next to her, and she snuggled up against me. Only then could I let myself relax a little. She was alive, healing. I wrapped my arms around her, careful not to touch the wounds on her back, and nestled into her hair. She was already asleep, her soft breaths against my chest comforting me.

I lay awake for a while, listening for any spider legs clattering or the sound of other intruders, but heard nothing. Her slumber made my eyes heavy, and her warmth soothed me. I fell asleep with her safe against me.

Chapter Fourteen

Elena

I woke encircled by Paris’s arms. The suns had risen, though very little of their light made it into the forest. Still, it was enough to burn off some of the mist. Arachne had been true to her word, allowing us to sleep through the night in safety.

I gazed up past Paris’s jawline to his eyes. His golden lashes rested against his cheeks as he slept. He was beautiful at peace, the dangers of the night no longer troubling him. He had faint laugh lines around his eyes, and I found myself hoping that I could exercise them a bit more. Happiness was so fleeting, so precious.

He began to stir, perhaps sensing my gaze on him. His eyes opened. I was still amazed by the blue of his irises.

Clutching me to him, he sat up and peered around at the trees and still-swirling mist.

“It’s clear. I already checked.” I rested my head in the hollow of his neck. Even if I hadn’t believed his tale about our past, I was too drawn to him in the present to bother hiding it. He rested his chin on my head and just held me, letting me breathe and clear the shadows of the previous evening from my mind. My back was healed, no doubt thanks to his efforts to clean my wounds.

“You better take good care of me,” I murmured.

“And why is that?”

“If you don’t, you’ll be spider food.” I tried to keep my face serious but couldn’t stop the grin that overtook me.

He threw his head back and laughed. I wanted to nibble up his neck and taste his mouth. Instead, I sighed and rose from his grasp. His gaze was glued to my breasts as they jutted against my T-shirt.

“Gods, you will drive me mad, woman.” He pushed his erection down in his pants before he stood and stretched. I watched, unable to take my eyes from the hard length straining against his zipper.

“Changing your mind?” he asked.

For a second, I wanted to, wanted to enjoy him this once before we continued our dangerous trek into enemy territory. But I forced myself to look away, to focus on the mission at hand. Besides, I’d never been with a male—at least not that I remembered. My head was clear now, not in the haze of passion I’d been caught in at his house.