"Here," Kheir said, and turned up the dial on a lamp on the wall. "Now you might be able to see."
Maia flashed him a smile of gratitude and stepped out of her dress, wincing when it tugged on every injury on her body, points of pain flashing through her wing, her ribs, and a spot on her shoulder she must have hit sometime today.
"Maia," Kheir hissed through clenched teeth, rushing across the room to her, his expression stricken as he cradled her face in his hands. "Shit, how long have you been bleeding?"
"Bleeding...? Ah, fuck," she sighed, looking at her stomach. The cut where the golden fae had slashed her had never really healed, but it wasn't usually as gruesome as now. Bright red blood flowed freely from the cut, soaking into her underthings.
Positive: they were now dyed a saucy red that was expensive to pick up in shops. Negative: they were dyed with blood.
The burning she'd thought was sickness at being away from her mates was actually her fucking cut opening.
"Great, first my wing won't heal, and nowthis."
"We need a healer," Kheir said, his voice low and furious. Maia blinked. "Someone who knows how to treat rare injuries."
"In a city as dull as this?" Maia snorted. "Not a chance."
"Stay here," Kheir ordered, fussing as he led her to the bed and wrapped her up in the blanket, placing a kiss on her cheek and tucking hair behind her ear. "I'll go get Ark."
"I'll be fine," she huffed. "It hasn't killed me yet."
Kheir's throat rumbled with a warning, the sound wholly fae and full of protectiveness. "Wait here," he echoed, and stalked for the door, puffed up on the need to keep his mate alive.
Alone, Maia gritted her teeth and looked at her ribs where blood wept from her cut. This day was going from bad to fucking worse.