The journey buffeted her and was far harder than she thought it should have been for such a short jump. Something subverted her magic—from both sides. Fear clotted in her throat, and sweat ran down her sides. When she finally came out in Fionn’s grotto, she was unbelievably relieved to find all three of them there. Fionn cradled Bella against him. Rune turned his back on her.
“This place is a whole lot deeper than I thought,” she said, eying Fionn. “I had a hell of a time getting here.” She sucked in a shuddery breath. Jump spells weren’t reversible. Either you came out the other end at the planned destination—or you didn’t. “For a while there, I was afraid I’d be trapped in my own working.”
His brows drew together. “Sorry. That’s because I had to release my warding to let you in. It took me a while once I sensed you outside. I hope you covered your tracks.” He stumbled to his feet, Bella still in his arms, and glanced about, as if expecting D’Chel any moment.
“I did. I also understand why you used magic to ferry me in and out of here.” Tension whooshed out of her, and she shot him an impressed smile. “Nicely done. No one could ever blunder onto this place by accident.”
He looked surprised. “Thanks. I don’t get many compliments.”
Aislinn strode to her wolf and crouched next to him. “I apologize for forcing you. I wanted you safe. You need to know that I would do the same again if it meant your life.” Rune’s fur rippled beneath her touch, but he ignored her.
Coming to her feet, she made her way to Fionn and Bella. “How is she?”
Fionn shook his head and sat back down. “Weak. She’s lost a lot of blood. I was just getting ready to see what I could do for her when I had to stop to dismantle my wards for you.” He looked at Aislinn. “We only beat you here by a few minutes.”
“I healed Rune. Would you like me to try to help?”
Nodding, he moved over to make room for her. Aislinn held out her arms for the bird. “I did what I could in the forest. Like with Hunter magic, I didn’t think I had Healing abilities either, but it appears I do.”
She linked to the bird and tried to figure out what D’Chel had injured. Fionn was right. His bird had lost blood, but nothing critical seemed damaged. One of her wing bones had snapped. That would be an easy fix. Taking her time, Aislinn infused Healing energy into the large raven. She felt Fionn in her mind, working alongside her. When she was certain the bird could tolerate it, she mended its broken wing.
Looking up, she met Fionn’s gaze, grateful he hadn’t tried to talk to her while they’d been navigating through unfamiliar avian physiology. “She’ll be fine. A good rest, and she’ll be good as new.”
“I think the same. Thank you.” His heart was in his eyes. He lifted the bird off her lap and placed her on a cushion off to one side. Turning back to Aislinn, he said, “Do you feel like telling us what happened?”
Sidestepping his question, she quirked an eyebrow. “How’s your arm? And you were limping earlier.”
“Hmph. Ankle was just a sprain. Not so sure about my arm. I’d planned to see to it once I was done with Bella. Didn’t expect you back quite so soon.” He paused for a beat and skewered her with his gaze. “Truth was, I didn’t expect you back here at all.”
She snorted. “Oh ye of little faith. Would you like me to look at your arm?”
Wordlessly, he held it out. Her Healer magic was still close to the surface. She laid a hand on either side of his arm and called her power front and center again. “Something took a hell of a chip out of the bone right here.” She pressed gently, trying to get a sense of what she needed to fix.
“Whooph.” He winced, apparently biting back the rest of what would have been a yelp.
“Sorry.” She chanted softly and wove strands that would bring new bone cells to patch the weak spot. His body heated under her touch. She smiled as she felt the damage recede, replaced by healthy tissue.
“Thank you a second time.” He dipped his head her way. “I didn’t want to disturb you while you were working, but what in the name of the gods happened out there?”
“If Rune will forgive me for forcing him to go with you, I’d like to tell all of you.” The wolf still faced away from her and didn’t budge. Not so much as an ear twitched, even though he had to be listening.
A corner of Fionn’s mouth turned downward. “I want to know, even if he doesn’t. Say, we have all those greens we gathered earlier. I could cook them while you catch us up.”