as best I could and laid them over the marks, gently pressing down. Wolf howled.
“Shh.” I wiped at his face with the edge of my shirt, clearing it of harpy blood and feathers. “Wolf, can I put lavawort on this? What do lavawort and gum leaf look like?”
He sucked in air through his teeth. “Lavawort looks like a wolf’s paw. It’s a ground plant. Gum leaf looks like a seven-point star. It’s a tree.”
“Okay. Okay, I’m going to go find some. Breathe deep. Keep pressure on this and try not to move around too much.”
I stood up way too fast. I wobbled for a bit before running off to search for leaves that looked like wolf paws and stars. I’d had plenty of food and water while being stuck with the harpies but sleep was another matter entirely. My adrenaline would only be able to push me so far. It felt like forever to find the two, and I picked every leaf I saw before rushing back to where Wolf lay. He’d gone relatively quiet, groaning softly as he breathed. His vest was already red, so I couldn’t tell how much blood it had absorbed, but the shirt on underneath was almost completely soaked through.
I gently ran my hand over his forehead. “All right, I’ve got it. Now what do I do?”
“You have to chew the lavawort to make it soft. Then just put it on and cover it with the gum leaf.” He paused for a moment, his brow knitted together in pain. “Make sure the furry side of the gum leaf is down.”
“Okay.”
I was not excited about the idea of chewing on a medicinal plant, but I shoved a bunch of leaves in my mouth anyway, fully expecting them to taste awful. Instead, I now understood Wolf’s secret to minty breath. Chewing lavawort tasted like wintergreen gum.
I ground them in my teeth just long enough for them to get pulpy and then spat them into my hand and removed the shirt from Wolf’s injuries. Ignoring the part of my brain shouting that this was so far from sanitary, I spread the lavawort on one of the slash marks. Wolf let out a sigh. I wasn’t sure if it was a relaxed one or a pained one. I kept working anyway, chewing up lavawort, putting it on the wounds, and then covering both with gum leaves, fuzzy side down.
Finally, the whole area was covered in gum leaves, and Wolf appeared to be resting more comfortably. I chewed up a few more leaves and spread them over the cut on my leg before covering it with gum leaves as well. I used the only unbloodied side of his once impeccable vest to clean away the rest of the blood—Wolf and harpy alike—from his face, body, and hands. I smoothed back his hair and examined him. He had done so much for me in such a short span of time—far more than anyone ever had in my lifetime. He had injured himself twice in coming to my aid, and what had I done in return? Nothing worthwhile so far.
I bent over, intending to tell him how sorry I was, but instead I kissed him. It was an I’m sorry and thank you and more. He took hold of my arms and held me there as his surprise gave way to desire. Like before, he tasted delicious—like berries and mint—and he knew how to kiss. Except that wasn’t quite right. He didn’t just know how to kiss—he knew how to kiss me.
When we broke apart we were both breathless. Wolf smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.
“Apology accepted,” he said.
I smiled in return and sat back. I felt a little giddy and lightheaded from our kiss. Still, with the adrenaline gone, as much as I wanted to slather on some lavawort to the scrapes on my hands and thighs from climbing down the tree, I really just wanted sleep. A yawn escaped me. I started to drift off, and then forced my eyes open again. We were both injured outside of a wicked patch of forest. What if something crawled out of it when the sun went down? What if thieves came by while we were asleep? What if some other creature hungry for a snack smelled all the blood and came running?
“Caroline.”
I looked, bleary-eyed, down at Wolf. He stretched out one arm.
“Rest.”
I managed to shake my head twice. “What if something tries to eat us? One of us