Pain exploded, a white-hot burst.
My vision blurred, drowning in red.
I heard the thud of my body hitting the ground, but the pain faded, replaced by a creeping cold spreading from the wound, stealing my last threads of awareness.
Time slipped away. I don't know how long I was out, but I felt a warm cloth gently wiping my forehead.
Benedict's hushed, worried voice reached me. "Alpha Edgar, you've been here all night watching Aurora. Dawn's coming. You need to rest, for your health."
Then Alpha Edgar, his voice hoarse, frayed with a rare edge of panic. "I'm not going anywhere. I need her awake. Where are the healers? Those useless fools! The arrow's out—why isn't she waking? Get them back here! If they can't find the right medicine, they'll all join her in the ground!"
Join me… in the
