The Last Shifter (a Loki romance)

Chapter 144

I sat silently in the captain's suite armed with a needle, thread, and alcohol. A part of me relished the pain that came with stitching up the wounds on my arms the spears had left, along with the gash on my shoulder from that one zombie. Meanwhile, Thor crafted an eyepatch from a metal decoration that had been lying around.

He finished first, and offered to help me finish, but I turned him down.

"Suit yourself." He positioned the eyepatch with the help of the mirror at the bar and poured himself a drink. I shook my head and turned my attention back to my injuries. My right arm was gently throbbing in its wrappings, but the pain wasn't as bad as before. I finished wrapping my left arm in gauze and moved to the gash in my shoulder. Gritting my teeth, I poured some of the alcohol I'd grabbed earlier over the wound. The liquid burned like nobody's business, but at least it sanitized it. To a degree. I swallowed a mouthful and grimaced at the dry taste. Then, I threaded the needle and set to work.

"It suits you." Loki's voice made me jump out of my skin as I nearly stabbed myself with the needle. I'd closed the Bond to keep him from feeling the amount of pain I was in as I patched myself up. My eyes found him immediately, lingering in the doorway. He had yet to spot me.

"Maybe you're not so bad after all, brother."

"Maybe not."

"Thank you. If you were here, I might even give you a hug." Thor threw the knick-knack he hadn't carved up at Loki. I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face when he raised his hand and caught it.

"I'm here." Without hesitation, Thor strode forward and threw his arms around Loki. My husband tensed a bit, but returned the embrace all the same. His eyes closed and I saw his jaw clench. For a moment, I was sorely tempted to open the Bond and feel what he was feeling, but decided against it. This was a private moment for him and Thor.

I took a steadying breath and repositioned the needle. The angle of the gash could not have been any worse. I had to twist in a way that irritated both my arms. But this had to happen. I couldn't help the gasp that came with the first incision. A gasp that got the attention of both princes.

"Arista!" In my peripheral, I saw Loki kneel in front of me, but I kept my attention firmly on my shoulder until the needle was through the other side and the stitch was taut.

"Hey." I met his gaze.

"You're injured." He was already easing the needle and thread from my hands, "Please let me help." I gave token protests, but eventually relented, my arms thanking me as I turned to face forward. Loki positioned himself behind the sofa I was sitting on and quickly made another incision.

"Ah!" I flinched. The benefit of doing this myself was that I knew when to expect the pain.

"Sorry." Loki muttered, "Ran into Heimdall on the way here. He said you were instrumental in protecting the people."

"He exaggerates. If he hadn't known about the stronghold entrance or the secret passages in and out of the city, we wouldn't have saved so many. Where did you end up anyway? I could barely feel you at all." Thor burst out laughing.

"I cannot wait to see you explain your way out of this one, brother!"

"Shut up." I looked from one to the other.

"Why? What happened?" Loki cleared his throat.

"Hela managed to knock both of us out of the Bifrost, and by sheer luck, we fell through the same wormhole–"

"But at different times!" Thor cut in, "So while it's been a few weeks for you two, it's been mere days for me."

"Yes. Anyway, the planet we landed on is called Sakaar and–what?" I'd winced at the name, "Do you know it?"