Nadia When I woke up, I found myself wrapped like a baby in a thick, heavy blanket that covered me up to my chin. The room was dark, lit only by a beam of golden light slipping through a crack in the window. My limbs throbbed with pain as if I had taken a hell of a beating. Because I had. "I know something that will make you feel better." The voice bloomed in my mind like a thought that wasn’t mine. I felt a rhythmic movement over my stomach. I looked down. Arcano was lying on top of me, comfortable as a king on his throne. His black paws pressing into my stomach like a baker kneading dough. "What?" "This, obviously." I blinked at him, incredulous. "You kneading little buns on me?" "Just be grateful, brat." "I am. But you were nicer when you couldn’t talk, you know?" "And you’

