Together, the servants lead us through the winding halls, past narrow windows that spill pale moonlight across the polished stone floors.
We stop at a branching hallway. The elf gestures to me. "You will go thatway."
Vann frowns. "Separately? We are married.”
Butterflies take flight in my belly. He wants to bathe with me?
"The pools are divided," the elf explains. "It is our custom."
I hesitate, glancing at Vann, who gives me a small nod. His hand brushes my forearm as I pass. Heat snakes over my body.
It’s so sudden, I can’t contain it. Nor can I stop myself wishing he would come into my pool anyway. And… I shouldn’t think of that right now.
"Don't drown," he says softly.
I bite my lip. “I’ll try my best."
He sets off in one direction, and I continue alone down a narrower hall. Soon, the servant and I reach an arched doorway. Steam seeps from the crack at the bottom, carrying the scent of minerals and mint.
The door opens to reveal a cavernous bathing chamber, its walls carved from polished stone. Veins of luminescent ore snake through the rock, casting a soft glow over the steaming pools below.
A wave of homesickness takes over and I ache for Enduvida, or maybe, just Vann.
I shouldn’t have asked about Adra.
The woman who had come to our door enters first. I descend the steps after her as she sorts through small vials of liquid. Her ears are long and pierced with several rings, each etched with delicate symbols of dragons and flames.
“You prefer me to call you Lord Vann’s wife?” she asks.
"Just Arlet," I correct.
She gives me a sheepish smile as if she doesn’t fully understand, so I drop the matter and smile back. She gestures to the nearest pool.
I step forward, removing my tunic and trousers with only a moment's hesitation. The water is blissfully hot as I lower myself in. Once submerged, I hiss as it soothes my aching limbs. My hair floats around me, and copper waves curling like tendrils of fire in the clear water fan out under my chin.
The woman kneels beside me on the ledge and pours something sweet, berry-scented concoction into the water. She bows her head and busies herself with bottles of soap, and then she stands.
“I will return soon.”
When she leaves, I press my hand to my neck and think. Wearing a pretty dress tended to make me giddy. But I don’t feel that right now. My relationship with Vann grows more complicated every day.
First, we avoided each other. Then we were friends. Hefollowedme out of Enduvida.
Somewhere along the way, I started to feel safer at his side—started to imagine things in his presence. Perhaps it was the fact that travel is hard and I’d been so long without sexual affection, either alone or with someone else. In Enduvida, when tension coiled inside me, I had privacy.
Perfect stories. I liked reading about people falling in love, and a natural part of that was intimacy. The chase. The pull.
Safety has always been an important factor in my attraction.
Vann had mentioned reading one of my scrolls once.
My already hot skin pulses. He’d teased me, but there was heat behind it.
Some people could reduce the stories to scandalous words, but they were so much more for me.
It would be hard to explain to someone who hadn’t experienced it, but replacing old, scarred memories with new ones—better ones—is how I heal.
Yes, being tied up led to one of the most traumatic experiences of my life.