My hands clamped down on his wrists. “It was right by Xylos.”
His lips turned down, jealousy swimming through his irises. “Why must you feel so much for a man you do not know?”
“It is called empathy, Talon,” I bit out. “I cannot live here and act as though an innocent man is not dying right beneath my feet.”
Talon’s fingers loosened from around my legs, his nails dragging down the length of my thigh as he lowered his hands into the water.
“He lived in that cell many years before you came along,” he grumbled.
“That does not make it a sentence worth prolonging,” I said softly, watching my legs sway through the water absentmindedly. “He does not remember his crime.”
“Pardon me?”
I sighed and looked up at him. “He does not know who Thora is.”
His brows furrowed. “Well, he is lying to you.”
“How do you know that?” I snapped, my legs stilling in the water. “He was down there for a long time. Maybe his mind is protecting him from the truth.”
I paused for a heartbeat and at Talon’s silence, I kicked my leg out, sending a wave of water toward him. “Or maybe there is no truth?”
Talon’s nostrils flared as he moved closer. He flattened his palms against the wet stone, and lifted himself out of the water until his bare feet planted on either side of my hips and his flaccid length was level with my forehead.
I looked up at him with wide eyes, my gaze trailing down his corded, inked thighs dripping with water, before settling on his pubic bone that adorned a beautiful piece of ink.
A short breath of air escaped me at the sight of his shaft lengthening beneath my stare. The pink tip glistened in the glowing sheen of water and I subconsciously licked my lips at the thought of feeling him inside of me again.
“Do you believe I am the liar then, little flame?” he growled.
A drop of water slid off his hip bone and onto my parted lips. My tongue darted out, collecting the luminous bead.
“No,” I whispered, before shaking my head. “I am not sure what to believe anymore.”
His hand settled atop of my head, thick fingers weaving through the unruly locs. He roughly pulled the strands, causing a shocked gasp to escape me, and it allowed me to meet his eyes over the rigid length of him. “Thora exists, I can tell you that much.”
“Yeah?” I rasped. “Where is her body?”
“No more than a bunch of bones in a sealed off cell.”
I cringed at his nonchalant tone. “That is terrible.”
“It was not my decision,” he grunted. “She died long before I took reign over Umbral.”
I licked my lips and nodded, my nose bumping into the silken head of him with the motion.
His eyes pierced into me with a delicious heat, his hand trailing down the side of my face and softly tracing over the freckles on my cheekbone.
“I would never let a hand lay upon you,” he said firmly. “No matter the reason it is aimed toward you.”
My lips quivered, my eyelids almost falling shut as relief and guilt fought for dominance. I leant forward and pressed a tender kiss to his hip bone. “Thank you.”
Talon’s finger moved down the side of my face, until his index finger hooked under my jaw and lifted my head up. “I need to know that I can trust you, Kaelia.”
Without taking my eyes off of him, I scooted up the mossy bank. My hands shook as I slowly peeled the night gown from my body, and once the cool air hit my chest, my skin raised in gooseflesh. My nipples hardened, and whether it was from the cold or a dire want, I was not sure. The satin fabric dropped into a silent heap by my legs.
“I will never go behind your back again, Talon,” I murmured, straightening slightly until my nipples grazed his shin bones. “I promise.”
Appreciation crossed his face, his brows dropping ever so slightly in relief. “Show me what you want.”