They chuckle, but it does nothing to shift the undertone of trepidation and anxiety that has been cast between us.
“One of you should go first—” I say.
“No,” they both growl at me.
“But I—”
“We will help you bathe first. We are not risking the water getting cold for you,” Ambrose says.
“Besides, it gives us another way to enjoy you on our own terms.” Nyx winks at me.
Both hold out their hands to me, and I extend my hand to both of them until I’m resting my hands in theirs. Warm and cold rushes up my arms at their touches, before cresting like waves that slam into each other across my chest. Competing emotions rise up in me, but I push them down.
They lead me to the edge of the porcelain tub with gold clawfoot legs that dig into the rough dirt floor. I’m not sure how I’m not going to be covered in dirt again the second I exit the bath, but the closer I get, the more the bath draws me into it.
My back screams at me; my body is deliciously sore from both men stretching me. I want nothing more than to sink under the warm water.
Together, they help me step into the water. The instant my legs hit the water, I know I made the right decision. We need this bath. We need to feel human again. We need this to fight.
The water even seems to soothe my aching back, but I want more. I let go of my body until I’m sinking completely under the water. For a moment, I’ve forgotten everything. Everything that has happened, will happen, and the pain that I’m sure I’ll have to endure.
Hands grab my biceps, yanking me up above the surface.
“Lumi!” their voices cry out.
I exhale a sharp breath. “I’m fine.”
“Fuck, don’t do that to us. We thought you were trying to kill yourself again,” Ambrose says.
“Sorry, it was just so pleasant, I guess I forgot that I might need to breathe.”
Ambrose looks to Nyx and then takes a deep breath.
“I’ll get out in another minute. I don’t want the water to get cool before you two have a chance to get in.”
Nyx pushes me gently back into the water. “No, we haven’t gotten to wash you yet. And we don’t care if the water is warm or not.”
“I’ll be able to use enough magic to warm the water at least for my own bath,” Ambrose says.
Nyx rolls his eyes. “I’m cold-blooded. I prefer cold anyway.” And then he looks at Ambrose expectantly.
Shampoo and a bar of soap appear.
I blink, not believing that Ambrose’s magic is back, even if it’s controlled.Could I do that? Could I summon an object? Create one from the void?
“Yes,”Ambrose answers in my mind.
“How? I still don’t understand how it’s possible. I’m almost positive that both my parents were just wolf shifters. And I—magic is…”
“Scary, I know. But it can also be beautiful. It can be healing. It can be more than you ever imagined it to be.”
“I’m terrified to use it. I don’t know what it means if I do…”
“One step at a time. Just take everything, one step at a time. We’ll both be here for you, every step of the way,”he says.
I smile.
Nyx looks at me intensely, but doesn’t speak. If he heard our conversation, he doesn’t add to it. He takes the bottle of shampoo as he moves behind me in the tub. And then his hands go to work, lathering my hair.