She sat up, leaning over him, her eyes serious.
“You are not a coward. And you were never to blame for what happened. Your brother made his own decisions.”
“If I hadn’t?—”
“He made his choice. He chose you because you were worth saving. Don’t take that sacrifice away from him because you’re too busy self-loathing.”
He leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers in a soft kiss, and she yielded to it, letting herself be enveloped once more in the taste of him. When they broke for a breath, she looked over at the lake, steaming a few yards away.
“I think we should clean up before we head back to the main cavern. It’s been too long since I had a hot bath.”
She stood up, pulling him up with her, and they made their way to the edge of the lake, Fox testing the water with a toe. His face broke into a grin, and she didn’t have time to react before he was jumping, crashing into the lake with a hot splash of water. He laughed—giggled almost—and she felt her chest cracking open. She didn’t think she’dever heard him make that sound before. His face was so open and so joyous.
She stepped into the lake with much more grace, nearly groaning as the water wrapped around her ankles, calves, and then thighs. A new type of pleasure rippled through her body as the heat suffused her.
Fox stood watching her, his gaze turning dark. She met his eyes, goosebumps traveling up her spine as he bit his lip. They surged together, meeting in the water as one, the outside world forgotten for a little bit longer.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
SOFIA
Sofia came twice more before she finally pulled herself from the hot spring, dragging a reluctant Fox behind her. She watched him dress, giving the smallest groan of disappointment to see his bare ass disappear behind his pants. Even as she slipped on her own clothes, the guilt crested through her like a wave, catching in her throat.
Her hair was tangled and frizzy as she tried to tame it into something resembling a braid. Fox didn’t even ask as he gently pushed her hands away. His fingers were deft as they worked through the worst of the tangles and twisted the curls into two braids down her back. She could get used to this.
He pressed a soft kiss just below her ear, his nose brushing against a sensitive spot. She bit her lip to suppress the whimper that clawed up her throat. Her eyes closed, and she clenched her fists, focusing on the flicker of pain in her palms as her nails dug in. It had been so long since she’d had to do that.
“Let’s go,” she said, not quite looking at him as she left the glowing cave behind, journeying back through the black tunnel to the front cave.
Her eyes adjusted to the darkness slowly, and by the time she made it back to the main cavern, the moonlight streaming through the mouth of the cave was enough to see by. They approached their furs, but shestopped, her stomach dropping as she saw the figure sitting at the front of the cave. Jacinta had switched with Javi at some point, and now her friend was looking at her, head tilted from across the cave.
Fox glanced between them, reading something in their gaze before moving to tuck himself back into his furs without comment. She stood there for a moment, knowing she needed to speak with Javi, but dreading what he’d say.
She felt Chalia’s presence tickling in the back of her mind.
“Are you and Fox done with that?”
Sofia nearly choked, clamping a hand over her mouth before she woke anyone.
“I cut off our connection before things went too far,”Chalia said, sounding almost petulant.
“I’ll warn you next time,”she said, her face hot.
“I missed the mountains.”Chalia’s words were wistful and soft.
“You seem surprised.”
“I spent my entire life—a hundred sun cycles—wanting to escape my home,”Chalia said.“Then I did. I love the rainforest and the heat of the sun through the trees, but I missed the snow, too. It’s different here. I missed the smell in the air right before the storm, and the clear nights, when the sky is filled with stars without the trees to block them. How can my heart ache from two opposites at once?”
“Hearts are funny like that,”she said, looking at where Fox was curled, his chest rising and falling.
Chalia went silent after that.
Sofia wondered about her connection to the dragon. It seemed the more time they spent together, the easier it was to reach out with her mind and find the dragon, even when she was farther away. She was sure there was information on it somewhere in the books she’d stolen, but Micael had left them behind in the cenote—all but the small one that discussed the dragons’ nesting grounds. Perhaps tomorrow she’d ask Chalia about it, but she had a feeling the dragon knew about as much as she did when it came to the connection between the dragons and Dragonborn.
With one last glance at Fox, wrapped in his furs, Sofia crossed softlyacross the cave. Javi was silent as he moved to give her a spot along its opening. It was colder here, but bearable.
He knocked her shoulder before resting his head there, his own body warm against hers. And he let them sit in that silence. He always knew exactly what she and Flor needed. She’d missed that. She truly had been so caught up with her own angst that she hadn’t noticed how much the past few blinks had hollowed him out. He’d lost his sister. He’d lost his blood-mother. His heart-mother barely talked anymore, spending the long hiking days with her head down, even when Javi attempted to draw her out.