When I don’t move, he tilts his head slightly. The dark glint in his gaze tells me he knows exactly what I’m doing.
I smile. He shakes his head, arms folding over his chest which flexes his muscles, and raises a brow in challenge. Daring me to continue.
My smile falters as I spin back around, battling the burning blush Kane caused, hoping he didn’t see. But his soft laugh says he did.
I reach out, now eager for the escape, and gently push the door open.
It’s a room. A beautiful room.
Lit by soft, hidden lights and the warm flicker of candles scattered throughout.
I step inside, bare feet brushing sleek, dark floors until they meet a sprawling fur rug, soft and expansive beneath my toes.
A large bed rests against a velvet headboard, layered in soft linen and a thick, moss-green throw. Cushions in charcoal and cream are arranged with careful precision. Deep amethyst threads break through the earth tones, woven and laced into the fabric, glinting when the light hits just right.
Plants drape from exposed wooden beams, vibrant leaves climbing the stone walls, trailing towards the ceiling. Vines twist in quiet symmetry, as if guided by something more than sunlight.
Opposite the bed is a fireplace, black tiles painted with white etchings framing the fire. Above it, a black canvas—chaotic and beautiful. Thick strokes of dark blue and scarlet, broken by streaks of silver and smudges of ink.
Another wall is hidden behind a towering bookcase, made with the kind of wood polished by time. With the kind of books that aren’t printed anymore. Rows of deep red and leather-bound books line the shelves with worn spines, gold-embossed titles and thin sepia pages.
To the right, a wide archway opens into a bathroom.
I step inside and—
There’s a bath. Anenormousbath.Sunken into the stone, positioned beside a smoky glass wall that reveals a slice of forest. Just trees and morning light.
The rest of the space seems carved around it. Dark stone veined with green, golden light glancing off polished tiles. A chrome rainfall shower glints behind another wall of black glass.
Back in the main room, opposite the bathroom, there’s another doorway. And inside… a walk-in-wardrobe.
Racks and racks of clothes in deep, dark hues. Styles I’ve never owned but somehow feel like me. A plum velvet chaise sits in the centre, draped in more pieces, some still in boxes, waiting to be unpacked.
I don’t move to touch them. I don’t have to. Just seeing them is enough.
A breeze stirs the candlelight creating a soft crackle, drawing my gaze to the tall glass doors—already open.
The dark wood of the room spills out onto a wide deck, dotted with egg-shaped chairs, low sofas, and a long, wooden table.
I pass stairs descending to a lower level that I look down upon. It’s tiled and in the centre, there’s a vast iron-cast fire pit. Curved around it, deep-set stone benches, shaped to cradle bodies in heat and shadow. It could seat a dozen or more with ease.
I step further onto the decking, closer to the glass railing, and the tips of trees come into view.
So does a lake.
I knew we were surrounded by forest. Ezekial showed me once on the map, I’ve seen the trees, but not like this.
And I never saw a lake.
A quiet, personal stretch of wilderness wraps around us. Deep, rich, untamed yet it curves perfectly around the still lake, bathed in the slow unfurling of dawn.
It seems like an illusion. A dream. But it feels too real to be imagined.
Large hands slip around my waist, hot skin radiating warmth into my spine.
“The lake was Kane’s idea,” Julien murmurs. “The earth elementals created a new stream from the main body. Now it feeds into a hot spring, like an onsen—”
My gaze catches it. A stone pool nestled beside the thin trail of river, steam rising gently beneath a curved arch of stone.
