She turned back and shrugged quickly out of her dress. She wondered absently if they’d be able to launder it for her so she could keep it with her as a spare, then she stepped delicately into the bath.
The water was so hot it hurt a little bit at first, but Gaia, it felt amazing. She let out an indecent moan as she lowered herself into the water and tilted her head back to dip her hair in too. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ty inconspicuously adjust himself under his pants while he stared studiously at the wall. Ena smiled privately to herself, pleased that she was at least inflicting some revenge on him. That’s what he got for insisting on coming in. If he thought to get a rise out of her and throw her off, well, she would not make it easy on him.
Ena took her time scrubbing herself down with the lavender-scented soap. The almost two weeks’ worth of dirt and grime took a long time to come off. Then she took her time washing her hair—twice—and finally, after all that was done, she sat low in the tub, soaking her bones and absently picking out the dirt from under her fingernails.
“Are you done yet?” Ty groaned. “Iblis, you’re taking fucking forever. You’ve gotta be a prune by now.”
Ena rolled her eyes, even though he couldn’t see her. “Fine,” she sighed loudly. “Hand me that towel then.”
Ty went to grab the towel from where he’d placed it on the vanity, and, as he turned to hand it to her, she stood up in the bath.
The water dripped down her body, sliding over her chest, her stomach, her hips and thighs. Her long, wet hair just barely covered her breasts, and she knew exactly what she was doing.
She innocently reached out to take the towel, as if it was no big deal, but Ty’s eyes were frozen on her chest. Then they went lower. She saw his throat bob as he swallowed, then he lifted his eyes to meet hers. His gaze was predatory, as if he was watching her every movement, taking in every facial expression.
“You’re playing a dangerous game, viper,” he said, his voice deep and rough with desire.
“Game? Who’s playing a game?” Ena asked innocently, raising an eyebrow. “I’m just all wet and cold,” she said, crossing her arms over her breasts as if to warm them and giving them a gentle squeeze that served no purpose but to squish them together. “Please can I have that towel…Master?”
The word “Master” seemed to break him, and he growled. He threw the towel at her and turned quickly around.
She let out a sultry laugh as she wrapped herself with it, thoroughly pleased with herself at having ruined his power move.
She stepped out of the bath, lamenting her exit, and turned her back as Ty removed his clothes and got into the significantly dirtier water.
She put on the new, clean shift that she’d brought with her, then she spent an absurdly long time combing her fingers through her hair, trying to get the tangles out before she re-braided it. She heard Ty splashing around in the bath, presumably cleaning himself, but, feeling that she’d already had her revenge, she gave him his privacy.
By the time she was done with her hair, Ty had gotten out and dried off with his own towel. She kept her back turned while he got dressed, and then when he indicated he was ready, they walked back to their room.
The sun was setting now, and with her belly full for the first time in weeks, her body finally clean of all the dirt, grime, and persistent campfire smoke smell, she suddenly felt exhausted.The room was warm now, the fire having warmed it thoroughly while they were gone, so Ena crawled into the bed without another word to Ty. She knew they’d be sharing the bed—there was no question about that—but it didn’t concern her since they’d already been sleeping next to each other for the last week.
Ty didn’t follow her right away, though. He watched as she tucked herself in, then he took a seat at the table. She saw him take his whetstone out of his pack and slowly, methodically, begin to sharpen his knife.
Ena fell asleep in seconds to the soothing sounds of the whetstone dragging across his blade.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Enawasrunningthroughthe dark woods, her heart pounding, but she didn’t know where she was going. She turned around when she heard a man laughing—an evil, menacing sound that echoed through the woods.
Behind her, there were five men holding Ty down on the forest floor. He was struggling in a blind rage, spitting and thrashing like an animal. She watched as one of them raised a sharp dagger and thrust it deeply into Ty’s chest again and again, stabbing him repeatedly. His blood spurted everywhere until he was drenched in it and it pooled around him like milk spilled on the floor.
She opened her mouth and screamed, her fear and rage and helplessness flooding out of her. She felt her Gift growing, growing, growing inside her. Her head was full of terror and chaos and she wanted them todie.
She knew it was wrong, and that Gaia would abandon her for it, but she reached for it.She let it grow through her, making her powerful, giving her control. She cracked open her mouth to speak when a blinding white light appeared.
Raising her arm to shield her eyes from the light, Ena was reminded of the bone-deep terror she’d experienced during her Summoning, and all at once, she Knew. Gaia had come to punish her—to take away her magic. She cried out to beg for mercy and then—
“Ena,” a voice gently called to her. “Ena! Wake up.”
Ena’s eyes snapped open and she sat up, looking around frantically. She was in a dark room and it was stiflingly hot. She turned to her right to see Ty, shirtless and sitting up on the bed next to her, reaching out as if he was about to touch her, but was unsure of himself.
“Ena, are you okay? You were having a dream,” he said.
A dream. It was a dream.
Ena rested her head in her hands as she remembered where she was. The guesthouse in Attax. She was in a room with Ty. She’d fallen asleep, and slept deeper than she had in weeks. The room was warm because the fire had just died down after burning hotly for hours, and Ty was sleeping next to her, putting off his own heat like an inferno.
She took a deep breath, calming her pounding heart. “I’m fine,” she replied quietly. “Sorry, I-I was having a nightmare.”
