Jade regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. She was such a fool, saying something so careless when Kai was opening up for the first time all day. She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry, Kai. I didn’t mean to bring that up.”
There was silence for a moment until Kai spoke. “It’s alright. It’s part of our past. But you need to know two things,” Kai began in a commanding tone. “First, Ihaveforgiven Aidan. It’s about time you learn how to do that with others, too.”
Jade swallowed. “And the second thing?”
“You’re wrong. Even I havedone unforgivable things. We all have our secrets, Jade.”
Chapter Nineteen
Isla
Islashuttheleather-boundbook she’d been reading for the last hour. “Aren’t you bored?” she asked as she looked over at Rynn, who leaned against the stone wall, reading his own book.
“Not particularly.”
“Well, I am.”
“I gathered as much.”
She sighed and fingered the still-healing scar on her cheek, a habit she’d picked up recently when lost in thought. It had been three days since the dark god’s visit to her dreams and the message to her brother. At first, she had struggled with her decision to stay with Rynn in the mountains instead of returning to Lockhurt. She knew the vision with the dark god—as she had begun to call him—had changed everything. With dangerous men on the hunt for revenge and a mystical being visiting her in her sleep, threatening to hurt her, there was wisdom in staying where she was hidden, safe and protected by an all-powerful elemental. But the guilt of abandoning her father and brother with no explanation was like a shard of glass wedged in her heart.
Since that night, she and Rynn had ventured out of the cave once to visit Krill and buy clothes, food, medical supplies, and other items that caught their interest. Their cave was surprisingly close to the local villages; Rynn had chosen it because it was at a lower altitude and off the beaten path. Isla was thankful it didn’t take long to walk to and from the town.
She had wondered if money was going to be an issue, but Rynn had been prepared for that, too. A thousand years ago, when the elementals had gone to sleep, he’d had the foresight to stockpile some of his gold from his life before. When they had set a small stack of gold coins in front of the first merchant, the stranger’s eyes had gone as wide as saucers.
Her gaze landed on the growing collection of spears and daggers Rynn had purchased. “You’ve just been sitting here reading or sharpening your weapons.” She gestured to the latter. “I don’t even know why you need those. Who are we going to fight up here, wolves?”
“Now, that is something I would be interested to see,” he remarked, not taking his eyes off his book.
Isla crossed her arms. Over the past few days, there had been a tentative shift between them. They’d fallen into an easier rapport, and she thought they were becoming…friends. They had developed a sort of camaraderie that relied heavily on her doing most of the talking, of course, but he was a good listener. He appeared truly interested in tales of her hunting escapades and stories of her family and friends back in Lockhurt. While they hadn’t dived deeper into their individual past traumas since that first night, Isla sensed a mutual trust and respect had silently formed in their time together.
In some ways, it felt like they’d known each other far longer than five days. She supposed when all of one’s time was spent in a single room with another person, they tended to learn each other’s habits, annoying or otherwise, very quickly.
For instance, Isla knew that Rynn was incredibly orderly and needed things done in a precise way. She discovered almost immediately not to leave her clothes lying on the ground or books open on the barrels unless she wanted to be subjected to pointed stares and loud coughs for hours. Once, he’d sent a puff of air to slam a book shut in the middle of the night because she’d left it out that day. It frightened her awake, and she hadn’t gone to sleep for hours after the fact.
Isla was aware that she was no joy to live with all of the time, either—especially in the mornings. If he tried to speak to her before she’d taken a quick, early bath in the hot spring a short walk from their cave, she would likely bite his head off.
Oh, the hot spring…it was a glorious perk she’d never imagined finding in these freezing mountains. Her discovery of it had been interesting, to say the least.
In the evening after Rynn had sent his psychic message to Arden, Isla had wandered from the cave to relieve herself in the trees. The night sky had always been her solace, and she’d been in awe of the view of the stars from the side of the mountain. She’d ended up walking further from the cave than she thought, letting her feet carry her along the trails, running her fingers through the branches of the large pine trees and breathing in the night air. She had stopped short when the trees gave way to a small, grassy clearing that led to a line of smooth rocks and boulders. When she walked to the edge of the rocks, she had gasped.
Beyond rested a pool of water, roughly half the size of their cave, that glittered like silk under the silver moon. She had lowered herself into a crouch, smiling at the faint steam rising from the surface of the bubbling water. Without thinking, she’d stripped off her clothes and stepped into the welcoming warmth, her muscles relaxing immediately.
It was not too deep; when she stood, the water came right above her breasts. She’d let her copper hair down and submerged it in the hot water, working the tangles out with her fingers. Her back had been to the path she had come from, her gaze resting on the bright moon and brilliant stars overhead, when she’d heard a rustling in the trees.
Whirling around and sinking lower, she’d cursed herself for leaving her dagger on the rocks with her clothes. Although, she hadn’t exactly had a spot to hold it while in the water.
It had not been a wild animal or predatory stranger that she’d seen, but a familiar silhouette, lean and toned with hair that strayed in the cool breeze.
“I thought you were lost,” he’d said softly from the shadows. When he stepped further into the moonlight, his eyes had been planted firmly on hers. “I did not mean to intrude.”
And she had believed him. He didn’t seem like the kind of man to prey on women in compromising situations or take advantage of one in a state of vulnerability. His stare had never left her face, even for a moment, whereashermind had taken a wildly inappropriate route, imaginingherbeing the one to catchhimusing the hot spring. Her face had burned at the thought, and she’d stayed silent when he said he would see her back at the cave before walking away. She hadn’t trusted her mouth not to stay something ridiculous—like asking him to join her.
Even the memory made her skin tingle with awareness as she watched him read his book.
She re-opened the old text she’d been reading, hoping for a distraction. Rynn had brought several ancient tomes and artifacts from his time on Iona when he left, saying he didn’t want all of the history to be erased and forgotten. Isla had been fascinated when Rynn let her read some of them since not many historical documents on “the lost kingdom of the gods” existed.
In fact, she had never even heard the nameIonauntil she met Rynn. She hadn’t been sure that the lost kingdom was real at all. It had become a fairytale over the centuries, always spoken of with a hint of mystery. Legends told the story of an island hidden in the depths of the sea, shrouded in mist and magic. It had supposedly been home to the Primeval gods when they ruled the realms and had become their resting place when they chose to pass on. The kingdom was rumored to be hidden and impossible for humans to access so the deities could have eternal peace.
