“I may take you up on that, General,” I said seriously. “The elves will be a difficult enemy to fight.”
“We like difficult, don't we?” Soren turned to his team, and they all gave us toothy grins. “We're with you, Ambassador. But please just call me Soren.”
“Thanks again, Soren.”
I watched him return to his vehicle, but he didn't get in it right away. Instead, he spoke with his team, and a few of them walked back into the woods. Soren glanced back at me and winked. Then he got in his van, and the remaining biters drove away. My group got into our own van in silence. Hrafn stared at me expectantly.
“We need a treat, Hrafn,” I said instead of giving him any information. “You think you can take us somewhere to relax for the day?”
Hrafn smiled brightly, “I know just the place, Princess.”
We went back to our hotel first, so I could check out. Then Hrafn drove us down the coast. We went quite a ways before suddenly veering inland. The area became rocky and black, almost alien. I began to wonder if Hrafn's idea of a treat was far different from mine. Then we pulled into the parking of the Blue Lagoon.
For all of you unfamiliar with Iceland, the Blue Lagoon is a geothermal hot springs. It's a little touristy, but it was worth it. They stopped us at the entrance, demanding reservations and refusing to allow Cat inside, but Hrafn took care of it. Not only did we suddenly have passes, we also had complimentary spa treatments, and a night's stay in the nearby hotel. I lifted impressed brows at Hrafn.
“Don't worry, Princess,” Hrafn smirked, “It's a minor enchantment, she won't be fairy-struck for long.”
We were led into the lagoon by a private tour guide and shown first to a VIP lounge, where we were brought complimentary swimsuits and robes. Evidently, we'd been experiencing Iceland all wrong. This was the luxury side of Iceland, and as much as I like to think of myself as a tough extinguisher, everyone enjoys a bit of pampering. Otherwise, they wouldn't call it luxurious, they'd call it something else, like drudgery. Nobody likes to drudge.
After we were clad in our swimsuits and fluffy robes, we were taken down to the hot springs; several pools of vivid, pale blue, steaming water, hazy with silica. Wooden platforms led out to the water, slatted and slick. A man-made waterfall poured into the pools from the surrounding black, rock basin. Bridges connected the group of pools, and there was even a bar. As soon as the steam slid over my skin, I began to relax.
First, we all had massages. In the hot water. On floating mats. I may have told Hrafn I loved him. It became rather hard to concentrate. All that steam made the world surreal. My worry floated away with the tension in my muscles. I was starting to seriously consider buying a house in Iceland. A house as close to the Blue Lagoon as possible.
“Princess Seren, you are the best princess in all the worlds,” Conri groaned through his deep tissue massage. “I'm so grateful you accepted me into your Guard.”
“Thank Hrafn,” I moaned. “He's the one who brought us here.”
“My pleasure,” Hrafn smiled from his nearby massage raft. “Literally.”
“Why don't we live like this every day?” Killian trailed his hand through the water, then over to mine. I was so relaxed, I let him twine our fingers together. “You're royalty, you can live however you want, right? And you don't even need money, you can simply fairy-strike people.”
“No, I have stupid things, like duty,” I whined.
“I hate duty,” Killian grumbled.
“No one likes doody,” Conri made a face. “For one thing, it stinks.”
We giggled at Conri's joke because we were all so very happy. Hot water and a hard massage can do that to you. We lounged, and swam, and had mud fights with the healthy mud. Healthy mud! I even put it in my hair. And no one looked at us like we were crazy because they were doing the same damn thing. It was one of the best days of my life. Who knew Iceland could be so fun?
Several hours later, we were all still cavorting in and around the springs, but somehow I found myself alone in a little nook with Killian.
We were both tipsy from the numerous alcoholic beverages we'd consumed, which the heat and soaking had made even more powerful. I was in that hazy happiness of warm, loose limbs and languid drunkenness. I leaned back against the rocky edge, and let my body float out before me. My eyes drifted shut, but I knew Killian was close. So I wasn't surprised when his hand slid up my thigh.
“Killian,” I murmured, and made a half-hearted attempt to push him away.
Instead, his body replaced his hand, pushing in against me until I was between him and the smooth wall. Wet muscles are the best, aren't they? Hard and slick. I sighed and leaned into him. Thick fingertips glided across my collarbone, up my neck. I leaned back further, letting them trail over my jaw, and along my cheek. The pad of his thumb rubbed over my lips. I bit it. It was all the encouragement he needed. Killian moaned and pressed his lips to mine.
The contact jerked me out of my languor. I pulled back, staring at him from only an inch away. What the hell was I doing?
Killian was stunning in his human glamour, his eyes a vivid green. But I found that I missed the slit pupils, they had become a part of him for me. His wings were still there, a raised design under my roaming hands, and that was a little comforting. I tried to stop myself from touching him, but it was like stopping myself from finishing a hot fudge sundae. Impossible. I was just acting on autopilot.
“Damn it all to hell,” I swore and pushed him away. “It shouldn't be so difficult to be faithful to someone I love.”
“Raza's not the only one you love,” Killian put his hands gently on my hunched shoulders and started to massage them. “It's okay, Seren. I won't push anymore. I don't want to upset you or drive you away. It's just hard to resist touching you.”
I looked over the serious lines of his face. Was it true? Did I love them all? Was that why I was so fickle? I thought of Raza and my blood raced. I loved him. I absolutely did. He was dangerous, beautiful, and just a little wicked. Yet making love to him could be surprisingly tender. Raza was amazing. But then there was Tiernan, and all the love we'd shared. He'd been a bastard, but I wasn't entirely innocent myself. And now he had recognized his mistake. He put himself between me and an arrow, and that wasn't even the first time Tiernan had saved my life. He faced the Sluagh with me... twice. One mistake didn't erase all the good Tiernan had done. It didn't destroy the love I had for him.
But Killian had come late into this drama. He had no claim on my heart, no history that allowed for this intensity between us. Yet it was there. Killian had muscled his way into my life and then demanded that he be allowed to remain. He'd stood by me, fought for me, and never once faltered. I felt something for him, something beyond this draw of the flesh. I had to face that, and come to terms with what I wanted from him and Tiernan. Most importantly, I had to speak to Raza.
