I settle on a sleeveless white tunic, long enough to cling modestly and thankfully not transparent.
I find a pair of soft drawstring shorts that might be pajamas, might be ceremonial wear.
At this point, who cares? I’m going swimming!
Kael is already lounging on a rock nearby, pointedly looking away when I emerge.
“I’ve heated the water,” he says. “hopefully to your liking.”
“Aren’t you swimming too?” I ask.
“Um, no. I wish you to enjoy the pool, Lady Delia. I’ll be just over here, speaking with my viyella through a mirror link.”
“Mirror link?”
“Think of it as Nightfall’s FaceTime,” he says, and I nod.
“Okay. Thanks,” I murmur, and then I walk down the steps into the pool and—bliss.
Chapter 15
Delia
Kael’s Pool, The Ember Vein Mining Camp
The water is perfect.
Not just good—perfect.
Just hot enough to melt every ache from the ride. Muscles uncoil, tension dissolves.
The soreness from traveling inside a coach traversing rough terrain and all the jostling that came with it being pulled by a team of fire-breathing Demon horse slips from my body like it never existed.
I sink deeper, sighing as the mineral-rich water laps at my collarbone, heat seeping into my bones.
Dust and worry and the ache of missing Thorne bleed from my pores.
I float.
I glide.
I breathe.
The weight of the world lifts, if only for a moment.
The air smells faintly of iron, soot, and something sweet—like dragon fruit and sage smoldering in a ceremonial bowl.
Night has blanketed the camp, and the Gemini Moon gleams high above me, casting silver and rusted-red shadows on the rocks.
It’s quiet, save for the distant clangs of The Ember Vein’s shift change and the occasional hum of some magical perimeter field resetting.
And for the first time in hours, I let myself feel safe.
Because Alaric and Kael both said Thorne was fine.
That he’d be back soon.
That I should rest.
