Marsha snorts. “I get it, but they think you just threatened their lives should they touch it.”
“Whatever, it works. So long as they keep their hands off the trident which will kill them.”
She shrugs the straps of her dress over her shoulders and lets it pool to the floor. I slap a hand across my eyes. “Dude, did you lose your underwear?”
She laughs, then hisses. I peek, watching as her naked ass steps into the water and sinks below the surface of the blooms. “I had a minute to dress before being dumped in Anger; the dress seemed more important than the panties.”
I drop my hand and find all pairs of eyes on me. I fling my hands up. “Fine, fucking hell. I’ll get naked again.”
Marsha smirks as I shed my clothes, then drop into the bath next to her. “Spa, Hell style,” I mutter, leaning back and inhaling the steam. I push a few petals through the water. “All this is to make us smell sweeter for men?”
She shakes her head and sighs. “I believe this concoction is actually an aphrodisiac.”
I blink at the innocent pink and white blooms. “I’ll fucking kill him.”
Marsha laughs, her eyes dancing with amusement. “Please try, it will make the natives go nuts for you.”
I lean my head back and try to relax. Something touches my stomach. My hand snaps out and grips the wrist of the woman with the soap. Her wide eyes stare into mine. I wrangle the bar out of her hand. “I can wash myself.”
She bobs her head, scurrying away. The woman with the jug eyes me. “You too,” I snap. “Leave the jug.”
“You can all leave,” Marsha states. They eye each other. “You really want to piss off his mate?” she sing-songs.
They scamper from the hut, the wooden door banging shut behind the last woman. My entire body throbs in time with my pulse. Everywhere is heated and sensitive.
Marsha’s head tips towards me from her lounging position in the tub. “It’s quite something, isn’t it?”
“Tricky god. When I get my hands on him—” My body jerks as if anticipating it. I eyeball the water. “How long do we need to stay in here?” I ask.
“An hour,” Marsha answers. “Or longer if he commands it.”
I groan and bang my head on the back of the tub. I will kill him.
“Natia?” Marsha asks after we’ve lain there for what feels like years.
“Yup?”
“There’s a note in my dress.”
I turn and face her, my mind a mush of want and need, not notes. “You should be able to reach it,” she says, pointing towards the discarded material.
I reach out and finger the material until I find a piece of paper. I draw it out and unfold it. Reading the elegant handwriting, my heart thunders for a different reason as I digest The Duchess’s words. The paper suddenly ignites into flames, the ink turning to ash in seconds.
“Do you trust what she says?” I whisper.
Marsha nods. “What she told you is true, every last word. I trust that, but I don’t trust the tricky bitch any further than I can throw her.”
“Then this changes things. The plan I had won’t work.”
“I have an alternative one,” Marsha states.
I blink at her. “Is it likely to result in my death like the last one?”
She chuckles and grabs the bar of soap, gliding it up her long arms. “Not necessarily. How much do you know about Nathan?”
* * *
A group of women reappear a while later with large fluffy towels. They help us out of the water and I make peace with the fact that every being in every realm is going to see me naked before my time is done. After a thorough drying down, they cover us in a scented dry oil that makes me a little dizzy. It reheats every inch of my skin and makes my mouth water in anticipation of seeing Archan.I hate him, I remind myself.Love, hate, two sides of the same coin,my mind reasons.
