The shifter turned to leave, but Emmeric stopped her.“Is Jato going to have a problem with me?”he asked worriedly.
Kaz frowned.“Why would he?”
“Well, because you and I…we, uh, you know…” he stammered, his gaze darting between the two women.Where Iyana expected to feel jealousy, she instead experienced amusement bubbling up at Em’s plight.
Kaz laughed loudly.“I wasn’t going to say anything to him about it, but since he’s here in the hallway and just heard everything you said…maybe?”
Jato walked past their room, tossing a glare in Emmeric’s direction.Iyana felt his mortification down their bond, which only increased her mirth.Em frowned at her, making the bubbling sensation overflow into a true giggle.This earned her a grin from both of her companions, and Kaz took her leave, closing the door behind her.
The latch clicking shut reverberated in Iyana’s ears.This was the first time she and Emmeric had been alone since leaving the library.Her amusement fizzled out, and she backed towards the closest bedroom, carefully avoiding eye contact.
“I’m going to bathe,” she mumbled, then disappeared through the door.
Her room was quaint for a palace setting.There was still a four-poster bed and large armoire taking up most of the space, but they were understated.Iyana loved all the windows allowing in natural light.She smiled as a small monkey ran past her room on the tree branches outside.While it was still hot, it wasn’t as humid indoors, and she noticed there was no hearth.The floor consisted of smooth bamboo, and she toed off her boots at last, appreciating the cool boards beneath her feet.She shed her clothes on the way to the bathing room, leaving them discarded on the floor.Hopefully Kaz would be able to supply her with new ones.
The tub was in the corner, and a faucet jutted from the wall to hover over it.Two knobs sat on either side.Iyana had never actually used running water herself.All Imothia ever had was either sponge baths or water heated over a fire, which they added to a small tub one bucket at a time.She plugged the drain, then turned the knob on the right, and water began steadily flowing through the faucet to fill the tub.
Opposite the tub was a large mirror over a sink that had its own faucet.Iyana turned her back to the mirror and glanced over her shoulder at the three large scars running down her back; the scars that Altair had touched so gently as he told her that these did not define her and how beautiful she was despite them.
Gods, did those words mean anything?
Iyana twisted away from the mirror abruptly, not wanting to waste any more time thinking about scars and traitorous stars.The tub was almost full, so she turned the water off and swung her leg over the edge of the tub, quickly followed by the rest of her body.
Freezing cold water assaulted her senses and locked her muscles in place, causing her to slip underneath the water.Her feet scrambled to find purchase on the bathtub, but it was too slick, and she kept slipping.Finally, someone reached into the water and pulled her up.
Iyana breached the water and gulped down air into burning lungs.
“Tell me what I want to know and this all stops,” a voice above her said.
No, it couldn’t be.Emmeric had killed him.But as she blinked the water out of her eyes, Azazel stood over her, his rattish nose and stained teeth too close to her face.Iyana flailed her arms in an attempt to free herself from the sadistic man, but it was no use.His grip on her hair tightened, and he pushed her under the surface again.
Her lungs screamed at her to breathe.Just breathe, and this will all be over.Just breathe, and you can forget about kings, stars, and pain.
Iyana!
A familiar voice invaded her mind, but her lung’s protests were louder.She was again dragged above the water and sucked in deep breaths.
“Tell me, Iyana.Tell me where the star is,” Azazel sneered.
No.No.This had stopped.Altair and Emmeric had saved her from this fate when they broke her out of the dungeons.This couldn’t be real.
Could it?
Iyana!
But she’d had other hallucinations before—hallucinations that she’d escaped the dungeon and was outside the castle walls.Why would an extended version of that be so absurd?The dying brain was capable of conjuring almost anything.She simply wished she could slip back into the fantasy—go somewhere warm, somewhere she was loved, where strong arms wrapped around her waist.
Those arms tightened around her middle; someone was shaking her.When she opened her eyes again, she was back in the bathing room in Nyr, lying in Emmeric’s lap, his concerned face hovering over her.He pushed her wet hair off of her face with one hand while his other held her tight to his chest.
“You’re okay, Iyana.I’ve got you.You’re okay,” Emmeric said, repeating the words until she almost believed him.Her entire body quaked with shivers, and Em tucked her in closer, cradling her head to his chest.He kissed the top of her head gently.
“I’m here,” he said.“I’ve got you, I promise.”
They sat like that for a while—Emmeric holding her close and rocking her gently, while periodically brushing her wet hair behind her ear.Eventually, the tremors subsided, and she was able to realize that she’d had a flashback.
This is real,she told herself.Although she still wasn’t completely convinced this wasn’t an elaborate fabrication her brain was imagining while her broken, naked body still lay in the dungeon underneath the Athusia castle.
“This is real,” Emmeric said, echoing her thoughts.
