I tilted my head, nose grazing his. I tried to hold in the way my body trembled at the feel of his skin against mine, pushing the poison back into my voice. “What for?”
“So I can destroy you or devour you.” His hand fell below his belt, adjusting. “I’m not sure which one yet.”
“Tempting.” Dropping the weapon, I pressed my thumb against his blood, slick on my fingerprint. His moan danced against my throat, a warm blast of air. “But no.”
Still, I couldn’t deny the heat creeping into my lower belly. We were close. Too close. I quickly backed away seconds before he snatched the bars with hands that, moments before, he would have wrapped around my neck.
“River!” he snarled, cheekbones pressed against the iron, the veins around his eyes turning black. “Don’t walk away from me.”
I bent to pick up the torch.
“Please.” A tired gasp left his lungs, his tone losing some of its sharpness. “Don’t leave me. Please.”
I debated it. For a few heavy beats, I stood in that dank, haunted, prison thinking about what it would be like: to truly touch him again, to hold him again, to bust him out of that cell.
The dagger whistled softly, reminding me of the grim reality: he’d left me. Betrayed me. Ruined me.
Shutting out his cries, I stormed to the exit. This time, I didn’t look back.
Chapter 29
My bloodied clothes dropped to the floor with a whisper.
I stuck my toes in one of the geothermal pools to test out the temperature, steam rising between the stalactites.
With my mind swimming elsewhere, it was hard to enjoy the serenity of this place: Ryder only a floor beneath me, the impending war, the queen’s use of the demons in her efforts to gain back her power—her secrets.
If the entrance to this salt-licked cavern hadn’t sprung up first, I would’ve continued on my path to the archives. But as those tendrils of heat wafted up the stairs, the calling to relax and freshen up outweighed the urge. Plus, Olivia needed her space to do her research without me constantly interrupting—which I planned to do later, after I rinsed off, napped. Healed.
Slowly, I eased into the pool until I was up to my neck, the white muddy bottom soft and squishy beneath my feet.
Taking a deep inhale, I dunked. The water swirled around me, wrapping me in its velvety warmth, washing away the blood.
I bobbed to the surface, my body feeling lighter, thoughts clearer. Arms floating at my sides, I dipped my head back, and drifted.
If I just stayed there, Ryder’s touch might rinse off my skin. If I just stayed there, the silica-rich lagoon might swallow the crushing anxiety—another thing I was prisoner to.
Water splashing against my cheeks and rippling in my ears, I closed my eyes and let it all float away, until my nerves finally untangled from the ball they’d been wound in.
The call of sleep had my heart beating steadily…
“Enjoying your dip?”
Choking on a gasp, I thrashed to my feet, keeping everything from my upper chest well below the waterline. “Oh my God!”
Flóki’s bloodred lips curved into a menacing grin. “Interesting thing to say.”
“What?” I spat out, along with the gritty liquid that had flooded my mouth.
His gaze moved from my face to my exposed collarbone, dropping even further, fixated on something beneath the surface. I sunk lower. “Didn’t they teach you not to say that name in vain?”
“You know what’s interesting?” Despite being fully submerged, my arms shot across my chest. “Locking me in a dungeon full of demons.”
“There are standard inmates in there, too.” That smirk, that chuckle. It was all too sinister, all too familiar. “Anyway, I must have forgotten that door automatically locks.”
Even surrounded by the heat, I shivered. “What do you want?”
“This is a public place.” Fingers latching onto the hem of his shirt, he pulled it over his head, pale muscles flexing, marred with scars and tattoos.
