“It does,” I say.
Moving deeper into the cave, we reach what seems to be a dead end, though the walls turn and narrow to the left. There’sa strange stillness within the cave, but it doesn’t feel eerie; it’s peaceful.
Tiernan pauses for a moment, a look of concentration on his face, his head slightly tilted toward the direction we’re walking in.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Running water.” His eyes light up. “I suppose the river continues through the cavern. With enthusiasm, he takes my hand and tugs me onward. The cave begins to widen, a subtle glow emitting from somewhere ahead of us.
“Do you think it’s a tunnel that goes out to the other side?” I ask Tiernan.
“Perhaps …”
But as the light grows brighter, it’s not the other side of the tunnel that we find but a large chamber within the grotto. Large rocks encircle a clear body of water, which is dappled in sunlight from an apparent opening somewhere above. Moss and foliage twine up the sides of the cave from the water, and flowering vines dangle from above. It nearly forms a curtain of sorts on one side of the pool. A thin mist radiates off the water, the air around us no longer cool but …
“Well shit,” Tiernan signs. “Aheatedspring.”
“No …” I nearly burst into laughter from the unlikelihood. “This is far too good to be true.”
We move closer to the water, careful not to slip on the rocks. The air is denser with the heat radiating from the spring. Tiernan squats, tentatively reaching out until the tips of his fingers set off a ripple across the surface of the water. He grins up at me before he stands again, beginning to unfasten the buckles that keep his swords strapped to his back.
My brows cinch. “What are you?—”
“I’m getting my ass in that water!” he says as he lowers his swords to the ground. One corner of his lips quirks up. “The better question is: are you going to join me?”
Chapter 42
My gaze slipsfrom Tiernan’s hands to the ink on his forearm as he slips his tunic off over his head and signssomethingto me. Flutters fill my stomach as I find his amused gaze again before he takes a knee to start removing his boots.
I clear my throat. “Are you sure this is a good idea? Shouldn’t we be getting back to the others?”
He stands to toe his boots off while he signs. “We probably should but …” He gestures to the water again. “This one can’t overflow like the tub back in the Verge.”
I bite my lip around a grin. My cheeks heat up from the memory of what’d occurred back in the Verge. I’d have expected to feel less coy about either of us being undressed in each other’s presence after that moment, and yet, as he’s down to his breeches, hooking his thumbs into the waistband, I turn my attention to the water.
Tiernan wades into my view, waist-deep in the pool with a grin splitting his face. “You’re missing out,” he signs above the water. He sinks down until his head is submerged then resurfaces, pushing wet hair back from his face.
“Alright, I’ll come in,” I say. “But only for a moment. Let me just get some blankets.” I approach Ghendor to retrieve ourpacks then leave him to wander while I return to the side of the spring and set the packs down. Setting two blankets aside, I glance up to find Tiernan watching me, now chest-deep, from the water.
“I feel like you’re procrastinating,” he gestures.
Painstakingly, I begin removing my own clothing, folding each layer and placing it beside Tiernan’s. “Maybe I am,” I say, slipping off my breeches. I take a deep breath before I unwrap the band of fabric from around my breasts and place it atop the rest of my clothes.
Removing the ribbon at the end of my hair, I unbraid and let the curls fall over my shoulders. There’s adoration in Tiernan’s gaze as I hug my torso, my legs firmly together even as my toes grip the very edge of the pool. He wades closer, his body emerging until he’s only waist-deep again.
I take his extended hand and slip down into the spring. A sigh of relief comes over me as the water envelops my aching muscles. Tiernan pulls me farther out until the water reaches just below my breasts and I sink down so that it laps across my collarbones.
I hold my breath, pinching my nose shut to dip under for a quick moment before resurfacing. When I turn my gaze back to Tiernan, he’s staring intently at me.
Self-conscious, I smooth my drenched ringlets away from my face and ask, “What is it?”
His eyes seem to stare right into my soul. “I don’t deserve you. I’m sorry I’ve been keeping my past from you.”
“Tiernan—”
“But never forget that you have my trust as much as you have my heart.”
My chest fills with warmth as Tiernan slips his arms around me, pulling me against him. All words flee from me as my arms settle on his shoulders, as I gaze into his dark eyes. With nosecrets left between us, with the old wounds opened and our hearts vulnerable to each other, I feel everything all at once. I kiss him with an intensity fueled by all the time we’ve wasted. His lips roam my jaw, along the side of my neck, and down to my collarbone. My body comes alive beneath his hands that seem desperate to explore every part of me.
