41
Keldarion
The water is a milky blue, steam rising from the surface and curling at the rocky roof. This cave is one of the few comforts allowed to the Deep Guard of Voidseal Bridge. Located a few hours’ march from our base, it’s a popular destination for mandatory rest days. I hadn’t wanted to accompany the host of soldiers heading this way, but my uncle had insisted, eventually convincing me by stating, “If your sword doesn’t kill the creatures of the Below, by the seven realms, Kel, your smell will.”
These secluded caverns contain large pools of natural hot springs, though they lack the salty air of the one in Castletree. But up here, any warmth is luxurious. All modesty is stripped away, and fae men and women bathe alongside each other. I’ve found my own space, secluded in a stony alcove. From here, I can still see the mouth of the cavern, where snow falls from a gray sky.
Large white bubbles float past me, carrying a sweet scent. The smell of roses. A deep warmth blooms in my chest.
Whirling, I tread through the water, following the floating bubbles. Then I see a figure, her back to me, hands massaging bubbles through her hair.How is she here?
She’s out of the view from the rest of the company. I tread faster, then grasp her arm. “Rosalina?”
Magic sparkles between us, a humming in my ears, and I have the strange sensation of pulling something over a vast distance. Of pullingher.
Rosalina spins, blinking wildly, and wraps her arms over her chest. Her gaze settles on me, and she lowers her arms. The water comes up to her collarbone, anyway. “Kel?”
“How are you here?” I growl.
She tilts her head, looking adorable with her hair piled in bubbles. A grin spreads across her face as she looks around. “Whoa, where are you? A snowy hot spring? This is so cool.”
“Did our bond bring you here?” I wonder. It’s nothing I’ve heard of before, but like in the dream, she feels very much here and present with me.
“I think so,” Rosalina says. “I was in the bath, getting ready for a Spring jubilee tonight, but then I felt … Well, I felt you.”
Memories of the last time we were together flood back to me, how desperately I’d craved her, how in that moment I’d have done anything to claim her. I can’t let that happen again.
“You should go,” I growl.
“This place is magical,” she sighs, wading about. Her long neck tilts up to stare at the large, cavernous ceiling.
She glides around the rocky corner. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t see you there.”
I swivel to see she’s face to face with one of the Deep Guard. Lars, I think his name is. A good soldier, broad shoulders, with long blond hair, currently dripping with water.
“Don’t apologize,” Lars answers. “I haven’t seen you around before. Are you new?”
Lars doesn’t see me from behind the rock, but I don’t think it would matter if I was right there. His eyes are entirely on Rosalina.
“Uh, kind of,” she replies, taking a step back.
He has the gaze of a starving man as he takes her in. She’s a rare bloom in this barren place—perfect skin, sweet full lips, and just how much of her body can he see beneath the water? His own naked form is only inches away.
“Hair wash. Good idea.” He smirks and reaches for her head.
I’m in front of him in an instant, grasping his wrist almost hard enough to snap. “She’s with me.”
Lars’ face shifts instantly from lust to terror. I release him and he slinks back. “High Prince Keldarion.”
I say nothing more. He retreats, rejoining the rest of the group far away from us. I stay still, breath heaving in and out of my chest. My fists are clenched at my side to stop myself from following him and doing something I’ll regret.
“Kel?”
Her voice drives me into a different sort of trance. I cannot let anyone else see her. Not here when she’s naked. Not when she hasn’t been properly claimed by me.
I grab her around the waist and drag her deeper into the cave, secluding us behind another cluster of rocks. No one else can have what’s mine.
She squirms against me, and I feel her soft naked body against my hard planes. I can’t let her go, not yet. I press her against the rock wall. Warm water curls around us as I shelter her in.
