Pure light flared, abrupt and blinding, as it flooded the cavern. She did not know which of them it had come from, but it cleared within seconds, and Nya found Morgen staring at her with wide eyes, his irises dull. For just a moment, he looked like the man she remembered from their meetings in Mise. It didn’tlast long; when he blinked, silver and gold settled once more as a strange cast behind his eyes.
“Have her ready within an hour,” he snapped, but she caught the catch in his voice, and as he left, he rubbed his fingertips across the jagged scar on his throat.
The humming air settled and stilled in his absence. Carus watched him go, shaking his head. “You two do know each other, don’t you?” he said, brow furrowed, though he didn’t acknowledge the odd burst of magic.
Imeria, who was closer now, sighed, rolling her eyes. “Carus, sometimes, I think you can’t possibly get any dumber, and then you blow all my expectations out of the water.”
“Hey—”
“Of course they know each other. She can lie about it all she wants, and Morgen can try to deny it, but I’ve met old married couples with less history.”
Nya hissed out a breath. “Stop talking about me as if I’m not in the room.”
Imeria’s striking green eyes swung to her, hands on her narrow hips as she mused, “Oh, so you’ll speak to us then? No strike of silence to protest the marriage ceremony you insist won’t be happening within the hour?”
Nya looked away, her pulse fluttering in her throat. She didn’t think Morgen was bluffing when he said he would send his armies if she didn’t go through with this. Perhaps it wouldn’t happen right away, given she was fairly certain this place was not close to the Elysian Valley or the mortal border, but did that matter? She could refuse and try to escape, but even if she made it out of this barren mountain range alive, it wouldn’t stop violence from ensuing. Surely, the principals banded together could defeat Morgen, but given his power and his army, it wouldn’t be pretty.
Her parents were probably looking for her now too. Perhaps they would even return to Arcadia for her. They had suffered through enough war and death for the peace of both realms, and if she didn’t agree to this, all their pain could be for nothing.
“I will bathe,” she said after a moment, then glanced at Carus and added, “But he leaves.”
Carus chuckled. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on peeping. I’ll be right outside if you need anything, though.”
Nya had the distinct feeling the words were meant for Imeria. They might be treating her like a ‘guest’, but the truth no one said aloud was that she was a prisoner.
Once he was gone, Imeria motioned to the pool. “In. I have soap for you, and while you wash, I’ll try to detangle the blood and gods-know what else from your hair.”
Nya hesitated, and Imeria groaned. “Please don’t tell me you’re a prude. I don’t have the mental energy to convince you I couldn’t give a damn about any nudity, much less yours.”
“I was actually more worried about being in a vulnerable state around you,” Nya said flatly. “Given the fact that I was nearly killed and then brought here against my will.”
Imeria barked out a laugh and pulled a small dagger off the belt slung over her hips, extending it to Nya handle first. “If it makes you feel better, here.”
She took it, unsure of whether this was some trap. “Ah… Thank you.”
“You wouldn’t be able to kill me,” Imeria said, as if it was an indisputable piece of common knowledge. “Perhaps if you actually learned how to use all that power eating you from the inside out…then, I think even Morgen would have to be careful.” She shrugged. “It’s a shame your parents kept you so sheltered.”
Nya didn’t acknowledge the words, despite knowing, deep down, they were all true. She could understand why her parents did not want her to be a part of the world that had caused themso much pain, and yet, here she was, completely and utterly unprepared.
She pulled off the shapeless robes she had worn during the duration of her time as an apprentice in the temple. The fabric was now torn and stained with blood. As it fell, she tamped down the sudden urge to set it aflame, instead slipping quickly into the warm water, the lapping turquoise coming up to her chest as she leaned back against the stone edge.
“Well, Morgen might hateyou, but he won’t hate your body.”
She whipped her head around. “Excuse me?”
Imeria shrugged, though her lips were titled in a wry smirk. “I said I didn’t care about nudity, not that I wouldn’t make comments.”
Nya rolled her eyes twisting to face away from Imeria again. She held back a flinch as Imeria ran her hands gently through her matted tangles of her silver hair, long ripped free of the braid she’d put it back in this morning…or was it yesterday?
“He likes some curves, you know,” Imeria said matter-of-factly. “That’s why he’s never been interested in me. I am tragically twig-like.”
Nya bit back a yelp as Imeria pulled at another tangle then cleared her throat and said, “Am I to assume he’s been with many women?”
Imeria’s hands paused, cool fingertips brushing against the back of Nya’s neck. “Carus is probably a better person to ask if you want a true answer. But the girls around here talk sometimes about what he likes andhowhe likes it. Many claim to have been with him, but I’d say at least half of them are lying. They probably won’t like you.”
“Why? Because I ‘stole’ their lover?”
Imeria began running her fingers gently through Nya’s hair to comb it before starting on what she assumed were braids.
