“Yes. It is.”
Now that I was out of danger, the others started to disperse,breaking into fours and fives to head into some of those dark doorways. They didn’t seem bothered by the shadows.
I rubbed my eyes. They still ached slightly. “I didn’t know the orcs had magic.”
“We have it. We didn’t make it. This was left by the fae, a very long time ago. There’s just enough connection in our blood to make it safe.” He helped me to my feet. I swayed a little, and he caught me. “Easy there.” His brow was smooth, but his eyes worried.
“You said something here was dangerous,” I got out.
“Not if you’re with me.” He took off Tyralk's pack frame to hand it to someone.
“Then what was that? I heard…I saw…and it was…” I pressed my palms into my eyes. “There were colors. And heat.”
“We have never had the stone harm one of ours that we brought with us. But…we had never married in a sorcerer.” His hand tightened a little on my arm. “Maybe the surge for our entry affected your powers.”
Exactly what I needed; more of my father’s legacy complicating my life.
“Here.” He guided me forward. “Let’s get inside.”
“Inside?” I searched his face.
“We are in safety now, Rowena." He spoke slowly. "We don’t need to huddle around a banked fire and keep watch. We can take one of the rooms.”
Oh.
My heart sped up, images of that one night at the keep flashing across my mind as heat spread stinging across my skin. I had thought maybe we might avoid this until I got away, but now…
But now he was not just an orc. He was Khal. And I didn’t know if that was worse or better.
He picked up the rag lamp. “They won’t begrudge leaving us one of the lodgings with a door.” He strolled down the hall,pulling me gently with him, till one of the wood panels yielded to his touch, and warm air hit my face.
It was not what I’d imagined.
The light from our lamp sparkled on intricately carved walls, leaves and vines crawling across the surface upwards into the dark. Black water glimmered in the center of the floor, steps down into a carved pool that might go down forever for all I knew. But the old wasn't the only thing here. Hanging walls of hides and piles of furs divided the cave on one side. Some kind of drying rack waited by the water, along with various clay pots and jars. The orcs had made this place their own.
"My father says the old fae must have built these places as waystations to use during travel." Khal latched the door behind me, and I was suddenly aware of how alone we were. His voice echoed a little in the space. "They're usually in locations where it doesn't make logistical sense to build a village, but they're a welcome refuge when we're far from home."
“I can see why.” The warmth coming off the water implied some sort of heat source underground. This rock that shimmered in facets was nothing like the stone our castle was built from. How far had we traveled? Were we even in the same world? “What happened? To the people who built this?”
“They left.”
“The continent?”
“Some say the world.” Khal strode to the wooden rack by the hides, started stripping off the capelet, his armor.
Right. I looked at the water. I didn’t know how deep it went, only that there were steps, and it seemed warm. I was willing to jump into unknown water if it separated me from my rapidly undressing husband. “Is the water safe?” I asked. I peeled off my shoes, the bandages sticking inside them, and the new skin stung in the air.
“Yes,” he said. “We think it’s fed by a hot spring—" he was stillexplaining, but I’d mostly stopped listening. While his back was still turned I pulled off my clothes and slipped in.
Salt. It was salt water. Warm and melting against my legs, up to my arms. Something in this water could pull me down and eat me, and I wouldn’t mind if it was quick. I closed my eyes and dipped down, covered over my eyebrows. The heat was tingling in my fingertips, unspooling something inside of me. I stayed down, letting my heart’s rush in my ears become the only sound.
When I came up for a big gasp of air, Khal was watching me, unmoving. The water lapped over my breasts. I made myself stay still.
“I will never get used to this,” he said. He was still wearing his trousers. He sat on the floor of the cave, started removing his boots. “How are your feet?” he said.
“Fine.” The water was warm. Focus on the water.
The second boot came off. “We’ll need to wrap them again before we go.”
