Page 127 of A Requiem of Fire and Ice

When the doors open, I step away from them, and Reen steps out. His red eyes roll in my direction, and he smiles crookedly at me. With a weak smile, I dart a look away and then back when Reen lights a cigarette with a flame pinched between his fingertips.

“You’re a curious little creature today, Pandora,” he says.

“There’s nothing to do here. I’m also bored.”

He breathes a laugh. “Have you tried the swimming pool?”

I raise my brows. “There’s a swimming pool?”

Reen nudges his head, telling me to follow him. As we walk, there’s a sense of jitteriness tingling inside me. Every time I’m around him, I’m excited but also sick. Cramps crunch my insides, and the flutter in my heart tightens. I haven’t felt this way since Desmond.

No.

This is more intense than Desmond. With Reen, a level of heat flourishes, burning me from the inside out.

There’s a door on the other side of the ship. The only place I didn’t go was because all this time, I didn’t expect anything to be back here. Then, Reen opens the door.

Chlorine smacks me in the face first, consuming my nostrils and stinging my eyes until they burn. When my eyes adjust, I stare at the pool in the centre of the room, and from above, there’s a giant skylight showcasing the blue sky.

Reen takes off his shirt, tossing it to the side. The golden chain with the pendant with elemental colours dangles when he bends down. My focus then snaps to the hundreds of scars plaguing him, tightening when tense, contracting muscles move. He takes off his jeans but leaves his boxers on. A blush flushes across my face when I see the length before he steps in, parting the water until he’s consumed by it.

I stand at the edge and let my toes twinkle against the water sloshing across. “I thought fire elemny feared water.”

He dips under the water. Waves ripple, wavering across his crimson hair as he swims toward me. Red eyes glow intensely when he comes up for air and looks up at me. “When I was a kid, King Ragan kept pushing me into the pool. You get used to it after a while.”

I crouch down and grimace. “It’s fucked up, Reen.”

His eyes crinkle when he smirks. Without a word, he grabs my arm, pulling me toward the water. My screams turn muffled when I land in the water and go under. Water slips into my airways before I break through. As I gasp for breath, Reen pulls me toward him, chuckling darkly.

“You’re a fucking arsehole!” I spit.

“I never said I wasn’t one.”

I glare at him. Our gazes lock onto each other, and while I glare at him, his grin broadens hungrily as he pulls me toward him. With a sigh, I move my arms over his shoulders, touching the scars.

“Can you tell me more about them?”

A darkened look crosses his face. “No. Like yours, they aren’t fun stories to tell, Pandora.”

“At least this one.” I move down, remembering the gash I fixed, brushing my fingers along his waist to the scar I mended. “We never really talked about it.”

His hands move to my hips. I tense, but after the moment of spluttering fear, the timid beat of my heart returns, and I ease tight muscles. He guides me through the water, floating on his back while I kick my feet, swimming beside him.

“King Ragan told me to protect Emmerton and Walkyer, and if I didn’t, and they died, he would crown me king,” he begins. “I did what I needed to do and killed ruthlessly to protect my brothers.” His fingers tighten on my skin. “But I got careless when we entered the Kingdom of Crystal, and an assassin got me good, cutting me open with a dagger dipped in poison. I burned the poison away but hadn’t awakened, so it was difficult to mend the wound by myself.”

I perk up. “And then I found you!”

He smiles, eye crinkling. “A menace of a flat-fucking-chested teenager came out of nowhere, seeing my scars, unafraid of me.”

“It’s because we’re a lot alike.” I stop swimming, and we stand. Touching another, I say, “Tell me more about you before we reach Oceanview Harbour. What happened here?”

“Not interested,” he says flatly.

Irritated, I roll my eyes until they settle on the necklace. “Who gave you that?”

Reen hooks his finger around the golden chain and says, “My mother gave it to me when I was…fourteen. It has been in our family for generations.”

“It’s pretty,” I say. “It even has pink, for ice elemny. Most pendants I see now only have the four.”