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“Nothing,” he said quietly.
I could’ve pressed him further, but it was clear he was in no mood to talk. So, I stood and grabbed a towel from the cabinet.
“Here,” I said, extending it out to him.
He looked at it for a moment, his eyes still vacant. Then he slowly stood, and I had to look away quickly. Ladon’s naked body was more than I was prepared to handle. What little I saw of him was lean and sculpted and still dripping wet. It was enough to make my cheeks flush.
Ladon wrapped the towel around his lower half and combed his fingers through his sopping hair.
“If you won’t tell me what happened, can you at least tell me that you’re okay?”
He gave me a curt nod before striding past me into the bedroom. I watched as he crawled into bed, still wrapped in only a towel. “I’m not sleeping on the floor again.”
I was stunned into silence. Once I finally found my ability to move, I crossed the room to join him in bed. Ladon was turned on his side so his back faced me and I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling. I couldn’t tell if he’d already fallen asleep or not.
“Are you awake?”
“No.”
I smiled despite myself. “Do you think your brother is looking for us?”
Ladon sighed, his irritation evident. “Probably, though I don’t know if they’ll find us here.”
“What do you mean?” The panic in my voice was unmistakable, but he made no effort to comfort me.
“No one in Osavian has ventured this far into Murvort. At least, no one that’s still alive. The only place we’ve been invited to in my lifetime is the settlement near our outpost. The mountains themselves could disorient the most seasoned hiker. Who knows how far we’ve traveled inside them.”
So there was no hope then. The entire army of Osavian could be scouring the country and there was still a chance they wouldn’t find us. It would be entirely up to us to save ourselves. No one was coming.
I swallowed, and tears pricked my eyes. I whispered, “I don’t want to die here.”
Ladon rolled over and I met his gaze, his face startling close to mine. “We’re not going to.”
A light pierced through the thin skin of my eyelids and woke me from my restless sleep. Somehow, the light from outside had managed to find just the right angle to stream in through the open grate.
My eyes fluttered open, and I inhaled a sharp breath. At some point in the night, I had turned and now faced Ladon, who was a mere inch from my face. I tried to scoot back, but a heavy arm pulled me in tight.
Oh shit.
There was enough space for me to observe our lower halves—legs tangled together, Ladon’s towel hanging low on his hips, a trail of fine hair leading from his belly button to the bulge pressed against my thigh.
Oh shit.
I let out an involuntary whimper, but thankfully, Ladon didn’t stir. His chest rose and fell with shallow breaths and his lips parted slightly. His usual guarded demeanor was nowhere to be found.
Digging his fingers into the small of my back, he let out a low hum. I held my breath, fearful that any noise or movement might wake him up and there was no telling how he’d respond to this predicament.
I gently lifted his arm—enough for me to slip out from his grasp. He mumbled again, and I moved slower. Like prey escaping from a dragon’s nest. Every inch was torturous.
Finally, I managed to roll off the mattress and onto the floor. While ordinarily I would hate how low the mattress sat, this time I was thankful to not fall clumsily out of bed.
I snuck to the bathroom and tried to freshen up as quietly as possible. When I returned, Ladon was still sleeping peacefully. I almost hated to wake him, but it had to be late morning by the way the sunlight was falling into the room.
He’d been so broken and lifeless the night before. I didn’t know what had happened with Reyna, but something in me wanted to give him a little bit more time to dream without worry. To rest without despair.
Just a few more minutes, I thought.
If only we’d been given paper or something useful in this bare box of a bedroom. I sat with my back against the wall, listening to the soft sounds of Ladon breathing. My eyes fell to my hands, and I was tempted to test my magic again, but feared the consequences.
