“Well, that’s really all there is to it.I’msure you’ve been to one before.Besides, you promised me you would be on best behavior.”Theyblew me a kiss, andIscowled.Theychuckled and headed out the door, “Makesure you scrub good in that bath.Yousmell awful,” and they locked the door behind them.Iscowled again, even though they couldn’t see.Butthey were right.Iwas rank.IgaveCiaracredit for staying with me as long as she had.
Thebath was calling, butIlooked at the pile of books on my bed, and it hurt my heart to see them so disheveled.Ipicked a few up and took them over and lined them up on the windowsill next to my vanity.Nota great place for them;Iwould have to ask for a bookshelf.Butthey looked much happier, stacked and neat.Thevery last bookIpicked up was small with a worn, dark leather cover.Theembossed title had started to wear away, butIcould make out,TheHistoryof theDragons.ItseemedAvlynhad delivered on their promise.
Ibrought the book with me and set it on the table next to the bath.Ipulled off my leggings, sighing in relief as my legs were freed from the tight leather.Istepped into the warm bath and a groan more sensual thanIhad anticipated left me.Thewarm water caressed every sore muscle in my body, andIfelt the tension in my shoulders fade away.Thewater quickly turned murky with the sweat, salt and grime.Iused a small bar of fine-smelling soap all over me, and then a lovely rosemary-scented potion on my hair.Thewater was practically black after all this, soIdrained the tub.
ButIwasn’t quite ready to get out, so after the last of the evidence of my long voyage circled the drain,Ifilled the tub again with fresh water, and added some floral bubbles as well.Thewater from the tap was boiling hot, coming from the geothermal pits below,Ciarahad explained.Itwas accompanied by a faint sulfur smell, butIwas unbothered.Ilet my skin turn red and ran my fingers over the circular scabs where theLeviathanhad grabbed me.Theyhadn’t healed yet, which implied the creature had some sort of poison, or maybe it was just the nature of an ancient beast to leave a mark.Ilet the hot water from the tap flow over my calf, and turning the scabs bright red.
Ileaned back in the tub and pulled the book over as the water continued to fill.Thefirst chapter was about theGreatProphecyof theThirdAge, as so many history books were, but the last line caught my eye.
Butit is this humble scholar’s belief that with the extinction of theDragons, it is our responsibility to capture their history, so that it is not lost to the ages, such as the knowledge of so many of the other great creatures ofAdimos.
Iflipped through the pages until my eyes fell upon a diagram that looked like a tree.Itwas, in fact, a family tree, andIsaw it was a great map of almost all the known dragons throughout history, showing all their relationships.Along footnote accompanied the chart.
*Thelineage of dragons can be easily tracked as dragons are notoriously monogamous creatures.Infact, some of the few dragon tablets that have been translated reference “fated mates”that can be detected as soon as eggs hatch.
Iran my fingers over the page, tracing down untilIfound the very last pair.ThedragonMalechand his mate,Tezca.Shehad been the very firstDragonslain when theWarofMagicbroke out, nearly seven hundred years ago.AndMalech, theWorldBreakerhad been the last.Ithought of the great statueIhad seen in the plaza, and my heart twinged.Whata waste.Magichad not returned to this world after his death, despite what theGreatProphecyforetold.Andnow, this great race was gone.
Ithought about that great yellow eye watching me from the deep, and sighed.Despitethe crew’s anger,Icouldn’t feel guilty that at least one lastLeviathansurvived.
Thewater had filled the tub, soIset the book down and turned off the tap.Withthe tub so full,Icouldn’t resist the temptation to dunk my head under and submerge myself.Theworld around me disappeared into that strange echoing warmth.Ilet bubbles escape my mouth and giggled.Ithought of howJunandIwould challenge each other to see who could remain submerged under the ocean waves the longest.Ilet the warmth of the water drive the darkness away and just stayed under until my lungs burned.Iclosed my eyes.Ilet myself float, weightless for just a moment.UntilIwas sharply pulled out of the water.
Isputtered.Coughsraked me, asIhad swallowed water in my surprise.
Ileaned over the side of the tub, and realized someone was shouting, “Whatthe hell were you doing?”Itwas the king.Suddenly,Iwas very aware of how nakedIwas, even if the bubbles covered most of it, and wrapped my arms around my breasts, and tucked in my legs.
“WhatamIdoing?Takinga bath!Whatare you doing?!”
Hehad pulled back from me, one of his arms soaking wet from where he had pulled me out of the tub.
“Iknocked at the door and there was no answer soI—” he trailed off.Icouldn’t have been under the water for more than a minute.Heobviously hadn’t waited very long.
“What, you thoughtIwas going to drown myself?”
“Yes.”Hislook was stern.
“Please,YourMajesty,Iwould much rather stay and be a thorn in your side.Nofun in giving you the easy way out.”Iflicked water at him and enjoyed the way his face scrunched up. “Nowget out, soIcan finish with my bath.”Ileaned back in the tub, stretching out and relaxing, my cue for him to leave.Herose but didn’t leave.
“No.”
“What?”
“Princess, if there is somethingIhave learned about you, it's that you certainly can’t be trusted with your own safety.I’llhave to remain here until you are done.”Hecrossed his arms, and that wicked grin rose to his lips. “Please, continue.”Hecouldn’t be serious.Hewas.
“Well,Iwas just about done anyway.”Hereached over and grabbed a towel from the rack and held it out to me, that stupid grin only getting wider.Itried to give him my dirtiest look and reached for the towel.Butjust as my fingers brushed it, he dropped it to the floor.Iswear to the godsIdidn’t think a person could look more smug.Icursed myself for not setting a towel out closer to myself.Fine, he wanted to play like this, let’s play.
Irose up then, letting the water slide off my body, bubbles running down, not covering anything.IwishIcould have captured the dumbfounded look on his face, and how long it stuck before he was able to regain his cold mask.Butby that point,Ihad gotten out, picked up the towel, and wrapped it around myself.Iwalked right past him back into my room.Ithrew the bedroom door open, startling the guard outside, and motioned for him to leave.Hewalked out of my washroom, and straight through the door.However, asIwent to close it, his hand slammed into it, preventing me from doing so.
“Thegala begins at sundown;I’llsendCiaraup to help you dress.”Heran his gaze up and down me, and even with the towel onIfelt more exposed than before as he leaned into me. “Although, if you wanted to show up in nothing but soap again,Icertainly wouldn’t complain.”
Islammed the door in his face.
Chapter16
Abraxas
Gods, she was a distraction.I’dbeen away from my kingdom for weeks, butIhadn’t heard a word during the debrief with my officers.Instead, my mind lingered on the way the water had caressed her hard pink nipples and that beautiful sex between her legs.Lingeredon how they both might taste.
“YourMajesty?Abraxas,Abraxas!”Avlynshouted at me.
