Page 36 of Escaping to the Barbarians

“Where next?” he asked curiously, jerking his chin toward a stall across the way. “Fancy stuff?”

I glanced at the stall he’d pointed out, my breath catching at the intricate gold designs stitched into fabric so thin, it was practically translucent. “Goddess, I want to learn to do that. It’s gorgeous.”

Nudging me forward, he urged, “Let’s look.”

He spent the rest of the evening indulging me, letting me drag him from stall to stall, paying for anything I planned on using for the clan without letting me even reach for my own coin. When I finally felt like I had everything I could want, including some material for myself in a deep blue that made me itch to create, he led me to a large building closer to the main path, nodding in greeting to the establishment worker who accepted his coin with a smile.

“Where are we?”

“Bath house,” he murmured, setting our purchases in a basket before encouraging me out of my clothes. The minute I realized what he meant, I stripped in all due haste, nearly tripping myself twice in my eagerness to get into a warm bath. Tyos chuckled, handing the basket with our things to a staff member before leading me into the large open air bath in the middle of the establishment. Multicolored lamps flickered, casting colorful light over the pool of water, giving it an almostromantic feel. A few other patrons were enjoying themselves, some in conversation with each other while others sat quietly, just enjoying the water.

I climbed in with a groan, sinking onto the bench under the water and submerging myself up to my neck. The water wasn’t just warm, it was steaming, making the aches I’d gained from the journey and my exploration with Tyos drift away. Tyos sank onto the seat next to me, muffling his own groan as he sank down and leaned his head against the wall.

“Have you been here before?” I asked, cuddling into his side when he put his arm around my shoulders.

“No. Hot baths sounded odd. I thought wrong.”

Snickering, I leaned up to press a kiss to his jaw. “I guess we get to enjoy something new together then.”

He smiled down at me, dipping his head to press a sweet kiss against my lips. He didn’t linger, this wasn’t the place for that, but for the first time since we met, I didn’t hold my breath or flinch. No one said anything or cared that we were cuddled together or shared a kiss openly. I let the realization sink in, feeling like a heavy weight lifted off me when I finally accepted that this was real.

I was safe.

I was free.

And thanks to the gorgeous barbarian who saved my life, I finally found someplace to call home.