“You should begin preparing your army tonight, Rian,” she advised him before she turned away.
Chapter nineteen
SHE HAD RUINED ME
Rian
What does it mean?
I rolled my eyes when I realized that Ciaran must have given up his interrogation, and it was Darragh’s turn.
Whatever could you mean?I responded sarcastically, attempting to keep my expression unreadable as I walked Nuala into the bathhouse to which I’d portalled us. I was completely soaked with blood, and Nuala had gotten it all over her dress from standing so close to me. Which was a shame because I really appreciated the way this particular dress looked on her. I had already decided that I needed to replace it because the lavender silk was exquisite against her porcelain fair skin and dark hair.
You know what I mean,the demidragon retorted.
Nuala and I reached the doorway where patrons could enter the public bath or choose one of the more secluded pools in the bathhouse. I guessed Nuala would be more comfortable with a little privacy, but I had no intention of leaving her all alone in a strange place. So I guided her into one of the small stone chambers with me and warded the door behind us to ensure no one else could intrude. The humid air smelled of the herbs that had been added to the hot water as we stepped into the dimroom where the only light came from flickering wall sconces.
I have already told you both that I have no idea why she is unaffected by my power,I reminded Darragh.
But why would you not tell us about this before now? What if she is dangerous, Rian?
I scoffed aloud at the thought of Nuala ever becoming a threat to me, which drew her attention.
“Is it Darragh or Ciaran?” she asked with amusement, although there was still a hint of the reservation that had been in her eyes since we left the prison yurt.
“Darragh. But they arebothconcerned by the fact that you can touch my shadows. They would also like to know what it means,” I informed her, trying my best to keep my voice light and playful.
Nuala did not smile as she plucked the bag of bathing supplies I had packed for us from my hand.
“I already told you what it means,” she told me quietly before she walked around the pool to a stone bench where she dumped our bathing supplies.
“You said you are mine. You did not explain what that means or how it allows you to interact with a power that incinerates everyone else,” I insisted.
I was determined to get a real explanation out of her this time. Ineededto know why she seemed…
Familiar? Comfortable? I couldn’t begin to explain the way she felt to me. And even more concerning was this growing sense of contentment in her presence. If she were not mortal and much too young, I may have worried she was somehow my mate. But obviously there was no way we could have shared our first breaths when mine had been taken almost a thousand years ago.
Nuala hesitated, her head half turned toward me before she twisted away again and began to loosen the laces at the front of her bloodied dress without answering.
“Do you even know?” I asked when it occurred tome that she may not. Perhaps there was no real explanation in a similar way to how no one could explain why Éadrom and the other vargr belonged to their riders.
“You also have… premonitions,” she hedged.
“Yes,” I conceded as I followed her lead and began to peel out of my clothing. My shirt fell to the floor with a sickening plop, leaving my skin feeling sticky from all the sappy dryad blood that had soaked through.
“So I believe we both have a sense of how important our alliance will become,” she mumbled.
“An alliance does not explain how you are the only one aside from Éadrom who is able to touch my shadows without being consumed by them,” I maintained.
Nuala remained quiet, trying to focus on loosening her corset-style dress, which she was still learning how to lace properly on her own. I’d helped her lace it that morning, so I would probably need to help unlace it too.
I made sure my steps were loud enough that she could hear me approach, and she let me turn her around to face me so I could tug the busk laces loose. I thought she was keeping her head low to avoid my questions, but a glance at her downturned face showed me rather differently.
She was devouring the sight of my bare torso without a shred of shame or any care that I was still covered in the blood of the males I had tortured. Her mouth was parted, her pupils had dilated, and her pulse was fluttering in her slender throat. When I breathed in her lavender and rain scent more deeply on an impulse, I was rewarded with the heady and intoxicating addition of her arousal.
The sight and smell of her reaction shocked me at first because it was not something I would have expected from the little witch. But then the warm and spicy scent of her desire fully permeated my brain, and there were no more thoughts about what sheshouldorshould notbe feeling. There was only the visceral and primal reaction to what she was feeling forme.
I was not remotely prepared for the pure adrenalin that flooded my veins after this realization. The intensity of the reaction bordered on violence, and it was all I could do to stop myself from grabbing her. All I wanted to do was bury my nose in the crook of her neck and inhale the scent of her more deeply. Let it drive me into a frenzy. And it was a damned good thing that she was immune to my magic because my shadows streamed from my hands and forearms. They had already curled around her body before I could even think about stopping them.
