Chapter 39
Raven
After what happenedat the outpost, I need to just relax and soak away the carnage.
The water is blissfully hot, steam rising from the surface in lazy curls that drift toward the vaulted ceiling of the bathing chamber. I sink deeper, letting the heat seep into muscles that still ache from battle, letting it wash away the grime and blood and ichor that cling to my skin like memories I can’t shake.
They were in my territory. On my lands. And I didn’t know.
The thought gnaws at me, sharp teeth worrying at my peace. I’m supposed to be the dominant dragoness of this continent. I’m supposed to know when enemies cross my borders, when threats gather in my shadows. But they slipped past. They set their trap. They nearly killed my nest father before I even realized something was wrong.
Shaking my head, I submerge fully and dive to the bottom of the bathing pool.
The water closes over me like a cool embrace, muffling the sounds of the world above. Down here, there’s only the pressureagainst my eardrums, the faint blue glow of bioluminescent tiles set into the pool’s floor, the gentle pulse of my heartbeat echoing in my skull.
There’s peace in the embrace of the deep water.
I lay on the bottom and close my eyes, letting the weight of the water press against every inch of my body. My wings spread out on either side of me, the leather membranes drifting with the subtle currents, my hair floating around my face like black silk. The pressure soothes something in me—something primal, something that remembers when my ancestors hunted in the depths of ancient seas.
Part of me wants to go to my private hot spring, the one just beyond the egg chamber that I carved out of solid rock with my acid. That place is mine alone—a sanctuary where I can truly disappear, where the volcanic sand cradles my body and the absolute darkness hides me from the world.
But I need to be found quickly. If something happens, if Nova needs me, if another attack comes—I can’t be hidden away in my secret place. So the family’s bathing chamber is the most accessible option. A compromise between the solitude I crave and the responsibility I can’t escape.
There’sa disturbance in the water.
I feel it before I see it—a shift in pressure, a ripple of displaced liquid, the subtle vibration of someone entering the pool. Mydragoness stirs, instantly alert, but the familiar scent that reaches me even through the water makes her settle.
Keir.
I roll over onto my stomach and watch, my sapphire eyes tracking the dark shape descending through the water above me. By the build—lean and muscular, moving with the fluid grace of a predator—I know it’s him. My blink hound. My safe place.
Slowly, I swim forward, propelling myself with gentle kicks, and surface a few feet in front of him.
“Holy shit!”
Keir yells and falls backward into the water, his arms pinwheeling, his stormy gray eyes going wide with shock. Water splashes everywhere, droplets catching the light from the torches mounted on the walls, and I can’t help it—I laugh.
The sound echoes through the chamber, bouncing off stone and water, and it feels good. After everything that happened today, it feels so good to laugh.
I move to the side and lean on the edge of the pool, my back facing him. The stone is cool against my forearms, a pleasant contrast to the heat of the water lapping at my shoulders.
“Sorry.” I rest my head on my forearms and close my eyes. The apology is halfhearted at best—I’m not actually sorry at all.
“It’s fine.” I can hear the smile in his voice, the way his breathing is already settling back to normal. “I had a bet with Hemlocke about which body of water you’d be in. Apparently, I won.”
I look over my shoulder to see him grinning at me, water streaming down his face, his dark hair plastered to his forehead.Those stormy gray eyes are churning with amusement, the colors shifting and swirling like clouds before rain.
“You’ve always had a knack for finding me.” I lay my head back down and close my eyes again, letting the warmth of the water and the steady presence of my mate soothe the jagged edges inside me.
“Need to talk? Or just want someone close?”
I feel his hand rest on my lower back, just above my hips, and I sigh at the contact. His palm is warm against my skin, his touch gentle but sure. The tension I’ve been carrying since the outpost loosens slightly, like a knot being carefully worked free.
“A little of both.” I keep my eyes closed, focusing on the sensation of his hand, on the steady rhythm of his breathing, on the way the water ripples around us both. “Today was a lot.”
I feel Keir press his body against my back, the solid warmth of him molding to my curves. The fabric of his swim trunks brushes against my bare skin, and I notice—he’s the only one of my mates who lets me tell him what I want. Who waits for me to set the pace. The others know I can’t resist them naked, and they use that knowledge shamelessly.
Keir gives me a choice. Always.
