She shook her head and murmured, “The voice said it knew I’m a human.”
At that, Erevos nodded once, slowly, and then stood again, stretching to his full, towering height. Lyssena assumed that he would deal with the matter now—that he would leave her behind to take care of whatever danger lurked—but instead, he turned toward the inky black pool.
“Would you like to bathe?” he asked.
Wouldshe like to bathe? In an unfamiliar place, in water as black as a raven’s wing, with a god standing nearby? Would he simply stay and watch her?
No, he would probably leave her to it, she reasoned, likely going off to investigate the strange voice while she cleaned herself.
So Lyssena nodded.
Both the god and Lyssena stood in silence, eyes locked, saying nothing.
Lyssena couldn’t understand why he wasn’t leaving. Wasn’t he going to investigate the voice, or give her some privacy? And Erevos, for his part, seemed to be . . . waiting?
But waiting forwhat?
“I’m sorry—” she began, just as??—
“Why aren’t y—” he started to say at the same time.
What a tragedy it was that neither of them finished their sentence. Their words crashing into each other mid-air and falling to the ground between them.
Lyssena cleared her throat, flustered, and gestured for Erevos to continue, but instead of speaking, he simply crossed the space between them in two long strides and lifted her effortlessly into his arms.
A small, startled whimper escaped her lips as she clutched at his shoulders, her breath catching, her heart thundering so loudly in her chest that she was certain he could hear it echoing against the walls of this dark cave.
Chapter Fifteen
What Songbirds Sing
Erevos
Erevos assumed that his little songbird was afraid to be alone. And while that was true, it wasn’t the whole truth. Lyssena was afraid of the voice she had heard, which was what had startled her so deeply when he returned, and what still unsettled her even now.
This was not good.
His suspicions had been confirmed. Therewasa demon who knew he had a human, and that knowledge alone made Erevos tighten his fists on Lyssena’s back.
He decided that he would kill that demon, but not now, while Lyssena was scared and tucked close to his chest. He would wait until she was asleep, safe and unaware, and then he would do what must be done.
For now, he would bathe her, because it seemed she did not wish to do it on her own. Erevos had seen her many times walk into the bathing room in the human realm, always dressedwhen she entered, and dressed again when she left. He did not understand why humans would bathe in their clothes, but then there were many human habits he had never fully understood and never much cared to question.
Perhaps she undressed within, bathed, and then dressed again in clean clothing, but why bring the clean garments into the bathing space? That remained a mystery to him, one of many.
Either way, his Lyssena had not undressed now, and that made the situation more complicated than it needed to be. He thought she understood by now that he only wanted to care for her, to keep her safe, to provide her with comfort in every way he knew how.
Lyssena fascinated him beyond meaning; her devotion, her soul, the veryessenceof her being consumed his thoughts like nothing else ever had. And she made him feel heat—a strange, burning warmth that stirred beneath his skin—just like she did now, nestled once more in his arms, allowing herself to be held.
Much like he was, Lyssena was a curious creature. She stared at the pool of water with such intensity, her brows drawn tightly together, that Erevos felt a growing eagerness to ease her into it and bathe her.
They were different and so much alike.
So he stepped toward the edge, waded into the dark water, and lowered both himself and Lyssena until he was seated fully within it, the surface rising to his ribs while she remained cradled in his arms.
For some reason, Lyssena’s eyes grew wider with every inch he lowered them, her gaze darting around the room, her breath quickening with each passing second.
The water was warm and inviting, so much so that even a demon like Erevos, emotionless by nature and untouched by most sensations, found himself feeling something closeto comfort. He had studied humans bathing in hot springs, observed the steam and the satisfaction on their faces, and had taken it upon himself to learn what made the water stay warm—how it worked, how it felt.
