Berry hopped down from Guruk’s shoulder as if sensing the shift in my mood. Guruk answered without apology, “The hot spring is along the route.”
I shook my head. “The hot spring is alongaroute.”
Guruk snapped his fingers. “Indeed! The route we’re taking.”
I narrowed my eyes as Berry placed their tiny paws on my shins, sending warmth to flow through me. I did not relent. “The routeyouchose.”
He tilted his head. “Is that a problem?”
I opened my mouth. Closed it. The steam drifted through the tree gap in a lazy curl, warm even from here. My feet, which had been increasingly vocal about their opinions over the last several hours, made their position on the matter quite clear.
“No,” I sighed, with what remained of my dignity. “I suppose, it’s notreallya problem.”
His grin, slow and unrepentant, lifted the tusk on his right side.
I held up my hand in warning. “Don't.”
He said nothing. Blasted orc, didn't need to. He turned back toward the spring with the serene expression of someone who had won and was gracious enough not to say so. I followed him through the trees because I was not, as it turned out, capable of being annoyed at a hot spring.
The gap in the trees revealed a wondrous sight. A natural pool, maybe twenty feet across, nestled into a shallow rock basin with steam rising off the surface in soft spirals. The water had a faint lavender hue from the minerals. So different from Earth, yet familiar in its warmth. The rocks around the edge had been made smooth from years of use. Dark purple moss crept up the far side in thick, velvet patches. Somewhere nearby, water trickled, an overflow channel feeding downhill into the valley.
“It’s beautiful.” The word was an understatement, but I had no others.
Berry made a pleased sound next to me, and then sprinted for a flat, sun-warmed rock nearby to curl up on. Their three tails wrapped around themselves in a tight spiral, and with the most adorable yawn, they fell asleep.
“A comfy corner,” I said, smiling at them. “Very on brand.”
Guruk had already set down the bags and was producing, from the depths of the canvas supply pack I had objected to and then benefited from every single day of this journey, a folded blanket, two cups, and the tin of calming tea from Petalor’s apothecary. Like a magician, he set a small pot of water to heat over a fire built with the efficient speed of someone who had done it ten thousand times.
I sat on the blanket and peeled off my boots.
The ground was warm beneath my bare feet. With heat rising from below, the rocks nearest the pool radiated something deep and constant. I pressed both palms flat to the earth and felt it hum back. Quieter than the singing meadow. More...intimate.
My cheeks heated as I glanced at my gorgeous orc. I cleared my throat and asked, “Does this place have a name?”
“Hmm. The elders call it the Syrena Spring.” Guruk settled beside me, close enough that his arm pressed against mine. “The name is older than the village. No one knows who gave it.”
“Syrena? Like serene.” It fit perfectly. “Yeah. I can feel why.”
We sat for a while without speaking, which was its own kind of serenity. Guruk poured the tea and handed me a cup without asking if I wanted one. He always knew when I wanted one even before I did. I wrapped both hands around the ceramic mug and watched the steam rise off the pool.
The tight, low-level hum of anxiety that had lived behind my sternum since Berry’s signal pointed east loosened. Not gone. But not the urgent pressure either.
“I want to go in.” I set the cup aside and reached for the bottom of my tunic.
“Then we shall.” He stripped off his linen shirt, revealing every ounce of his sculpted chest to my gaze. Sunlight reflected off his teal-green skin.
My mouth watered as I pulled my tunic over my head and set it to the side. “You planned the stop. Did you also plan for us to swim?”
He reached into the canvas bag and produced two folded towels.
I stared at them, laughing internally at his antics. “Guruk, you packed towels?”
A glimmer sparked in his mint-colored eyes. “We were always going to need them.”
I smiled. “You packed towels specifically for this.”
“The towels have multiple uses,” he said with gravity. “They are a general supply item.”
