She realized Theodon was looking right at her, analyzing her face.
“Did you want to fuck him?” he asked casually.
“what?” Her shout rang out. No one had ever spoken to her this way. “Who?”
“My soldier.”
Her face grew hot. “Why would you ask me that?”
“You seem disappointed that I sent him running.”
She stumbled through her reply. “I’m not! Not for that reason... He was only walking by, he wasn’t interested in... that, and neither was I.”
His face remained neutral. “His scent suggested otherwise, as does your reaction.”
Scent?
“I can tell Orm it was a misunderstanding and that you?—”
“No.” Her face was pink all over, she didn’t need a mirror to tell her so. “I don’t want to...fuckOrm.” Her gut tingled at the discomfort of this conversation. Between the soreness in her leg and aggravation of his company, she was about ready to give up on the bath and head back to her room.
“You cansmellthat on someone?” she asked instead, trying to move the conversation past this point of mortification. Had he smelled what she felt when she got a glance of his bare, rippling chest?
“Yes.” She caught a knowing look on his face. He understood the dots she was connecting.
They reached the entrance to another carved-out space. The stone walls were saturated from dripping cracks and crevices, spilling into small pools. The air felt more humid here. Firelight from the sconces reflected off the jagged edges of crystals that gleamed a yellow so deep it reminded her of a yolk from an egg.
“I never knew rocks could sparkle like this.” Everything down here was so strange and new.
“The moisture helps them form over time,” Theodon explained.
Before she could inquire further, her focus redirected to the many bodies before her. Her breath hitched. Everyone was naked in various copper tubs, laughing, flirting, and splashing one another from the cave pools.
“Well?” Theodon arched a brow at her, gesturing to go ahead. “What are you waiting for?”
“I... um.” Another flush of pink migrated from her cheeks to her upper chest. What did he expect her to do? Disrobe among all these strange eyes?
She couldn’t.
Not happening.
“I... I can wait until everyone’s done.”
Theodon looked genuinely confused. Then he pieced her apprehension together. “There is a more private space if you prefer?”
She exhaled in relief. “Please.”
To her surprise, he placed his broad hand on her back and ushered her forward. For a split second she wanted to shake his touch away. She reconsidered as deep heat coursed through his fingertips. The warmth felt good, comforting even.
He guided her to the back of the chamber. At first it looked like a dead end. As they grew closer, the illusion fell, and a hidden entrance revealed itself to the side. It formed a narrow hall, perfectly concealed by the pattern of the stone unless you were aligned at the perfect angle to see it.
They turned the slender corner to find more water trickling down through thick cracks from above. She walked toward one alluring stream, allowing her hand to brush under the water’s flow. It felt like ice cascading over her fingers. Even with her intense desperation to bathe, she wasn’t sure she could stand it.
Theodon tapped her shoulder and pointed to the cavern’s edge, where a small steaming pool of water was visible.
She walked to the inviting spring, set aside her fresh clothes by the stack of clean towels on the rocks, and kicked off her boots and wool socks. She gingerly dipped a toe and let out a sound of satisfaction at the warmth she found. Carved-out shelves in the rocks displayed assorted colorful bottles. She opened one that smelled of flowers. She inhaled the fragrances repeatedly, trying to place their origin, but couldn’t.
“Moonvine and mother’s lace,” Theodon said.
