I blink, and remember where I am, and who this demon is. This isn’t a fairy tale; this is a nightmare. I need to focus on getting home, not losing myself in a fantasy.
Clearing my throat, I pull back from Nyx, ignoring the way my chest clenches in pain. “So, um… how about we continue with the tour?”
Nyx’s expression flashes with disappointment for a split second before his teasing smirk is back in place. “Of course. Why don’t I show you something with a little less teeth?”
Nyx waves a hand for me to follow, and he leads me down the tunnel we came from. He stops in front of one of theentryways with a tan-colored hide covering, gesturing to the symbol painted in red.
“This is my bedroom.” He turns to me with a wicked smirk. “It’s not quite as cozy as Rhune’s, but you are always welcome to my furs. You might find the change of scenery nice every now and then.”
I clear my throat, my face flaming and my core tightening. “What’s further down?”
Nyx chuckles under his breath, continuing down the long tunnel. He points out several unused rooms and spaces used for storage, until at last we come back to Rhune’s room. For the first time, I notice that there is a symbol on his hide covering, signifying the space as his.
“The symbols… do each of you have one?”
“We do,” Nyx says.
“Does it mean anything?”
“Possibly. I have yet to find something in this world that doesn’t hold some sort of deeper meaning. But if our symbolsdomean something, we haven’t the faintest idea of what.”
“I see.” I pull my gaze away from the painted swirl. “Where to next?”
Nyx gestures for me to follow. Instead of continuing down the tunnel, he takes a left through one of the bare entryways. To my surprise, it leads into another endless tunnel, like the one we were just in.
This place must go on forever. It would be extremely easy to get lost if I ventured out on my own.
Unaware of my internal struggle, Nyx continues down the darkened passageway, turning his head every now and again to make sure I’m following.
“Dravik’s room is on your left. Past that is his brewing room.”
“His brewing room?”
“Uh-huh. He infuses the welwig sap with different ingredients and things. Makes it taste better, and heightens its properties. He’s gotten damn good at it over the years.”
“That’s pretty cool,” I say.
“Mhm. Watch your step. The ground slopes down up ahead.”
As we descend deeper into the earth, we pass by another hide-covered doorway, but Nyx doesn’t comment on it like he did with his and Rhune’s bedrooms.
They must belong to the last brother. It’s strange that he didn’t comment on it, though.
Pushing my worries to the back of my mind, I focus on my footing, making sure I don’t trip on any of the ridges in the ice-rock.
After a few minutes, the air begins to warm and thicken. When I look up, I can see a faint blue light glowing from the end of the tunnel, but I can’t make out anything else.
We pass through the entryway, and it feels like the air is trying to choke me. The only other time I’ve experienced this is when I went to that spa with Kimberly for my bridal shower.
“This,” Nyx says. “Is where I like to spend my time.”
I gaze around the space in awe. Unlike the other rooms, the walls and ceiling of this space are made of dark black rock, so sleek it looks wet to the touch. Thick, gnarled roots weave in and out of the stone, casting the space in a calming blue hue.
At the center of the room is a large, shimmering pool set deep into the rock. Hot air rises from the surface of the water, colliding with the cooler air and producing thick billows of steam.
It’s like a natural five-star spa from home, only cooler.
“The water has magical properties.” Nyx’s eyes are trained on my profile, heating my skin. “That’s why it shimmers. I noticed that the water in your world does not do this, and I always found it strange.”
