Page 129

Elyria exhaled slowly and forced her hands to still at her sides. “I don’t think he was aware of how it would be used at the time, but this is indeed where he told us to go, so . . .” Fucking stars above, the thought of her father setting up a stars-damned sex tent on the outskirts of his little refugee village for her had Elyria wanting to melt into the floor.

“Feels like your little reunion could’ve gone better,” Cedric said, walking over and throwing his arms around her.

She leaned into him. “Could’ve gone much worse, honestly.”

“I might just be starting to believe his main priority really is to make amends with you, because this”—he gestured to the space surrounding them—“really is very nice.”

Elyria took a moment to glance around the large tent and couldn’t help but agree. It made sudden sense why the outside world was so hushed. Thick tapestries hung against the canvas walls. There was a plush rug under their feet. Two separate braziers kindled in opposite corners, filling the space with warmth. A pallet was set to one side, covered with plush pillows and soft blankets. And across the tent sat a large oval basin filled with⁠—

“Is that a bath?” Cedric asked, his chest shaking with an incredulous laugh.

Elyria darted over and immediately dipped a hand into the water. “Fuck me right over the Chasm, it’s warm.”

A table was set up next to the tub, folded towels, robes, and several colorful vials set atop it. Elyria noted the tray that held a small silver dagger and a length of silk rope and shook her head.

“Who knew such glamorous appointments existed in the middle of the woods?” Cedric said, drawing her focus back to him.

“Well, my father’s always had a way of . . . procuring things. Say what you will of the man, but he knows how to put his money to good use. Solaris knows he’s got enough of it.”

“And who are we to look a gift horse in the mouth, after all?” She felt him come up behind her, sweep the hair off her neck, and dot a light kiss to the edge of her bondmark. “Go ahead. After the night . . . week . . . month . . . year . . . you’ve had, nobody deserves it more.”

“Don’t tell Kit,” Elyria said slyly, pulling the hem of her blouse out from her waistband as she turned to look at him. “She’ll be so jealous.”

Cedric whisked his thumb and pointer finger across his closed mouth, then rotated his wrist like he was turning a key in a lock. “Your secrets are safe with me, Trouble.”

The bath was the perfect temperature. Enchanted river rocks sat warm at the bottom of the tub, and Elyria could feel the stress lifting out of her muscles the instant she sank below the surface, submerging herself entirely. She’d had a hasty chance to wipe away the sanguinagi blood and general grime of battle after they arrived at the camp, but there was nothing like actually bathing to make oneself feel, well, clean. She needed this. Needed the water to leach away the lingering stain of all they’d endured during the attack on Elderglade.

Elyria held her breath underwater for another few seconds, enjoying the weightlessness, the blissful silence. Then, just as a pang of concern from her ever-worrying knight pulsed in her chest, she surfaced.

“It’s big enough for two, Your Highness,” she said, scrubbing at her arms. “Fancy joining me?”

Cedric’s scarred lip quirked. “If you insist.”

The next thing she knew, he was naked and stepping into the tub behind her.

“It’s strange seeing you with nothing around your neck,” Elyria mused, sliding back until she was situated against his chest with his legs on either side of her.

“Is it? I admit it feels rather freeing. My mana token was a reminder of my limitations.”

“Your mother’s locket though?” She tilted her head to look at the small satchel that held the two halves of the crown, lying atop her clothing a few feet away. “Are you sad that it’s gone?”

She felt him shake his head, his cheek brushing against her hair. “What is there to be sad about? It’s not really gone. It’s just . . . different now. Changed.”

“And if that isn’t an apt metaphor for this night.” She exhaled a breathy laugh, then stopped herself. She sat up, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

Water sloshed around them as Cedric leaned forward, pressing his chin to her wet shoulder. “What’s the matter?”

“It seems so indulgent, doesn’t it? To be luxuriating in this, here, after what just happened? Knowing what is to come?”

“I think that’s precisely why it’s important. Tomorrow, we head north. We’ll repair the crown and, fate willing, the Chasm. We will face Malakar and his followers. Surely it is all right for us to take tonight for ourselves.”

Elyria heard the uncorking of a bottle, then felt strong fingers press into her hair a moment later. Cedric scrubbed at her scalp, lathering the soap against her skin, and she bit her lip to keep herself from moaning aloud as she slipped back into the water. “Stars above, you’re good at that. You and your hidden talents, Sir Knight.”

He chuckled but said nothing as he tipped her head back and rinsed her hair clean. She, in turn, said nothing as her backside brushed against the length of him, standing at the ready deep below the water’s surface. The time would come for that soon enough.

She got out first, toweling herself off before donning one of the linen robes while Cedric finished washing. The low-simmering coals sitting in one of the braziers were mesmerizing as she stared at them, trying not to think too hard about everything that was about to happen.

“Is there, uh, some kind of ceremonial garb or something we should be wearing for this?” Cedric asked a few minutes later, and Elyria turned to find him standing behind her, hair dripping onto the collar of his own robe, which he wore open and untied, his towel wrapped around his waist. “What are the rules here?”