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I stayed awake most of the night, watching the moon saunter across the night sky while Cri and Leo snored softly. The stars seemed so far away. The stars above me tonight could have worlds circling them that Leo and Cri had visited. Centuries of searching the universe, and they had been searching for me—such a waste of time. Closing my eyes, I let the night sky slip away.
The water flowed over me like silken honey, glittering over my skin. I dove beneath the surface. It bubbled over my head, engulfing my arms. I treaded in the warm spring.
My hair was slick with water droplets that rippled down my back and over my chest, stopping above the globes of my naked breasts. I cupped water in my hands. It twinkled as it seeped through my fingers.
Laughing, I looked into the sky, glistening with three iridescent moons. It was a sweet freedom to swim under the night sky completely naked. I dove back into the warm silk, watching the hot springs fizz with vigor, the bubbles eagerly racing to the top.
Surfacing, I swiped the water from my eyes as Ales dipped his chest into the water.
His lips curved, smiling at me like a ravenous wolf. His cobalt hair flowed around his shoulders, and his eyes danced with bright silver.
“I like hearing you laugh.” Ales smiled. He closed the distance between us. “But I am going to make you moan right now. I think I’d like that even more.”
I stilled in the water when he outstretched his hand, beckoning me toward him. Lightning streaked across the night sky and looped my fingertips though his. I floated into his chest and put my feet on the soft earth of the spring. Standing before him, water dripped down my hair and lapped at my waist.
I watched his eyes while his gaze trailed over my body. They shone so wickedly bright. The silver glowed like diamonds in the moonlight.
I leaned into his scarred chest when he cupped his palm behind my head. His lips feathered over the hollow of my neck. His teeth scraped up to the sensitive spot below the shell of my ear. A moan slipped past my lips. He flicked his tongue over the hollow of the sensitive skin, then nibbled with his teeth…
“Morning, Valkyrie!”
I startled awake, pulling the blanket higher over my body, stupidly peering up at Ales, who was grinning down at me.
I lay atop the cushioned bench on the boat deck with a soft blanket over my legs and torso.
I didn’t put that there.
I cleared my throat and coughed. I tried to focus. The dream had felt so real I could almost touch the water of the spring around me, my body still humming from Ales’ lips on my neck.
This was one of the worst ways to be woken up from the best dream yet.
I yawned casually and stretched.
I needed to rein myself in, because these dreams were completely out of control. In my dreams, the Valkyrie reigned supreme. At least they were just fantasies, the light begging me to go to Ales, but he didn’t know what was happening. I hoped. The dreams had definitely taken a turn away from death lately. It was all him, no Raiders.
The connection to the Raiders was weak if existent at all. If they were out there, the Valkyrie didn’t feel them anymore.
“Morning.” I looked up at Ales.
“Didn’t intend to startle you.” He leaned in closer. Close enough to kiss. “Would you prefer for the others to hear your pleasure while your sleep?” A smile danced over his gray eyes.
I turned beet-red and looked at the rest of the deck.
Cri and Leo were working under the full sail. Logan and Danny were both looking at us.
Great, an audience.
“Bad dream. Thanks for waking me up.” I threw the blanket off and started folding it. I needed to focus on something other than Ales’ face.
“I must be mistaken then.” Ales smiled.
“Trust me, you are,” I said and wandered away from his too-eager grin.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. We sailed further from the California coastline. I wanted to interrogate Leo and Cri about Valkyries, their lives, the war, where we were going, but I was too focused on what was creeping closer with every wave—the aether.
By the afternoon, I had worked myself into a full panic attack, thinking about drowning while trying to pass through this mystical portal. I was more focused on the drowning portion of the journey than the actual traveling through pure energy to another world.
I had always loved the water. My entire life, I had been drawn to its serenity, and, in part, it was why I had never wanted to be away from it. It made me feel whole.
