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“What is that?” I ask.
Daimis looks around with me like he’s just realizing it as well. We’re in a tunnel of stone that opens up to light in front of us. We follow the blue-tinged glow until we’re on a ledge that overlooks a huge cavern with an underground lake far below that glows an unnatural turquoise blue. Hundreds of icicle-like crystals spike down from the ceiling of the cave like giant teeth. The light from the water reflects off the crystals and casts variations of blue hues on every surface.
“It’s beautiful,” I say. “I wonder what makes the water glow.”
“It’s a form of algae,” Daimis says. “I’ve only seen it one other time, far from here.”
He looks at me and then glances at the water. “It really intensifies your eye color.” He tips his head to the side. “So rare.”
Is he thinking of me as a child? Of his best friend who had the same eyes? I need to get his mind on something else. “You should know, I saw the Regent leading prisoners out of the athenaeum today, and they were… not normal.” I don’t tell him about running into Amora.
Daimis’s brows crease. “What do you mean?”
“Their skin was sallow and ashen-gray. Their hair was white in places, even though they weren’t nearly old enough to be going gray. They were tortured, or sick, or something, I’m not sure. But it was like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
“What were their injuries?”
“Well, they didn’t have any physical injuries, that I could see. But.” I squeeze my eyes shut. “When a girl looked at me, she was empty, like missing a piece of herself. Like losing it was worse than dying.” I open my eyes and shake my head. “I know that sounds insane.”
“I believe you. I’ve heard strange noises coming from the vents that connect to the athenaeum. When I questioned the Regent about it, he brushes me off and just says that he’s doing his job to protect me and the kingdom. It’s complete bullshit, of course.” He pulls his shirt from his trousers. “Also, he has appointed his own Steel Guard who won’t answer my questions—”
“What are you doing?”
He stops and looks down at the water below us. “We’ll have to go in the water. I don’t want to soak my clothes. I’ll throw them to the beach on the other side. You should do the same. We don’t know how cold the water is, and having cold, wet clothes isn’t a good idea.”
It makes sense, but when he pulls his shirt up and over his head, my mind goes blank, and I stop breathing. He’s magnificent. Pure male perfection. He doesn’t have the body of a prince, but a god. His large shoulders give way to equally large biceps. As he works to unbuckle the belt holding his holster at his waist, his abs flex into an eight-pack that tapers into a V and disappears beneath his low-cut leather trousers.
His pendant is just as I remember it, a circular medallion with a sun and the quote:lead them into the light. It hangs between his large pectoral muscles. His golden-brown skin is marred with a few raised scars, which just adds to his rugged handsomeness. One slashes across his abs and curves around his waist to his back. Another appears to be a puncture wound on his left shoulder. And the last one is a jagged crescent on his right pectoral muscle. I feel a wave of heated anger that anyone would dare harm him. I want to know how he came by each of his scars so that I can hunt down the ones that put them there and make them suffer. I don’t know why I feel this sense of protectiveness over him, but it’s there and it’s strong.
After his holster is off, he sits and works to remove his boots. He freezes, and my gaze finds his.
A grin plays at his lips. “You’re staring.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“On the contrary, I can be very encouraged.”
I roll my eyes. “Of that, I’m sure.”
Once his boots are off, he moves to the laces of his trousers, and I turn around. “Warn a girl.” I scoff.
He chuckles. I hear the sound of his clothes sliding from his legs.
I try not to imagine what that might look like. “Are you sure you can throw your clothes all the way to the beach, Princess?”
“You’ve seen my muscles; we both know I can. You want me to throw your clothes for you? You’d have to strip for me first.”
“I’ll be taking care of my own clothes, once you’re on the beach, and facing the opposite wall.”
He chuckles again. Then I hear a distant thump. He must have thrown his bundle of items. “See you below,” he says.
A splash echoes in the chamber, followed by the tinkling sound of Daimis moving through the water. I should keep my eyes focused on the dark in front of me. I should not turn around and steal a look at Daimis naked. I should show some decorum.
And yet, when have I ever shown decorum?
I glance over my shoulder just as Daimis is walking out of the water onto the beach. The muscles in his back gleam with rivulets of water running down from his wet hair. I follow the rivulets down his tapered waist to the curve of his perfectly shaped ass. And my mouth drops open. His torso twists and I quickly turn back to face the darkness of the cave. My face is hot. In fact, I’m flushed all over.
A few moments later Daimis calls up to me, “Your turn.”
