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Forgiveness blooms in the rain-soaked night,
Healing whispers and ginger touches,
Making love and taking flight.
Past sins washed away in the heart’s cascade,
In the warmth of love, where all fears fade.
Nakoa turned us to face the singer and her minstrels boasting stringed instruments: a mandolin, lute, and harp. The entire audience, only a handful of people - an orc, a dryad, a few elven, and a fae…
A sensation of rightness settled over me, and I know Nakoa felt it too, as if the stars had aligned, and this was precisely where we were supposed to be.
Along with a sensation of deep longing that I had buried away a century ago.
The desire to sing.
It had been years since I had sung for anyone… A sense of… Knowingness filled me that I would survive this.
And that one day, I might be able to finally put away my sword and sing.
A female with dark green skin and long braids that I quickly realized were snakes appeared beside us dressed in a chiton, looking surprisingly elegant, considering we were in the middle of nowhere.
Her voice was deep and soothing and, somehow,familiar… Though I knew not from where.
“Are you in need of lodging?”
“Yes, please… Can we also have a bathing tub and hot water sent in, please?” Nakoa asked for us.
She gave us a warm smile. “The baths here are thermal. We have one in every room… Would you like me to send in dinner?”
“Yes, thank you.”
The gorgon gestured for us to follow. She seemed to glide away as we trailed behind her. Something felt blessedly different and yet vaguely familiar about this place.
The room was simple but elegant and warm. A large, fluffy pallet of furs sat on a dais in the center of the room, just in front of a fireplace which flared to life the moment we entered. Steam curled from the surface of a large thermal bath at the corner of the room. Candles, bathing oils, and soaps lined the edge, along with a set of linen towels.
“There’s an enchanted bell beside your bed if you require…anythingelse.” She gave us a pointed, knowing look as though she knew some secret we’d yet to discover.
Nakoa and I thanked her, feeling a little taken aback by her and her tavern. As soon as the door shut behind her, two covered trays of food appeared on a small table against the wall.
“Bath or bed?” Nakoa asked.
“Bath, please.”
Iwilledaway my shredded fighting leathers, and Nakoa his a moment later, just before descending the steps into the thermal bath. As soon as he sat back on the stone seat beneath the water, dual groans left our throats. Every rigid muscle in our bodies relaxed.
A long silence passed between us; only the sound of the crackling fire filled the room. I’d spent the last few hours with my face buried in his chest, and now that it wasn’t… I mourned its absence.
After what I had just survived, thanks tohim, I would allow myself this comfort. The comfort of mysoulbound. No matter how brief it was destined to last.
I took a deep breath, trying to ease the pang of nervousness before I shifted in Nakoa’s arms to straddle his lap, keeping my face buried in his neck.
The tether between us throbbed painfully, and I felt some innate need to soothe it… And to show Nakoa with more than words, I was grateful he set aside his hatred for me to come find me. Even though I’d abandoned him. That he’d risked his life to save me.
I reached for the soap, lathering it in my hands before massaging it into his scalp. A metaphorical olive branch to declare a truce.
Peace.
