Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

SIYANA

By the time we made it into the alcove, my face and hands were practically numb from the cold. At this elevation and nearness to the ocean, the temperatures were far colder than anything I’d experienced up to this point in my life. However, there was something soothing about hearing the waves crashing against the jagged mountainside, as long as I didn’t picture falling out of our alcove and down into the icy depths waiting for me at the bottom.

“Lay my clothes out for me, please, I’m going to shift back.”

I’d just finished unhooking the saddle and bringing it off him, which was made incredibly difficult with how stiff my joints were. Fumbling through the bags, I tugged out what appeared to be trousers and a tunic. Turning over my shoulder with them in hand, I yelped at the sight of Theo—naked.

For some reason, my instinct was to throw the clothes at him and slap my hands over my eyes.

“I told you I was going to shift back, wench,” he said, amusement rich in his tone.

“I thought you were going to wait until after I had the clothes out for you!” I exclaimed in defense, as if I’d been caught red-handed doing something wrong.

I heard the rustling of his clothing and spread my fingers ever so slightly to peek through. Just to see if he was done, of course. While I’d seen his stunning physique on display, with his naked torso and the curve of his muscled ass, what I hadn’t seen prior was the gift between his legs. His fingers quickly tied the trousers in place and I dropped my hands, feeling comfortable with the remainder of his nudity.

Whoever his mate was wouldn’t be disappointed in that department, to say the least.

“Your kind cares far too much about modesty,” he rumbled before tugging his tunic over his head and tucking it into his pants. “Have you never gazed upon a man’s nude body before?”

It felt like a loaded question, but considering I didn’t need to worry about presenting myself as a wholesome princess my father had likely painted me as in the letters I hadn’t seen, I answered honestly. “If you’re asking if I’ve seen a cock before, the answer is yes. I just felt wrong glancing at you without permission. I’m not without manners.”

His jaw ticked with my answer, and he brushed past me without a word as he moved to our supply packs. I watched with my arms crossed against my chest as he lugged them onto his shoulders before grabbing the saddle.

“Let’s go,” he demanded, somewhat harshly, “this alcove has a tunnel that leads into a more enclosed space that should better protect you from the temperatures. Alstrid gathered supplies for us to be able to build a fire within.”

It felt like such a startling change of conversation that I just stared at his retreating back as he walked down the small crack that led into the mountainside. I’d somehow missed it entirely upon my first inspection.

Pulling my hands to my mouth, I attempted to warm them up with my breath as I followed him into the mountain. Darkness swallowed me whole, and I was forced to place a hand on the rock wall to guide me the further in I went. The chill of the rock seeped into my fingers, stealing the little warmth I had managed to breathe into them.

“Theo?”

When he didn’t answer, panic quickly rose up within me as I had a flashback of my dark room as the strange drackya’s eyes stared at me. My throat constricted and my knees trembled.

“Theo?” I called out, louder this time, unable to hide the quiver in my voice.

A warm hand touched my own that rested on the wall, and I startled, feeling on edge.

“Sorry, wench, it’s easy for me to forget that you don’t have the same eyesight as me,” he admitted from the dark void in front of me before his eyes sparked with his magic, illuminating the space enough to see a small outline of his face.

Still feeling a little rattled, I cleared my throat and wrapped my arms around myself. “It’s okay. Can you guide me, though?”

“Of course, give me your good hand.”

I offered it, and the second his fingers wrapped around it, my nerves settled and the knot in my chest loosened.

“I should have gotten you gloves as well,” he breathed out with a hint of frustration biting at his words. “I’m sorry. I keep managing to fuck up. We will get you warmed up in the hot springs within the mountain. The ley line runs through it, bringing warmth to the mountain for the water undine to exist comfortably despite the cold the ice undine require.”

The thought had me practically on top of him as he guided me through the tunnel, an eagerness to submerge myself within the hot water overwhelming me.

Soon enough, the tunnel opened up in a large cave that had a massive fire roaring within it in the corner. The fire itself was nothing more than a heap of uneven logs and odd kindling, but it did the trick, chasing away the worst of the chill in the air.

As soon as my eyes adjusted, I dropped Theo’s hand and helped take a pack from his shoulder. We made quick work of setting up an area to sleep with the blankets we’d brought and the brush that the dragon who’d been communicating with Theo had left for us. It wouldn’t be wildly comfortable, sleeping atop tree branches, but if it meant we were safe for now, it would have to do.

When he finally seemed satisfied with our bed, I was practically prancing around in excitement. Giddiness poured through me as I asked, “Can we go to the springs now?”

While it was warmer here than in our initial landing spot, I felt like my bones themselves had been frozen during our journey, and I was thawing as fast as a glacier.

The fire reflected from the scales on his cheeks as they pulled up with his smile. “Yes, wench, we can go. I need to lay some ground rules for the duration of our stay here first, though.”

He held a finger up. “First, you don’t leave this cave without me. There’s a massive tunnel system here that the dragons frequent. Any other time of the year it would be dangerous, but right now, it would be lethal if you ran into any of the nesting mates. This is when their young will start to hatch, and their territorial instincts are immense.”

I nodded, completely understanding the rule. However, my mind wandered, trying to picture a dragon egg and a baby hatching from it. How big were they? Did they come out with scales?

His voice snapped me from the thoughts as he ambled on, holding up a second finger. “Second, keep your mental barrier up at all times. You haven’t yet trained in mindspeak and don’t know how to keep the connection open to only me. Lucius heard you yelling for me last night with your projection."

So that was why he showed up when he did. I grimaced. I really owed him an apology with how often I seemed to put him in danger.

“It’s okay,” Theo stated, “no human is ever trained until they have a mate bond established. It makes it far easier to feel the connection between their dragon and them and to use it as a base to work with.”

A third finger popped up. “Rule three. If you break rules number one and two, don’t blame me for your death.”

My jaw dropped and I spluttered, “Theo! That is not funny.”

He shrugged. “I beg to differ. With your track record, I felt it pertinent. Let’s get going. I doubt the fire has warmed you up too much yet.”

He held out his hand and I quickly took it, following him down a large tunnel connected to our temporary new home. It was definitely big enough for Theo’s dragon to fit in, so I had no doubt this was the path that the elder dragon had come to bring us the few supplies he’d left.

“How many dragons live here?” I asked, shocked at the way my voice echoed in this area. I lowered my voice instantly. “And do they ever come down to mingle with the drackya?”

Our footsteps were the only sound for a bit as I awaited his response.

Finally, he said, “It continues to shock me, how little we know of each other’s world, when before I was born, our people coexisted. The curse truly had its intended impact, separating us.”

When he worded it that way, a tinge of sadness crept up within me, which was odd. I’d always struggled to picture how the cohesion of our worlds had ever occurred, but after spending some time with Theo, I was beginning to see glimpses of it.

“Let’s wait to continue this conversation until we’re in the springs. I don’t want our voices to startle any unsuspecting dragons, despite Alstrid alerting them to my visit,” he explained, leading me down a new direction as the tunnel curved.

The scent of salt and ash hit me as a draft of wind swept down toward us.

We walked in comfortable silence for a bit, and as the sound of rushing water grew, so did my excitement alongside it. I felt the ground beneath us slowly slope down, and the air grew thicker and warmer as we descended.

“All of the water undine have been barred from using the springs until we are done, and the ice undine would never come down here,” he announced, dropping my hand as we drew closer to the pools of water. They were illuminated from the smallest crack above them that let a stream of light into the cavern.

I came to a stop, suddenly feeling horrible that the dragons had been prohibited from using their own territory because of me. “Maybe we should go back to our cave. I don’t need to be here. This is their home and I’m intruding.”

His head whipped around quickly, eyes narrowing on me. He took slow, calculated steps toward me as he clasped his hand behind his back. “Careful, wench, that almost sounds like your heart is softening toward our kind.”

I opened my mouth to say I still saw the dragons as separate from the drackya, considering they weren’t the ones who had kidnapped our citizens and killed them, but he took me by surprise as his hand lifted to run his fingers along my cheek.

“Besides, I think you forget that I am their king,” he rumbled, dropping his hand to my neck, “and therefore, you are their queen.”

My mouth was suddenly dry, but I forced out the words rolling around in my mind, “Until you divorce me.”

The moment was shattered, and his hand dropped as if my skin burned him.

“Get in the water, wench,” he murmured. “I’ll wait nearby but give you your privacy.”

His footsteps echoed until they slowly faded away and I could no longer see him. Feeling crestfallen, I stepped closer to the pools as I considered the odd crossroads Theo and I seemed to find ourselves constantly at, in regards to our marriage and the undeniable draw that we clearly both felt. I could deny it all I wanted, but that didn’t make our draw any less true.

After it had finally clicked in my brain that he wasn’t my enemy, I was beginning to see that all the reasons we clashed so much were because of our similarities. We were both too stubborn for our own good, guarded, and didn’t want to bow to anyone.

I mulled that over as I stripped free from my restrictive clothing, shivering as I quickly made my way down to the rocky, natural steps that led into the spring. My eyes searched the area, curious as to where Theo was waiting and wondering if he was truly giving me privacy or if he was watching me still.

My nipples pebbled at the thought of him seeing me, but the feeling was also accompanied by a hefty dose of uncertainty. Would he even like my body if he was watching?

A hiss came from me as my foot met the water, and I jerked it back. I wasn’t sure if the water was truly that scalding, or if it was the severe cold biting at my extremities. Slowly, I allowed myself to adjust and waded into the water inch by inch until my hair pooled around my shoulders, floating around me like inky tendrils in the warm water.

My muscles loosened as I glided through the water and a soft moan came from me at the relief I felt. The remainder of the chill I’d been feeling on my nose and cheeks began to fade as the steam billowed around me. I dropped my head back, letting the rest of my hair soak before running my hands through it. There was a silky softness to it, and I wondered what minerals were present in the springs.

As I allowed myself to truly look around, I noticed the most subtle, light-blue streaks etched into the ceiling. They seemed to pulsate with energy and my mouth fell open in wonder. Was this the ley line, visible to the eye?

As my feet landed back on the smooth rock bottom, I scanned the depths of the water, looking for more evidence of the magic, considering Theo told me it ran through the springs. But as I looked around, I caught the briefest glint of silver scales and Theo’s dragon eye in a shadowed recess.

He’d been watching me, openly.

I found it didn’t actually bother me at all that he’d broken his word to give me my privacy.

Was it possible that neither of us actually found the other disgusting after all?