43. Forty-Three - Cleaning Up

Forty-Three - Cleaning Up

Edric

They are a muddy mess, the both of them.

Loric looks up from the salts he’s just poured into the bath water and his eyes go wide before he scurries away.

That is for Ana’s benefit, he would have stayed to scold Viggo otherwise.

“You look like you had fun without me.”

“We did.” She reaches for me and Viggo walks her to me, not setting her down while she pulls me to her for a kiss. “But we could have had more if you were with us.”

I smile, instead of telling her I don’t enjoy swimming in bodies of water I can’t see the bottom of. There will be time to divulge that irrational fear later.

But Viggo meets my eyes and offers me a knowing look.

“I don’t think you are ready for a bath yet.” I say, looking at the clean and steaming water.

“Should we go back outside and have Blicks bring out a bucket?” Viggo laughs with us, but he does, finally, set her down and goes to the corner of the room with its tiled floor and hidden drain.

I lean down to whisper in her ear. “I won’t need a bucket.”

Taking her hand, I lead her to where Viggo waits for me, his jaw tense. He looks at Ana. “It tickles.”

I place my finger under his chin and brush my lips across his. “Careful. You’ll scare her away before she gets to enjoy her bath.”

Then, I whisper the soft words under my breath before he can give some cheeky retort.

His skin flickers and he shivers as the muddy remains of their lake visit turns to liquid and slides from him.

Jaw flexing, lips pursed tight, he manages not to laugh or jerk away from me.

The mud drips to the tiles and slides toward the train, and I keep my finger where it is a moment longer than I have to. Viggo’s glare makes me bite my tongue and I don’t bother to hide my smile.

“That is a nifty trick,” Ana says, looking at the pale mud dried on her arm. “My turn?”

Stepping out, Viggo brushes at his arms to get rid of the remaining prickles and mutters something under his breath, but Ana doesn’t hear it. She’s taken his place and turned her head up to look at me.

I repeat the steps, like it’s a ritual.

She gasps, eyes wide, and when her mouth opens she lets out a shivering laugh. “Elf magic is so strange.”

“But useful when he wants it to be,” Viggo says, softly.

It takes half the time for Ana’s mud to slide off of her.

There was less to begin with, and I don’t feel like teasing her the way I do Viggo.

Now that both of them are free of their mud, Viggo hefts Ana up over his shoulder and she squeals as he squeezes her ass and turns her to me. “After the torture of your magic tickles, I believe our Ana deserves a kiss.”

He holds her up to me and I chuckle when he doesn’t turn her around. “She always deserves a kiss. For the ordeal of those tickles, she deserves more.”

I press a kiss to her pussy where it peeks out between her legs and she makes the sweetest little sound.

I don’t do more. The night is nearly half gone, and our human lover needs more rest than either of us.

I help Viggo get her into the tub and he goes with her.

“You’re coming in too,” she says, sleepily reaching for me.

“If you like.” I touch her finger tips before stepping away to remove my clothes and listen as Viggo murmurs soft words to her.

I can’t hear what he says, but I feel like I would agree with him, solely by his tone.

The bath was built by elves and is big enough for five, so there is more than enough room when I step into the water with them.

The concoction Loric made for them is white and sparkling. It smells like late summer blossoms and rosemary, and Ana looks at me from where she’s nestled against Viggo’s chest. Her eyes are heavy and her smile is soft.

When I reach for her, she comes to me and Viggo only sways with her for a moment.

“Did you enjoy your task tonight?”

“No.”

“Why not?” Ana asks.

“Several of the other guardians feel slighted by my placement. More than a few have rightly guessed that I am here thanks to Kirra’s whispers in the Queen’s ear. I don’t blame them for despising me because of it… it is just tedious spending time with people constantly watching you for mistakes.”

“If you were only here because the Queen and Kirra are lovers, the forest would already show signs of disrepair,” she says.

“If I was only here because the Queen and Kirra are lovers,” I say, “I would have skipped the meeting with my colleagues entirely. Focusing all my energy on maintaining the two of you? Sounds like the perfect occupation.”

She laughs and presses a kiss to my collar bone before looking back to Viggo. “Leaf likes your sister.”

He picks up one of her feet and begins to knead at the sole with his thumbs. “Most people do.”

“I think she’s trying to use Leaf against us.”

“How could she possibly do that?” I ask.

“She came to my shop today and started asking all sorts of questions… the kind that are actually meant as statements.”

“And what did she have to say?”

She presses her lips together and her gaze locks with Viggo. It’s something they’ve talked about before.

Something she doesn’t think Viggo wants to hear again.

But she doesn’t need to say it. I can guess.

“I accept that Kirra’s concerns are valid,” I tell Ana, lacing my fingers in hers and looking at Viggo before I kiss the top of her head. “But we did not bring her here to change a decision we already made. We are yours… for as long as you live. The Queen is the only one who could keep us from you, and I refuse to believe she is cruel enough to do that.”

Ana’s head tilts. “You’d obey her if she told you we couldn’t be together.”

“She is the only one with the power to force it.” Viggo’s voice has gone low and he glares at the milky water.

“There are spells an elf of her age can perform. No one knows exactly how old she is, but I would guess she’s more than a thousand years my senior.”

“Elves can live that long?”

“When they are blessed by the Goddess, yes.”

She looks at Viggo and I wonder if she’s calculating the years.

“If she chose to do it, there is a way around it.” I say. “Her magic is tied to the land she holds dominion over…”

“We’d have to leave.”

Viggo glares at me and pulls her close. “Stop worrying about the future, sweetling. Let us love you now. We’ll face our challenges as they find us.”

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