14. Rosalina
14
Rosalina
H oly fuck, he’s gorgeous.
He’s so tall his entire torso is out of the water, and I can clearly see every inch of his muscular chest. He’s totally ripped, and not in the way Lucas was, with his specialized muscles from hours at the gym. This fae’s muscles are broad and toned, created from actually moving, and—if the small scars and nicks that line his body are any indication—from fighting.
This water is so freaking clear I could probably see lower if I wanted to. Maybe a small, very small, part of me is curious. But I am no Peeping Tom, so I force my eyes up. Only, ogling his eight-pack abs and perfect pecs doesn’t seem less creepy at the moment.
“Enjoying the view?” He grins, all white teeth and crooked smile. “I don’t blame you.”
Only my nose is above the waterline as I dunk in the pool. I need to get out of here. Except there are zero clothes waiting for me until Astrid returns, and even if there were, I can’t leave these hot springs without giving him a complete eyeful. My only option is to wait him out.
Of course, he doesn’t just have an amazing body. Golden blond hair grazes his shoulders, with small braids threading pieces away from his face. He’s got dark brows, and it looks like his nose may have been broken a few times—which is strange because if he’s fae, shouldn’t he heal quickly? Or is that my imagination talking? His nose doesn’t distract from how handsome he is, though. Like his crooked smile, everything about him is captivating to behold.
My core tightens and I flush as, with growing horror, I realize he’s studying me the way I’m studying him. I clutch my basket close to my chest and back away, hoping the ripples in the water will stop him from getting too good a look at me, suddenly self-conscious of the soft swell of my stomach and my rubbing thighs. A memory of Lucas slapping my legs to see how they jiggled flashes in my mind.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, sticking my head out of the water enough to sputter the question.
“Bathing,” the fae says, finally lowering that distracting muscular chest into the water. “And inspecting Kel’s new pet.”
Hot rage simmers inside me and I’m surprised the water doesn’t boil. “I’m no one’s pet.”
He raises a dark brow. “We’ll see about that.”
I swallow and fight to gain control over myself. The need to be angry surges, but his eyes are like a drug. He smiles at me, and it seems so genuine. I stare back at him, breathing hard, waiting for something to happen. My body shivers and the muscles between my legs tighten. I want to touch him more than anything else, and yet I can’t move.
Get control of yourself, girl. I wade further away. “Who are you?”
“Who am I?” Another smirk. Is everything a joke to him? “The name’s Dayton.”
“Dayton,” I repeat. I say it so casually, not realizing how it would sound in my mouth. Like sunshine and fire.
He blinks at me. His eyes are blue. Not like Keldarion’s, with his ice chip eyes. No, Dayton’s are like a sea before a storm…
Then I realize while I’ve been staring at his stupid eyes, he’s moved closer to me, and I’m naked and he is most certainly naked as well.
I give another peep of fear and walk backwards until I hit a rock wall. Thankfully, that stops his advance.
“And I suppose you work here too?” I ask, if only to distract myself.
His brows shoot up and he laughs, a deep throaty sound that is so joyous it involuntarily brings out a smile of my own.
“Love,” Dayton says, “you really don’t know me at all. I would rather sift my cock through hot coals than work. ”
A playfulness claws its way out of me, and I smile back. “Well, you’re going to have to stop being so lazy. Marigold says she’s putting everyone to work now I’m here.”
“Now that’s unfair,” he says. “You can’t bring Marigold into this. If you’ve met her, then you know how positively terrifying she can be.”
“You’re teasing me.”
“Only a little.” He gives a white-toothed grin. “What’s your name, love?”
“Rosalina.” I paddle around carefully as I try to gauge this fae. His kindness seems different from Astrid’s and Marigold’s. I don’t miss the flirtatious tone, and how his eyes haven’t left me since he stepped into the pool.
Rationally, I know I should be afraid. I’m literally naked and ten feet away from a male who could overpower me in a second. But nothing in my gut is screaming fear. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, like everything in me wants to move closer to him.
Maybe it’s some fae trick, but if I’m ever to escape this enchanted castle, I need to be brave. I can’t make it out of here on my own. I need information, and maybe even allies.
I push across the basket filled with bubble bath, shampoo, and other bottles. “If you’re going to bathe, here.” My cheeks flush as I quickly avert my eyes, hoping he can’t tell how exposed and vulnerable I feel. I cross my arms defensively over my chest beneath the water, though he’s probably too far away to see anything.
“Why, thank you.” He takes out the bar of soap.
“So,” I say, “what can you tell me of the master of this castle?”
“The master? Huh…” Dayton looks to the rock ceiling as he slides the bar of soap over his body. This might have been a terrible idea because I’ve totally forgotten what question I’ve asked as the soap suds slide across his broad shoulders. “The icy prick? More power than brains. Someone you really don’t want to piss off. But you already knew that, figuring you spent the first night in the dungeon.”
“Jeez, word spreads fast around here.”
“What can we say? You’re the new shiny object that everyone wants to get a glimpse of.”
The mysteries keep piling up, but it seems everyone who works in this castle doesn’t get out much.
Dayton turns slightly; there’s a scar down his spine. A giant one. Three jagged lines ripple down the perfect bronzed skin of his back.
“What happened—” The words are a breath on my lips before I can think better of it.
He quickly turns, flashing another smile as he slides the soap across his muscular chest, then his hand disappears beneath the water. “Can’t forget the most important part.” His gaze locks with mine as his arm moves up and down.
I’m pretty sure I’d be dripping if I wasn’t already in this pool. I lower and blow bubbles in the water, thinking of the first night the master locked me in the dungeon. It wasn’t Dayton and the other servants’ fault, but I can’t fool myself into thinking they’re my friends.
Another memory flashes into my mind: the young fae man with the chain around his neck, his golden eyes, the way his hair fell across his brow. I rise my head out of the water a little to stare at the fae across from me. Mercifully, he’s thrown the soap back into the basket, though I’m not sure what he’s doing now is much better. His torso stretches, muscles elongating as he massages the shampoo gel into his long hair. Something catches my eye. A seashell necklace bobs over his chest, interlaced with pearls and a jagged piece of red sea glass in the middle. It’s beautiful.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything, love.”
“When I first came here, I saw a young man in the dungeon. I was wondering if you knew why he was there.”
Dayton ducks under the water, washing the shampoo from his hair. When he rises, dark blond tendrils fall across his face. “A man in the dungeon? Hmm.” The water cuts between us as he moves closer. This time I have nowhere to go.
“Yes. He didn’t seem dangerous. What was he there for?”
“Well, I have a question for you,” Dayton murmurs, and now he’s so close I can see all the shades of blue in his eyes, the rippling turquoise and deep sapphire of an ocean. “Was he handsome?”
It’s such a ridiculous question. A question that has nothing to do with anything. I should shove him away for asking it. But the face of the man in the dungeon appears before me as if in a waking dream. The depths of his golden eyes, the tremble of his full lips. I can’t help but tell the truth. “Yes.”
Dayton’s brows shoot up, and he laughs again. This time, the sound trembles all the way to my core, and I clamp my legs shut.
The fae moves closer to me and the slick rocks press against my spine. He reaches out to grab a wet strand of my hair. “What do you want with him?”
“To free him,” I say, then amend, “At least to a room, like me. It doesn’t seem fair he’s in the dungeon.”
“Why?” Dayton is so close, his warm breath caresses my ear. “Do you want his gratitude? Hope he’ll reward you?”
No, of course not. My answer is simple. We’re both prisoners, and somehow, I can feel he’s as undeserving of that chain as I am. But Dayton’s words are a fire within me, and I can’t help but be consumed by them. I feel my nipples pebble beneath my fingers, and I drop my hands to fists at my side to quell this ache inside my body.
Dayton’s blue eyes burn down at me. His large, callused hand snatches my jaw and forces me to look up at him. “You know, the master isn’t the only one to rule this castle. It’s also governed by three other princes.”
“Three other princes.” My voice is nothing but a breath. The connection of his hand on my skin is a current of energy, and I need more of it. My body trembles, and I fight the urge to reach out and touch him.
“Indeed. I’m sure you can figure out who.”
I blink, finding words like sifting through sand. Four wings, four realms. “A prince for each of the four seasons.”
“Good girl.” His thumb skims over my bottom lip. “You might have better luck begging one of them for mercy than our cold master. Do you know how to beg, Rosalina?”
All the breath in me comes out in a single gasp and I am nothing but molten rock, simmering in this water.
“My Prince!” A high, shocked voice echoes across the room. Astrid stands on the shoreline, a bundle of clothes in her arms.
Dayton drops his hand from my jaw.
With the loss of the connection, my sanity comes back. How in the blazons had I lost it? And with the return of my mind, the words finally register.
My Prince.
My fucking Prince.
This hot spring fae is a freaking prince. I want to die. Here I’ve been trying to cajole information out of him like he was one of the servants. I suppose I should be thankful he didn’t lock me back in the dungeon.
“Apologies, m’lord,” Astrid stammers. “I didn’t think you’d be here.”
“It’s alright, Astrid,” Dayton says, making his way to the shore. “I wanted to meet our new guest.”
And that’s when, with growing horror, I realize Dayton is getting out of the water. I should look away.
But I don’t.
And holy fucking shit. His ass looks sculpted by the gods, and I barely get the glimpse of something very long and very erect between his legs before he wraps a white towel low on his hips.
“Rosie,” he smirks, totally catching my creepy gaze, “why not try charming the Summer Prince for what you want? I’ve heard he’s the most handsome. And best in bed.”
Dayton’s stupid, perfect laughter echoes in the chamber as he leaves.