Chapter 26
The last twenty-four hours had crawled by painfully. Ignatius had done his duty and escorted me back to the penthouse like I was a scolded child.
If Ace felt any sort of regret, he hadn’t shown it. He spent the day doing god-knew-what somewhere within the depths of the casino.
As for me, I had spent the day in the luxury of my bedroom. Locked the door—a silly notion, because I knew damn well that Ace likely had a key. Not that I pictured him using it. No, he’d be more likely to kick the damn door down.
His words played on a loop inside my head.
“You’re the fucking crown.”
Of course I was. I was the crown, the scepter, and the damn throne.
What did that make Ace? A knight-turned-king of his own self-made empire?
The question floated in my head while I soaked in the bath. Fragrant salts and oils filled the air, bubbles floated on the surface, and the steamy water surrounded my body.
I closed my eyes, resting my head back against the edge of the tub. It wasn’t easy being me. My life had gone to hell in a handbasket the second I walked into Sevenfold. I had gone from being a short-range precognitive demon to an echo succubus with increased range of my mind’s eye.
Oh, and claimed by a Knight of Hell with a pathological possessive streak.
Temptation crept in to take a peek into the future to see if Ace would ever apologize. I snorted quietly and knew I’d never hear those words from him.
Stubborn, arrogant, infuriating, son of a—
A knock sounded on the bedroom door, firm enough to be audible even from inside the ensuite bathroom.
“Eve. Open up.” Ace’s voice was blunt, the deep timber easily passing through the door and reaching my ears.
Ace couldn’t even be bothered to make it sound like a request.
“Busy! Come back next century!” I called out, sinking another couple of inches into the bathwater. A few strands of my hair fell free from the messy bun piled on top of my head, getting wet and sticking to my neck.
Enough time passed in silence that I thought maybe he had walked away.
That was until I heard the click of the lock turning.
He had gone and retrieved a key. Miracles never ceased to amaze.
The sound of the door opening followed, along with his footsteps.
Didn’t bother opening my eyes as I lounged in the tub. Didn’t need to. I could feel his presence hovering in the doorway of the bathroom.
When he finally spoke, his words were less demanding and more a statement of fact. “We’re leaving.”
“Are we?” One of my eyebrows lifted just enough to convey my disbelief that he thought we were going anywhere together after yesterday.
I heard the sound of his exhale, frustration at my unwillingness to indulge him.
A small and perhaps petty pang of satisfaction tugged at me.
The next time he spoke, he was closer.
“Look at me, Little Spade.”
Opening my eyes, I turned my head to find him crouched down next to the tub. Seeing him dressed in something other than a suit made my expression falter before I schooled it back to indifference.
Never had I seen Ace in something so casual. He wore a pair of black shorts that resembled swim trunks, but in typical him fashion, even those looked tailored. With it, he had on a charcoal henley, sleeves pushed up to his elbows.
“I’m taking you somewhere that will do more for you than the hard porcelain of this tub. Now, you can either stop being difficult and get out on your own or…” He trailed off, leaving the threat unspoken.
“Or what, Ace? Going to pull me out and drag me to wherever you deem appropriate?” It may as well have been his M.O. at this point.
He tipped his head in concession, pursing his lips as he did before responding. “If necessary, yes.”
At least he was fucking honest.
“Five minutes, Eve. Ignatius has already set aside your clothes and packed your bag.” He rose from the crouched position, already assuming that I’d choose to come along. It made me wonder if he had envisioned my compliance just as he had foreseen my arrival at Sevenfold.
Maybe it was the casual outfit, the fact that he hadn’t kicked in the door, or him giving me an illusion of choice, but my curiosity dragged me out of the tub anyway.
Damn him.
The journey to wherever he was taking me wasn’t a short one. Even more out of the norm, he had chosen to drive us there himself as though he didn’t trust anyone else to know where we were going.
My attempts to interrogate him about our destination failed, and instead I was forced to watch as we drove through the desert beyond Superbia’s city limits. We turned onto the road that ran through the mountains, and at some point, Ace veered off onto a trailhead just beyond the jagged range.
Ace navigated the narrow and winding dirt path until he couldn’t go any further with his vehicle. After getting out, he took my hand and led me on a treacherous hike over rocks and twisted trees that looked half dead.
Suddenly the outfit Iggy had picked out for me made far more sense. Because sensible sneakers, faded denim shorts, and a cropped tank top in a rust color that accented my Venetian blonde strands certainly wasn’t what I’d expected.
“This feels the opposite of relaxing in a bath,” I griped, breathless and sweaty as he helped me over another large boulder.
“A little bit further.” He glanced over his shoulder with a smirk. “Trust me.”
A little bit further until what? He left me for dead where no one would find my body?
Just as I began to think we were lost and coming to a dead end, the passage opened up, and before us was a sight that stole my breath away.
Vivid tropical trees surrounded an opening in the side of the mountain.
Somehow in this desolate space, nature had thrived in otherwise barren conditions.
Tree roots spilled into the gaping hole.
Stepping close to the ledge, I leaned over to peer down at what was below. My hand clutched onto Ace’s arm, not trusting I wouldn’t topple forward.
The sight that greeted me was stunning. There was no other way to describe it. About fourteen feet below, there was a cavern filled with ethereal turquoise water that emitted light even in the darker shadows of the surrounding rock.
It wasn’t just some modest pool of water. It was a massive lagoon. From this angle, there was no telling how far it spread beneath us or how deep it went.
Ace leaned in, whispering into my ear, “Told you.”
He stepped back from the edge of the opening, removing his clothes until he only wore the black swim trunks. The sunlight highlighted the inactive runes on his tan skin, accenting every line of muscle cut into his upper body.
The sight of him like that almost made me forget why I was mad at him.
Gesturing at the watery slice of paradise below, he further explained, “This is the grotto. It’s the one place in Superbia that refuses to be conquered by the desert.”
Stepping close to me, he assisted in removing my clothes. I toed off my sneakers, kicking them over towards the neat pile we had made. It left me standing in a black string bikini with gold accents, the heat of the sun above warming my exposed skin.
“How do we get down there?” I asked.
A smile I didn’t particularly care for graced Ace’s lips.
“One way down, Little Spade.” He tipped his head towards the opening.
My eyes darted between him and the drop down into the lagoon. He couldn’t be suggesting we were going to jump, could he?
No indication on his face said he was joking, and that was worse.
“Oh absolutely-the-hell-not.” I shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest.
“It looks higher than it is,” he said as he reached over to grab my hand as he took a step to the edge.
My teeth sank into my bottom lip nervously as I tried to gauge how much truth there was to his claim.
“There has to be another—ah!” Before I could finish my sentence, Ace tugged me to his side. His arm curled around me, and he launched us both over the edge.
The fall felt endless. Perhaps because my heart stopped beating in freefall as air rushed around us. When we hit the surface, the warmth was immediate. The body of water consumed us.
Kicking my way to the surface, Ace already worked on pulling me up with him. I gasped as I wiped water away from my face, heart kicking at my ribs and a giddy smile on my face despite myself.
I hit his shoulder. “Asshole! I could have died!”
Ace laughed, unfazed by my displeasure at being pulled over the edge with him. The sound of him being amused and the genuine smile on his face were rare sights. His eyes looked lighter than I’d ever noticed. I couldn’t be sure if it was a trick of the light reflecting off the water or not.
“Come here,” he murmured as he pulled me up against his chest. My arms wrapped around his neck as I shook my head, still trying to control the thrum of my pulse.
Looking around, I realized the view from above hadn’t done the grotto any justice.
It was even larger than I anticipated, the shape of the lagoon bending to the interior of the cavern, narrowing and widening in parts.
The roots and vines above us hung like curtains, providing a natural canopy to an already magnificent scene.
“How did you find this place?” I asked, unable to hide the awe in my voice at the beauty that surrounded us.
“Stroke of luck during a hike trying to blow off steam.”
His thumb caressed along the dip of my spine at the small of my back.
“Luck?” I didn’t believe for a second that he had just discovered this place randomly.
He shifted us to the edge of the lagoon where there was a flat stone about a foot below the surface that acted as a makeshift bench.
Ace grabbed my waist, maneuvering me up onto the slab without releasing me or putting too much distance between us.
Getting settled there, my arms remained around his neck, and I drank in the sight of him. This place brought something out in him that he didn’t show the rest of the world.
Our eyes met, and he leaned in to press his forehead to mine. “I’ve been wanting to bring you here for a while.”
The confession felt like a hushed secret, one that couldn’t be entrusted to just anyone.