Chapter Twenty-Five #2
A few minutes earlier I’d have said no, but I swallowed and forced myself to straighten. After another breath, I nodded again, and the Karzhari rose to her feet, stepping out of the way so I had room to stand.
“The path is clear. You will not be disturbed on your walk to the River Caverns.”
The world didn’t quite feel right beneath my feet, and I swayed for a moment before finding my balance. There was a gentle touch on my arm to steady me, but once she was sure I wasn’t going to fall, she turned and walked to the door, beckoning me to follow.
“But, I’m naked.”
I gestured to myself, hoping she wasn’t expecting me to trek through Korvashan nude. Kael had told me that most Morraki lived on the level beneath the Markets, just above the River Caverns, but the High Ledge was a lot farther away, so it wouldn’t be a quick trip.
She turned, reaching through the doorway. Someone had to be standing on the other side because when she faced me, she held what looked like a long, red cloak.
“You will wear the Shavari’zorr.”
It looked just like the red blanket Kael had said was mine, and some buried part of me reared up, greedy to feel it wrapped around me.
I was across the room faster than I had thought I could move, but the Karzhari kept her soft smile, as if she’d expected nothing less. When she swung it around me, I shivered at the touch of the cool silk, muscles I hadn’t known were tense relaxing as I clutched it to me.
She tied the cloak at my neck, then pulled the hood up over my head. While the front had no other closures, I was covered to my ankles, and I sighed as I wiggled within it, the fabric caressing my heated flesh.
“It is time to go.”
My fists were clenched in the fabric, holding it to my belly, but she wrapped her hand around my elbow through it, giving me a gentle tug towards the door. I glanced back at the bed, another whine rising in my throat, until she began to make a softer version of the purr Kael used to comfort me.
“It is okay. You will return to your nessha soon. But doesn’t a bath sound nice? You can cool off and wash the zharin away.”
Once she mentioned it, I could feel the slick running down my thighs and the sweat coating the rest of me. The smell that Kael had said was me drowned out any other scents around me, and the thought that I was soiling the pretty cloak had my kethra pulsing in erratic patterns.
“Yes!”
Her long legs had no trouble keeping up with my hurried pace as I left the bedroom and headed for the door to the corridor. I barely noticed the second Karzhari in the kitchen, or the third waiting outside my home.
“This way.”
She tugged me in a different direction than the one Kael had taken when we went down to the River Caverns, but my mind was too tangled in other things to pay much attention.
I wanted to curl up and cuddle inside the cloak, but I was filthy and didn’t want it to end up dirty, and the struggle between the two desires kept me distracted for most of the walk.
The dampness of the air was what let me know we had reached the underground river, and I was so desperate to clean the sweat and slick away that I headed for the first pool, but the Karzhari at my side pulled me away from it. Her continued purr was the only thing that kept me from growling again.
She led me to a small opening off to the side that I hadn’t noticed before, a symbol glowing on the wall beside it. The passage was dark enough for my panicked thoughts to stop circling, but we stepped out into a new cavern before the fear could sink in and take hold.
The cavern was smaller than the others I’d been in. Several pillars separated the space, covered in glowing purple moss. The same flowers that hung in Kael’s bedroom grew along the floor and walls too, revealing multiple small pools of water that sparkled from the light of the plants.
“This is the omega chamber. No other dynamic is allowed here. It is safe.”
I was mesmerized by the beauty of it as she led me past the first couple pools. The one we headed for had two more Karzhari perched on the sides, and I spotted what looked like candles burning between the glowing flowers.
“This is the pool we use during trehvyr. It is one of the few that is not warmed by the river flowing near the surface. The water here rises from deep underground, joining with the river farther in the caverns where young are taken to bathe.”
I drew in a breath, the mineral tang of the vapor in the air breaking through my own scent. The lighting along with the quietness of the omega chamber gave it a soothing atmosphere, and some of my worries eased away.
“Would a cool bath feel nice?”
Blinking at the Karzhari by my side, I swallowed and nodded. I wasn’t burning with fever the way I had been, but I was still warm, and I was coated with sticky sweat and slick.
“Let me take this—”
I cut her off with a snarl as she reached for the tie on the cloak and jerked away from her. Another Karzhari who had been behind me kept me from falling into a nearby pool, but I jerked away from her too.
“It’s okay, Serenya. We will give it back once you’re clean. You want to be clean, right? And you don’t want your pretty Shavari’zorr all wet. It wouldn’t be nice to have something wet sticking to you.”
I nodded slowly, then shook my head. I still didn’t want to lose the feel of the silky cloak against my skin, but some of my prior concern returned. Enough for me to push my hands through the front and fumble with the tie until I got it loose.
“Thank you, Serenya. You’re doing good. Let’s get in the bath.”
I narrowed my eyes at her as she carefully took the cloak from my hands, but when she only set it aside on what looked like a table, I eased toward the water. I kept watch of her and the others in the cavern with us, but at the first touch of the water lapping around my skin, I let out a sigh.
It was lovely. So cool against my heated skin, washing away the sticky mess that had run down my legs.
A part of my brain knew I was acting strange. That my emotions were swinging wildly over silly things.
I hushed that part and shoved it back in its corner because I couldn’t find it in me to care.
My eyelids fluttered closed as I shuffled deeper into the water, the relief intense enough to pull a moan from my chest. When fingers brushed over my hair and then urged me to lean back, I didn’t resist, letting my body go limp in the pool as I floated.
For a time, my mind was still. Hands moved over my body, dragging a soft cloth between each finger and toe, scrubbing my scalp with divine nails, massaging my neck and shoulders. The water muffled any sound, and the dimness let me pretend it was all a dream.
I floated, simply existing. Breathing in and out. Blinking up at the stalactites.
Until my lower belly tensed, making my breath catch as muscles already sore complained about the abuse.
The Karzhari must have been waiting for a sign that they were back, because when I gasped and tried to sit up, there were hands behind my head to keep me from going under.
When I got my feet beneath me and stood, the Karzhari who had come into my room was waiting just beyond the water’s edge, holding a towel open.
“It is time to go, Serenya. Your alpha is waiting.”