Chapter 7
S he awoke with a start. The light-giving tree still shone its golden light down upon her despite the surrounding gloom, and the flowers still bloomed happily beneath it.
There was no night or day in the Evergloom, so she was unsure how long she’d slept.
Her head instantly turned to where the Dark Elf had been the last she’d seen him.
But he wasn’t there. If he were anywhere close, her elf ears would know.
Did he leave her down here to fend for herself?
Part of her was relieved to be rid of him, but the other part was anxious about being left alone in this Evergloom. A place that was so foreign to her and a place where she’d been so out of it, she almost died at the hands of a nixie, if he hadn’t come to her rescue.
Dying to a nixie would’ve been a pathetic way for her to go.
She grew up in Emerald Forest, knew all the fairy creatures, and knew how they hunted.
She was also a trained soldier; her senses should have been more in tune with her environment.
This Evergloom did things to her sensibilities, dulled them somehow.
There was an itching sensation coming from her side. Her wound. She’d nearly forgotten. She could use her healing magic on it, but first, she’d need to clean it.
The pixies had not returned since last night. That was a relief. No need to admonish herself; she fully realized what she was planning on doing wasn’t the smartest thing. But her wound needed tending to, and it was best to do so while he was nowhere in sight. If he ever returned.
She took her hair down from its ponytail once she’d approached the pool of water.
She always put her hair up in a high ponytail, which was practical for her.
But it also hid how long her hair was. Elves, both male and female, tended to grow their hair out long, but only males would wear ponytails.
Female elves wore their hair down and placed jewels or flowers about their crowns.
Aelrie wearing her hair in a ponytail signified that her job was a soldier.
Taking a deep breath for what she had to do next, she released it and slowly yet deliberately removed her clothing one by one until she was completely nude, even without undergarments.
The strict soldier training was still deeply ingrained in her, so she folded her clothes and uniform neatly and placed them on the grass.
Under any other circumstances, she wouldn’t dare venture into the water naked, but getting her clothes or even her bra and panties—which were made of cotton—wet would not be a good idea.
The Evergloom wasn’t cold, but wearing wet clothes in this damp environment would make her uncomfortable and might cause illness.
The pool was crystal-clear; she could easily see the smooth gray rocks and white sand beneath as she stepped in. She didn’t have time to test the water’s temperature first, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. He might return.
That Dokkálfar had been right about one thing, the water was cold, but not so much that it was wholly unpleasant.
Her nipples hardened instantly, but she fought back the instinct for modesty and continued her way to the waterfall.
The pool came up to her hips as she approached the falling water, stretching her hands out and cupping them, bringing them back to take a drink.
It was cool and refreshing. Instantly, all the fatigue and need for thirst left her body.
Was this water magically infused? She almost forgot herself and forgot who might also be near.
Everything within her begged her to run from the dark, unknown chaos of the Evergloom, forget her revenge, and try her best to eke out a normal life for herself.
She doubted she’d get work as a city guard now and forget continuing a peaceful life as a temple guard.
Her reputation was ruined because her charge had been murdered under her watch.
Joining up for military service would have been a good idea career-wise, but out of reach now because she chose to be a temple guard after her training, and the military only accepted cadets.
The only things available for her now would be to join the volunteer soldiers heading north to help the Wood Elves in their battles against the orcs, or she could become a mercenary who takes on only the farthest and most dangerous missions.
Either way, the life she had envisioned for herself, a lifetime of servitude to her high priestess, was forever gone, stolen in the blink of an eye for as long as it took for that assassin to kill Lindana.
These thoughts occupied her mind until she shook herself free of them.
She’d always get lost in thought while bathing.
But this was not the time or place. She turned around, leaving the waterfall, but remembered her wound, so she stopped at the center of the pool, held her breath, and went under.
With her entire body submerged, the water became warmer for her.
And just like the water from the waterfall, this water was magical.
She felt cleansed as if she had spent an entire day at the bathhouse.
As coincidence and maybe even fate determined, when she shot out of the water, taking in a big breath of air, he stood at the edge of the pool by her discarded clothing.
He was carrying something in his arms, and his mouth dropped open while his eyes ran all up and down her body, but especially lingered on her plump breasts with erect nipples and the curves of her waistline as the narrowness of her waist transitioned to the fullness of her hips.
And thank the gods the water came up to her hips, and sensitive areas were still underwater.
It wasn’t that she was ashamed of her body.
She was modest. Although what concerned her more was how he stared.
There was a hunger she had not noticed before.
His eyes were predatory in the gloom like a wolf waiting in the distance.
Without considering a haphazard means of concealing her nakedness first, her eyes darted around for all possible exits and things she could improvise as a weapon.
Not wanting to tear her eyes from him for too long, she swept her head around, but there was nothing around to use as a weapon.
She was trained in hand-to-hand combat, though …
If he came for her, she would have a reason to kill him.
Her muscles tightened; her body was ready to react at the slightest movement.
But when she met his eyes, something unexpected happened.
He looked down, not meeting her gaze. Her stance loosened.
Was he blushing?
She stared him down as she exited the pool of water, daring him to look up at her. The water droplets fell from her freshly cleaned, slickened body. With the fear of him attacking her gone, now came the shame and embarrassment.
What had she done? This was the stupidest idea she’d ever come up with, in a day of stupid ideas.
“Move!” she ordered, and he took a big step back, as she hastily grabbed her clothes, but couldn’t get to them quickly because she’d folded them neatly before.
Her hands shook as she searched for her panties first, and they were still shaking as she pulled them over her hips, up, not getting them on fast enough for her liking.
But she put her bra on the fastest she’d ever done before, clasping the back hooks in one quick motion.
The flimsy undergarments clung to her flesh, making her pray that they stayed in place and didn’t shift as she thrusted her limbs through her shirt and pants, but it was hard to do so quickly with her body still wet.
The tunic would make her stick out too much down here with the Starsun emblems on it, and there was no need for the leather belt and scabbard as she no longer had her short sword with her, so she tossed those aside and opted to wear only a shirt and pants.
She stared him down the whole time, mad at him for the embarrassing thing she had done herself.
He continued to look at the ground but caught her eye in the corner of his eye.
Her hair was wet and heavy, and she didn’t want it to get her clothes damp, so she tilted her head to the side and wrung the water out.
This is when he stole a glance at her. She was dressed, so she couldn’t be mad at him for looking at her.
Also, he had the good grace to know when to shut up and not turn this into a scene.
Shoving her feet into her cloth boots, she remembered her wound. She stood in front of him and lifted her undershirt. The wound was closed, but the skin around it was turning a vile purple color. There was a heavy feeling in the air. He was watching her intently now.
Did he feel ashamed for giving her such a nasty cut? Good. He should feel ashamed.
She placed her hand on her side and breathed in.
The healing power flowed through her body, and the warmth spread from her hand to her side where the poisoned dagger took a slice at her.
The wound wasn’t deep, but it was enough to let the poison seep into her blood.
She’d removed the poison from her body yesterday, but the wound must have gotten infected.
When she removed her hand, the purple color was gone, and not even a scar remained.
Her healing powers were quite good. She only became a soldier and not a healer because she grew up in a forest, and spending her life stuck in a temple healing the sick and injured was less than ideal for her.
Though her job before now was spending most of her time in a temple as the high priestess’s guard, so maybe there wasn’t that much of a difference.
The assassin was still; he hadn’t said anything or made a motion toward her. She looked back at him with an angry face, but it was mostly due to her own embarrassment. Why was this so awkward? She needed to do something to cut the tension welling up inside her.