Chapter 27 #2
Then my back slammed into the ground, and I moaned at the root bruising my shoulder.
Darcke was instantly atop me, his knees holding my arms in place and the smile shifting into a smug grin. His tongue poked the corner of his lips, and when he leaned down, heat flared up my neck.
He stared at me for a second before leaning in to whisper in my ear. “Who’s embarrassed now?”
By the end of the day, it wasn’t only my shoulder that ached. I had to swallow a whimper as I got to my feet after the hundredth time Darcke slammed me into the ground. When I felt him ready himself to come for me again, I raised a hand. “Enough. I’ve had enough.”
He’d been pushing me all day to use my magic.
We’d quickly picked up each other’s tells, what we’d feel in the moments before we acted, but that first time was the only time I managed to get Darcke down.
It didn’t matter that I could intercept his moves.
He was far stronger than I was, and unlike what he believed I did, he refused to hold back as he fought me.
“Come on.” Darcke waved for me.
“I said, I’ve had enough,” I snapped, using a tree trunk to catch my breath.
“I heard you.”
I growled at the cold amusement rolling off him.
“I have something that’ll help,” Darcke added. “My own fucking bones ache because yours do.”
I sighed through my teeth when I wasn’t able to lock down the curiosity bubbling to life within me. He kept his face turned away as he started walking in the direction opposite the Hird, slipping in between two-thousand-year-old pines, whose needles peppered the narrow path winding between them.
I debated staying back, but when the warning spread within me that Darcke was turning to come carry me over his shoulder again, I forced my tired legs to follow. It wasn’t like I had anything to go back to anyway—only a hollow tree trunk and an even emptier gut.
The sweet smell of sap and the musky scent of warm leaves that had sunned themselves all day filled my nose, and I was grateful for the shade the tall trees Darcke led me through provided.
My skin was dry and cracking after a full day in the sun—and from the sweat that had poured down my face and body—and as I listened to the waterfall, I decided I’d try to find a secluded spot in the river to wash up.
The sound of water bubbling and rushing grew louder after an hour’s trek uphill, and I hurried my steps when Darcke disappeared behind an especially tall mountain ash.
As I whispered my fingers over its bloodred berries, I halted mid-step.
The tree line ended with the ash, and beyond it was a mountain, the ground beneath it entirely made up of gray stone. Snow sprinkled the mountainside, and the breeze that blew through my leathers was cool. But that’s not what had me gaping.
It was the several black pools of water, and the plumes of steam rising from each, twirling up toward the darkening sky.
“Do you not have hot springs back home?”
Darcke was already getting out of his sweaty clothing, the muscles beneath the smooth skin on his back playing in the dimming light. As he stepped into the mist, it layered over his body, making his skin shine like a newly polished sword.
“I feel that,” Darcke said.
It was supposed to be teasing, but his tone was serious.
I quickly averted my eyes when my face heated.
I’d heard of hot springs before, but Oenskan didn’t have them.
The closest things were the huts my father had ordered built, where a fire was lit and every wall and door was sealed to keep the heat in.
We used them year-round, but I loved them especially in the winter, when we’d make a hole in the ice and alternate between the heated house and the glacial water.
After getting out of his trousers as well, Darcke threw them and his tunic into a smaller pool, where the water bubbled so fiercely it looked like ghostly hands were reaching for the fabric. Then he climbed into the well of water in the middle.
“They come in varying temperatures.” He rested his elbows on the stone, closing his eyes as he leaned his head back. “This one works wonders for sore muscles caused by stubborn girls.”
“Har har,” I said. “Very funny.”
“I don’t joke about sore muscles. Now get the fuck in as I can still feel yours.”
I fidgeted with my tunic. I wanted nothing more than to slip into the welcoming water, but he’d think it strange if I didn’t undress.
And I couldn’t take the shirt off. While there was some sort of strange truce between us right now, there was no way Darcke would keep my faded rune a secret from the king.
I wasn’t even sure if he could keep it a secret. I had no idea how the leash the king’s shaman had tethered to his mind truly worked. It was magic that only the king and the gods were allowed to be wise to.
Darcke opened an eye. “Are you trying to make it a sport not to do all the things you’re craving?”
“No,” I mumbled.
“Then get in.”
I shifted my weight from my heels to my toes.
“I’m sure your gods would be fine with you using the pools. You can pray if that makes you feel better.”
“We don’t pray.” I rolled my eyes. “We honor them through sacrifice.”
Darcke chuckled darkly. “You have sacrificed a lot today already.”
I felt a wave of mirth. “Don’t—”
“Your pride. Your shoulder. My backside hurts from you falling so much.”
“If I get in, will you shut up?”
“I’ll do my best.” Darcke closed his eyes again as I made my way over to the pool.
Without taking off my clothes, I slipped in. A low moan left me when the warm water instantly soothed my muscles, folding around me like a fur warmed by the hearth. I moved farther down, finding a stone to sit on that allowed only my head to remain above the surface.
“I wouldn’t have looked,” Darcke said as bubbles playfully burst on the water between us. “I’m not—”
“You’re not interested. You don’t find me attractive. My body doesn’t tempt you. Did I miss anything?” I tilted my head, and when he didn’t respond, I added, “Good. Can you be quiet so I can enjoy the first nice thing I’ve experienced since setting my foot on this island?”
I crushed my eyelids shut when my voice trembled at the end.
Thankfully Darcke didn’t say anything about the moment of sorrow passing through me, and I was able to shove the self-pity aside as the sound of gurgling water masked the strained silence.
I’d almost fallen asleep when Darcke spoke again. “I was going to say that I’m not a boy. I can control myself in the presence of a beautiful woman.”
I peeked at him, and I was about to roll my eyes when his serious ones found mine.
“You don’t ever have to worry about that with me,” Darcke continued quietly. “I might not be as honorable as you heirs, but I would never do what that asshole Geord and his friends did to you.”
I swallowed, but I couldn’t find any words to respond, so I just let him feel that I’d heard him. He stared at me for a second longer before closing his eyes once more.
The strained silence shifted into a comfortable one that remained with us the entire time we stayed in the pool, and as we walked through the forest toward the Hird, letting the breeze dry our clothes and skin.
I was so relaxed by the time the smoke from the longhouse filled the air and loud voices boomed, shattering the late evening, I wasn’t able to hide the apprehension whirring down the bond, nor the hurt that came from seeing Viljan standing outside the building with Ivren and Rakkel, talking to them as if he’d known them his entire life.
My strides got sluggish, and Darcke turned when I fell behind.
His face went from mine to the longhouse. “Come on,” he said again.
“I don’t want to fight now either,” I joked weakly.
“Then don’t,” he replied. “Let’s go to my ship.”
“But—”
“I thought you didn’t want to fight?”
He was right. I was exhausted, and not only from the training or staying up a whole night waiting to see if he’d let me leave. I hadn’t even processed what Viljan had told me, or what he’d accused me of—or that my loyal guard was no longer that.
Darcke nodded when I fell into step with him again, and we continued the comfortable silence as we walked the dock and onto his ship.