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Fennan toyed with the sword at his hip. “As much as I hate having the prick around, I have to say I’m glad he’s on our side and not against us—even though I’d rather stab out my own eyes with a fork than fightwiththe pale ones.”

Katana’s brows rose. “I suppose I do not know a lot about Hel. Why would you call him the master of darkness and what are pale ones?” Everyone looked amongst each other in a way that sent a chill down her spine. In the couple days she’d spent with this group, Hel had never given her a reason to think he was anything but loving to Valeen. Powerful certainly, but the way he looked at her, it was like she was the only thing that mattered in his world. The way she’d always wished Atlanta would look at her. “He has not hurt Valeen, has he?”

“It’s not her anyone needs to worry about,” Piper said, turning away with a frown.

“You mean he hurts other people?”

“That’s the understatement of the year.” Fennan’s tone was harsh though Katana didn’t think he meant to snap at her. “And the pale ones were once elves but now they’re monsters who eat people and have no remorse or conscience. He created them.”

Katana blinked rapidly trying to picture elves eating people and shook her head to clear that image. “Excuse me? He created them how?”

“Oh, I know!” Tif’s hand shot up and she jumped in place then blushed when everyone looked at her. “Well, according to him it was the All Mother’s punishment, not entirely his doing. Something about balance and consequences for magical greed. I don’t understand it myself, but you might.”

“Even you’re defending him now?” Fennan groaned.

“The important thing is he’s on our side so none of us need to worry about him,” Thane said quickly. “Do you want to see more of the grounds, Katana?”

So apparently there was a lot she needed to catch up on, but she’d rather hear it from her sister. “That would be lovely.”

They left the others behind and walked side by side on a path toward the gray high cliffs at the back of the castle. It wasn’t long before their walk touring the grounds brought them to a hot spring surrounded by a small grove of pink and purple poplar trees. The sunshine brought out the bright blooms and butterflies danced in the air. A quiet wind made the grass and flowers sway and carried a sweet scent.

Thane stopped at the water’s edge and dipped his fingers in. “This is called the Casburn Springs. It’s named after an elven ancestor of mine. It’s hot but not scalding. I used to swim here when I was young, but I don’t even remember the last time I went in.”

“Should we get in then?” Katana lit up with the idea. She hadn’t had a bath since she arrived and had only wiped herself down with a cloth. She had been too timid to ask the servants to fill the tub.

“If you want to, I can keep watch.”

“You want to watch me bathe?” She slowly smiled.

His cheeks flushed and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean you… the area for—you know what I mean.”

“You are cute when you blush.” She pushed the sleeves of her dress off her shoulders and let the fabric pool around her feet, leaving her in a bralette and high-cut underwear. “I was teasing by the way.”

“Um.” His eyes widened as they trailed down her form. He didn’t try to look away or pretend like he wasn’t inspecting every inch of her flesh. But it wasn’t in a way that made her skin crawl or even brought a blush to her cheeks. He was simply taking in what was in front of him.

“So surprised. You already untied my dress once and had me on your lap in something almost as revealing.” She winked and dipped her toe in.

“I—what?”

“Have you forgotten already?” She sank down into the water until it reached her throat and sighed. “This was exactly what I needed.”

“No, I just didn’t expect you to strip down like that I guess.”

“I am not ashamed of my body. It is beautiful.”

He laughed and the sound of it made her stomach flutter. “Well, I had forgotten that goddesses aren’t as modest. In Adalon there is a certain dress code among females. Males don’t walk around with their shirts off either unless training on a particularly warm day or in close company.” He sat at the edge of the water and tucked his knees toward his chest. “Did Atlanta hit you, Katana?”

Katana’s breath stopped and she ran her hands through the warm water. “Why would you think that?”

“The night I found you under the tree, you flinched when I raised my hand. And there’s a few other things you’ve said…”

It wasn’t something she liked to talk about. “He did.”

“How many times?” His voice had dropped lower.

“Too many to count,” she whispered. She didn’t know why she felt she could tell him things she didn’t confess to others. Lying to him felt wrong.

“And you stayed?” He sounded like he wanted to truly know without judgment.