Page 136

‘Perhaps you should join me this time…’ she ventured.

Wilder surveyed her. ‘Perhaps I should.’

She watched as he stripped off his clothes and swept his hair back in a knot, his muscles rippling with each movement. Gods, she would never tire of the sight of him, every incredible inch of him… Her gaze fell to the heavy cock between his legs —

‘Don’t get any ideas, Princess,’ he warned as he stepped into the tub with her. He took up the spot at the far end, so they were face to face. He seemed even more enormous confined to the bath, his arms resting against the sides. His long, muscular legs settled either side of her and his gaze trailed over her face and then down to the tops of her breasts.

‘Don’t get any ideas, Warsword,’ she laughed.

He leant back against the tub, a grin spreading across his face, and Furies save her, it melted her heart. She had never seen him like this before… Not really. It made her want to cherish the moment that much more, knowing that not many ever got to see Wilder Hawthorne like this, with his guard down. Gods, he was beautiful, and gods, she was happy. The sheer joy in her chest was barely containable, and the warmth that settled there threatened to overwhelm her. It was as though time had stopped for them, and now…

‘Is this wrong?’ she asked quietly, realising that further east, Tver was likely at the mercy of the darkness and its servants – that somewhere out there, people were dying.

Wilder pinned her with a look of understanding. ‘I learnt long ago to take the small pleasures of life when I can.’

‘But —’

‘What can you do from here, Thea? We are on our way to aid Tver. Tomorrow we will strategise with Torj and the others. But for now, we can do no more. And when we step foot on land again, who knows when we might have a night like this?’ His words were earnest and gentle, yet firm.

Thea fought against the tightness in her chest and nodded. She reached for her drink and took a grateful sip.

‘How do you think the others took the news?’ she asked, placing the goblet back on the table and lathering soap onto a cloth. The conversation with her friends about heirs and storm wielders seemed like a lifetime ago now.

‘Better than I did.’

Thea laughed. ‘True.’

He sent a splash of water her way and she splashed him back.

When the bath settled again, she began to wash herself. ‘I thought they’d ask if I was going to claim the kingdom, take back the non-existent crown, you know?’

‘It exists, somewhere. Those sorts of things always manage to escape the fire, so to speak.’

Thea tried to picture it: a crown out there somewhere with her name on it. She couldn’t.

‘And the questions will come,’ Wilder added, his fingers circling the surface of the water.

‘I know.’

‘What will you tell them?’

‘That it’s not what I want.’

Wilder pulled her foot into his lap and rubbed the sole with his thumb. She nearly moaned. ‘And what of duty?’ he asked. His words weren’t accusatory, weren’t laced with some ulterior motive, only thoughtfulness.

‘You think I have a duty to a kingdom that no longer exists?’

‘It doesn’t matter what I think. What doyouthink?’

Thea let her head rest against the rim of the tub and closed her eyes as Wilder worked his fingers against the tender parts of her feet. ‘I wonder what’s to gain by trying to raise something from the ashes… By trying to claim something that has been forgotten for over thirty years,’ she admitted. She had barely allowed herself to think of it, and as she spoke now, she realised she still didn’t know what to make of her heritage and who her family had once been.

Wilder was quiet, waiting for her to process, to gather her fears.

‘What if I did reclaim it?’ she asked quietly. ‘What then? For what purpose would I rule?’

Wilder shrugged. ‘To even the playing field in the midrealms? To make a difference? You could see the women warriors of Thezmarr reinstated… You could do a lot of things, Thea.’

But Thea shifted, the water sloshing around them. ‘You spoke of duty… What of a ruler’s true duty?’