Page 90 of A Fate in Flames

She paused, studying me for a moment, then nodded.Wisely choosing not to press the matter further.

I rolled my shoulders, wincing at the crack in my back.

“Alright then,” I sighed.“Who’s going to carry me to my room?”

The instant the words left my mouth, all three of them scattered.

I blinked, arms falling limp at my sides.“Are you kidding me?”

Theo shot me a grin over his shoulder.“We believe in you, El.You can do it!”

I threw up my hands.“Traitors!”

A few people nearby glanced my way, smiling.Someone might have laughed, though I was too tired to care.

I groaned, rubbing my temples.

Fine.I would drag myself back to my room.Alone.

The moment I crossed the threshold of my room, the weight of the night crashed down on me.

I wept.Not out of sadness.No.I was too exhausted to feel much of anything.It was the kind of weeping that came from sheer physical depletion.From tired muscles and a mind that had been pulled in too many directions.

I didn’t even have the energy to shut the door before unlacing my clothes, fumbling with the ties.The soft material peeled away in pieces, dropping to the floor behind me in a trail of exhaustion.

Steam rose from the waiting bath.I didn’t have the strength to care how it got filled.

I stepped over the edge and sank into the scalding water, shuddering from the heat.It burned, but I welcomed it, letting the heat seep into my bones.Loosening the tight knots that had formed in my legs.

My back hurt where it had been pressed against the tree—my arms tender from the force of Dalkhan’s grip.

I let out a deep sigh as my head fell back against the rim of the tub, the rich scent of amber and spice filling my lungs.

It smelled like fire.Like him.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to push him from my mind.The way he felt, his kiss, his touch, how easily he’d pinned me against the tree.

I traced my fingers around my neck, following the path his lips had taken, my pulse hammering.I dipped lower, where water beaded on my skin, imagining it was his fiery touch.

My breath quickened as my hand moved lower.

I heard his voice in my mind, deep and commanding.Show me what you need.

The phantom sensation of his breath against my ear—the scrape of his teeth along my neck—felt so real my body responded as if he were truly there.

I trailed lower, stopping right between my thighs, the water suddenly too hot.Too confining.I arched against my own touch, back bowing, water shifting against the sides of the tub.

Just like that, little flame.

The pet name sent a spark through me.Made me burn in places that had no right to catch fire.

I pressed two fingers firmly against my centre and could’ve sworn I heard him moan, the sound reverberating through the chamber, intensifying my need.Tremors raced up my thighs, across my tightening stomach.I bit down on my lip to trap the cries threatening to escape as pressure built within me.Water splashed over the rim with each desperate movement.

So close.The tension coiled tighter, a spring ready to snap.My free hand gripped the edge of the tub.He was everywhere—in the press of the water, in the heat of the steam.In the darkness gathering behind my closed eyelids.

That’s it.Come for me.

“Don’t be fooled.”