Page 39 of A Storm in Every Heart (Enchanted Legacies #2)

ODESSA, PRESENT

W e find a river and stick as close to the bank as possible, theorizing that when there is a town, it will be near the water. It’s a good theory, except it doesn’t work. We never reach an inn.

I suppose I should have realized this was a possibility.

I don’t remember passing through many towns on the way from Vernallis to Hydratta, but that was so long ago I’d convinced myself I’d merely forgotten.

Now, I recall that there were many nights we slept in the carriages since there was nowhere to stop and rest.

“Alright, I can’t walk anymore,” Jett says finally.

We come to a halt behind him. Internally, I’m screaming with excitement. I can’t walk anymore either, and I’ve been seriously debating asking Kastian to carry me for the last hour.

“I agree,” Kastian says. “But I don’t think we should camp here.”

As if to punctuate his point, a loud cackling laugh—somewhere between the cry of a monkey and a dog—echoes out of the forest to our right. I wrap my arms around myself and shiver.

“If you want my opinion—” Captain Connell begins.

Kastian cuts him off. “We don’t.”

“Whoa, calm down, mate. You don’t even know what I was going to say. In my opinion, we could stop here and take shifts sleeping.”

“I think I see a clearing between the trees over there,” Jett says, seeming to take it for granted that we’ve all agreed to stop. “We’ll camp there. I’ll make a fire,”

I sigh and look toward the river only a few yards away. “While you do that, I’m going to rinse off. I don’t think I’ve ever been this disgusting in my entire life.”

“Wait!” Kastian barks, jogging over to me as I move away from Jett who is already working on a fire. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Didn’t you hear me?” I ask, trying to keep my voice neutral.

He reaches out and wraps his fingers around my wrist, pulling me back. “You can’t go in that water.”

My lip curls. “I truly appreciate you saving my life, Kastian, but that gratitude will dry up fast if you start thinking it gives you the right to order me around.”

He makes a frustrated sound in the back of his throat. “I’m going to have to save you again if you go in that water.”

I raise my eyebrows at him, before remembering he probably can’t see me. “If anything, I’d be safer in the water.”

“It’s freshwater. You won’t transform.”

“So?” I grind out.

“So, I’m sure that water is full of all sorts of evil, poisonous shit.”

“I’ll risk it,” I snap, tugging my wrist out of his grasp. “I’m not afraid of anything in the water, I’m afraid of what’s up in the trees.” I point up, where I swear to the gods I can see the glinting eyes of some animal watching us. I shiver, hoping it’s nothing more dangerous than a bird.

“But—” Kastian begins again.

“I wasn’t really asking your permission,” I hiss. “I’m going to rinse off whether you like it or not.”

“Fine,” he growls. “Fuck me for expecting the princess to go a single night without bathing. It’s obviously far better to risk being swallowed by a swamp snake than to be slightly uncomfortable.”

“You don’t understand. It’s water. I’m not afraid of anything in the water.”

“Good, because I doubt whatever is in there is afraid of you either.”

“Ugh,” I huff out a sharp breath. “I’m not wasting my time explaining this to you.” I turn on my heel and resume walking toward the water, only to realize he’s following right behind me. I stop and whirl on him again. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Bathing, apparently,” he grumbles. “Even though that’s categorically fucking insane, you weren’t asking permission, right? So we’re going. Lead the way, Princess.”

I gasp, surprised both by the annoyance in his tone and how we could have misunderstood each other so extremely. “I’m bathing. You are staying by the fire.”

“That’s not going to happen. If you’re going to swim with snakes and eels and whatever other fucking horrid thing is in that water, then I am too.”

“But—” I splutter. “But I’m bathing.”

It’s dark so I can’t really make out his face, but somehow I already know he’s smirking at me. “It’s not as if I haven’t seen it before.”

My cheeks flame, and I cross my arms over my chest. “Let’s just get this really clear right now. That is not going to happen again. Ever.”

“I remember,” he says, striding past me toward the river. “You said ‘once.’”

I jog after him, my face still burning. “Exactly. Once. So, we never really need to talk about this again, and it’s not appropriate for you to bathe alongside me.”

“Appropriate or not, it’s happening. Or, you could do the smart thing and deal with being dirty for one more night. Up to you, Princess.”

I grind my teeth. As usual, he backed me into a corner without even trying. I’m stubborn, but so is Kastian, and I know he’ll never give up and walk away.

There’s probably a greater meaning in there somewhere, but I refuse to acknowledge it.

“Fine,” I growl. “Whatever, just don’t look at me and stay over there.” I point vaguely down the river.

I realize how absurd I’m being—it’s so dark I doubt he can see where I’m pointing, so there’s hardly any point in telling him not to look at me, but I can’t seem to make myself think rationally at the moment.

“Whatever you want,” he grumbles, and I hear his footsteps moving several feet away from me. “But don’t expect me to go too far. I’m not leaving you alone again.”

My heart skips a beat, but I force myself to ignore it.

That is, until I hear the unmistakable sound of Kastian unbuckling his belt and shucking off his clothing. My cheeks burn.

I shake my head trying to clear it, and walk a few yards further away before peeling off my own ruined clothes.

My dress hangs in grimy tatters, stained with mud and grime, and I doubt it can be salvaged. Underneath, my stockings are torn, the fabric frayed and clinging to my legs like cobwebs. My bloomers are no better, marked with dirt and dampness, and my corset feels stiff with sweat and debris.

I hesitate, fingers hovering over the laces of the corset, knowing that once I unlatch it, it might be impossible to put back on without help.

My chest is too heavy to comfortably go without it, and the unpleasant thought of walking around without support until we reach a town flits across my mind.

Even so, the lure of feeling clean is stronger.

I pull off the corset and drop it on top of all my other clothes, leaving me completely naked aside from the darkness.

Even though I can’t see him, I can feel Kastian’s burning gaze on me as I finally step into the water.

The bottom of the river feels slimy under my feet, and the water isn’t as deep or as cold as I would like.

Still, anything is a relief after the disgusting brig and the humid walk through the swamp.

I wade deeper, but even at its deepest point, the river only comes up to my waist. I blush realizing that Kastian is so much taller than me it might not even cover his hips.

I sink low, dunking my shoulders, and quickly scrub the dirt from my skin and hair. I move automatically, unable to focus on what I’m doing when I can hear Kastian’s breathing and the sound of the water moving around him.

We don’t speak, but the silence and the sounds of the swamp only heighten my awareness of him. The tension is so thick it feels palpable, like I could reach out and touch whatever is crackling in the air between us. Every inch of my skin tingles, and my muscles feel too tight, too alert.

“So, you’ve been in this swamp before?” Kastian asks. His question cuts into the tension, but provides no real relief. His tone is casual, and he sounds like he’s a respectable distance away, but I still stiffen.

“Mmmm?” I hum a noncommittal sound that doesn’t really mean yes or no.

“You said you traveled this way with Daemon and Beatrix when Thorne was courting my sister.”

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

I knew I messed up by mentioning that earlier, and that Kastian isn’t oblivious enough to have missed it. Now what the hell am I supposed to say? I can’t exactly tell him I lied before. That sounds crazy, and he wouldn’t believe me, anyway.

“Yes,” I say stiffly. “I did.”

“I don’t remember that,” he says, his voice sounding slightly closer now.

Of course he doesn’t. That’s the entire point.

“Oh, well, I’m sure you were busy. I don’t know why you’d remember me when we never met.”

“I feel like I would remember you. I can’t imagine not noticing you.”

I stiffen. He sounds closer than I’d thought he was, and I’m not sure which of us drifted nearer to each other.

I have a sinking suspicion that it was me, and I plant my feet firmly, refusing to give in to whatever my traitorous body has in mind when my head is screaming that this is all far too dangerous.

“See?” I blurt out, desperate to change the subject. “You were wrong. There’s nothing dangerous in the water.”

He snorts. “I wouldn’t say that, but you’re right that I haven’t spotted any crocodiles.”

“I wouldn’t need your help even if there was a crocodile,” I mutter.

“Sure you wouldn’t.”

“No, really,” I snap. “I’m much stronger in the water than on land.”

“Does it matter if it’s fresh or saltwater?” he asks, sounding suddenly curious.

I dunk my head in the water and flip my hair back before answering. “I don’t know. I haven’t had many opportunities to test my strength in the ocean.”

“Why?” he asks, voice sounding even closer now. This time I’m sure it wasn’t me who moved, but for some reason I don’t back up.

“Because I lived in Vernallis,” I lie. That’s part of the reason, but nowhere near the entire truth of why I’ve hardly ever spent much time in my other form; why I’ve only ever swum in the ocean once in my entire long life.

I bite the inside of my cheek, worried that I’ve said too much and Kastian will ask more questions that I won’t—that I physically can’t—answer. But he doesn’t.

“Show me,” he says, voice far too loud in my ear.