Page 9 of Damned and Broken Gods (Labyrinth of Gods #2)

Glistening Pectorals And Abnificent Abs

LEELA

L ake Pari glistened in the midday sun as if a billion diamonds had been scattered across its serene surface.

What had begun as a chilly day had warmed nicely, enough for Priti to suggest a picnic at Prashikshan’s prime leisure spot.

The last hour had been spent in the comfort of good food and even better company.

It was the last day of our vacation before training began in earnest, and I was still waiting on Guru Chandra to get back to me about the Sabha.

Asura Ione had passed on a message from him a couple of days ago, assuring me that preparations were being made.

If not for that, I’d be tempted to believe the whole royal thing had been a dream.

But Araz never failed to remind me of the fact that it was true. That I’d be gone from Prashikshan soon enough. That training wouldn’t be my life and tests would no longer matter because of the blood that ran through my veins.

The thought of leaving my friends behind, of letting go of Araz, made my stomach hurt.

I glanced across the grassy knoll toward where the drohi had gathered on an outcrop of rocks several yards away.

They talked among themselves about whatever drohi spoke of, leaving us with privacy to converse freely about mortal things.

Araz sat so he was in profile, one leg bent at the knee, foot resting on a ledge of rock below him.

His short-sleeved cream tunic hugged his shoulders and biceps lovingly, and his dark pants stretched over his muscular thighs.

My gaze fell to his strong forearms, golden and gleaming in the sunlight, muscles rippling beneath his silken skin as he gestured with his hands, deep in conversation with Keyton.

I dragged my gaze up to his face, to the slight curve of his lips and the dark shadows his thick eyelashes cast on his cheeks.

He was a beautiful male, but like this, when he was relaxed, barriers down, he was simply stunning.

His brows pinched slightly, and when he turned his head my way, our gazes locked and a lance of heat shot through me.

Those fucking eyes were like looking into the sun as an eclipse rolls in.

He held me there for several beats, my heart pounding my ribs like a prisoner eager for escape before releasing me with a sigh to turn back to his companions.

I dropped my gaze, my pulse thrumming in my throat. It was getting harder and harder to keep a distance. To maintain neutral ground. Friendship was what we’d agreed on. Friendship and then his freedom.

A fist formed in my belly, twisting. It wouldn’t be long now, surely. Once they ascended me, I’d let him go.

I forced my attention back to my friends and our impromptu picnic spread.

Dharma was on her back, one arm thrown over her eyes, the other on her stomach.

Priti sat beside her, arms wrapped around her knees as she watched the still water.

Joe and Vick sat facing each other with a plinka board between them.

It was a game like chess but played with oddly shaped counters.

Sylvie lay on the other side of me in a pose almost identical to Dharma.

She was dressed in cutoff trousers and a cute shirt with blue flowers on it, tied off at the waist. I was so used to seeing her in the Asura-issued training gear or baggy pants and tunic—both of which made her seem drab and older than she was—but she looked bright and young today.

Everyone looked brighter when not in the drab training gear.

Asura Ione had provided me with some more clothes too, long flowing skirts and colorful loose pants and tunics.

I even had a pair of sandals. I’d opted to wear them today, to take advantage of the sun, along with a flowing skirt and bell-sleeved blouse.

I felt pretty, and the heat in Araz’s gaze when he’d seen me in the outfit had made me feel beautiful.

I wished Remi had come with us, but she and Crag had opted to stay at their barracks, and Eve? Well, having someone laugh in your face when issuing an invite wasn’t something I wanted to repeat. I guess she’d found her people, and it wasn’t us.

Fair play to her.

The twins Poppy and Regina had declined the invite too, but only because they wanted to train for the first pareekshan. They’d been chosen to take it along with Sylvie, Remi, and Eve.

“No grass!” Blue yelled at one of the anchors on the far side of the lake. “Wood, we need wood.”

The other anchors ran about collecting wood for the fire we planned to build just in case it got chilly again.

“Blue’s certainly taking the role of mission leader seriously,” Priti said, a smile in her voice.

I bit back a smile of my own. “He doesn’t do things by halves, that’s for sure.”

My little buddy was a whirlwind of confidence and witty comebacks. The last few days, waiting for news on the Sabha, had been difficult, but Blue had filled them with laughter. I was so grateful for his existence.

“Do you find your thoughts changing?” Joe asked abruptly.

Vick frowned at him across the plinka board. “I thought you were planning your next move.”

“I was, but then I realized I was thinking in a slightly different voice.”

“Huh?” Sylvie propped herself up on an elbow, squinting up at him. “What do you mean?”

“Okay, like more formal. Like them.” He jerked his thumb toward the drohi. “Like sometimes I think the way Chaya speaks.”

“Oh my god, me too!” Priti said.

“Yep,” Dharma agreed. “Same here.”

“It’s a bond thing,” Vick said, rolling a plinka counter between his fingers. “Happened to me with Gia too. We…meshed.” He smiled slightly. “That’s what she called it.”

I considered the observation. “I don’t know. I don’t think I do that…”

“Okay, ’ere we go!” Blue dropped a twig on the edge of the picnic blanket, then stepped back to make room for the other anchors, all much bigger than him, all able to carry more.

Twigs and branches and bracken were deposited.

“Perfect!” Sylvie sat up and rubbed her hands together. “I can work with this.”

“You want to build the fire?” Joe looked at her in surprise.

She gave him a stern look. “I went camping a lot in the mortal world.”

Dharma sat up and rubbed her arms. “It is getting a little cooler. Shame, I would have liked to take a dip. The water looks so nice.”

“Me too,” Priti said.

“ They don’t seem to have an issue with it.” Vick pointed toward the drohi, and I turned my head to see Keyton and Chaya stripping off their clothes.

“Fuck!” I looked away quickly.

“They’re naked.” Vick sighed. “I love the fact that they don’t give a shit.”

Keyton and Chaya linked hands and ran into the lake, diving deep and vanishing beneath the surface, only to emerge a few moments later somewhere in the center.

“How deep is it, do you think?” Priti asked, chewing on her bottom lip.

“Deep, but it shouldn’t matter if you can swim,” Vick replied. “If not, I’m sure your drohi will carry you.”

“I mean, I can swim but…” Priti’s eyes lit up, a cheeky smile on her lips. “I do like the idea of being carried.”

I risked another glance at the rocks to find Mahira and Pylar deep in conversation.

But Araz was walking toward the edge of the lake.

He reached over his shoulder and tugged off his tunic, dropping it to the ground to reveal the gorgeous expanse of his luscious brown skin.

My hands curled into fists, my breath coming faster as he reached for his waistband and pulled down his pants.

Damn, he had the nicest ass I’d ever seen.

I wanted to grab it and take a bite and?—

“Close yer mouth, chickadee,” Blue said. “You ain’t gonna catch ’is truncheon from all the way over ’ere.”

I snapped my mouth closed and fixed Blue with a glare. He shrugged and plucked a grape off the picnic blanket. “Ya want ’im, ya gonna have to go get ’im.”

“I don’t want him.”

Joe coughed the word bullshit into his fist.

“Fine. I do…want him. But it’s complicated.”

“Pashim?” Dharma asked, her expression sobering.

It was so much more than that, but I couldn’t explain it to them. Not yet.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Joe said.

Blue regarded me with knowing beady eyes but didn’t say a word. He knew my desires, confusion, needs, wants, and the weight of guilt I carried for Pashim. But he didn’t know about Araz’s past or the vow I’d taken.

“Pashim would want ya to be ’appy and follow yer ’eart,” Blue had said. “Yer bonded to granite ass fer a reason.”

But the reasons didn’t matter. Not anymore. Blue didn’t understand that; all he knew was that I wanted to be in the water with Araz, and Blue was nothing if not persistent.

“Ey! Abnificent!” Blue yelled.

Araz turned at the sound of his voice, and thank goodness he was deep enough in the water to hide his bits.

“Leela wants ta swim,” Blue said with a twinkle in his eyes.

A series of indefinable emotions flitted across Araz’s face, and then he held out his hand.

“It’ll be too cold for me.” I shook my head.

Araz’s hands begin to glow. He doused them in the water, swishing them back and forth.

Priti pushed up on her knees, her hands clasped beneath her chin. “Oh my god, is he heating the water for you?”

My throat pinched, and I nodded. “Yes. Yes, he is.” Which meant his gesture, ushering me to join him, hadn’t been an empty one. He could have accepted my excuse of the water being cold.

“Go on, chickadee,” Blue said. “I’ll keep yer spot on the picnic blanket warm.”

I pushed to my feet, out of excuses. Okay, I wasn’t out of excuses, I was just done making them.

I wanted this. I tugged off my tunic and stepped out of my skirt. The undergarments here were sturdy: a bra that was more a binding wrap and underwear that looked like boxers, so it was like wearing a bathing suit.

He lifted a hand toward me again, the other still swishing in the water, and in that moment, it didn’t matter to me that the lake between me and him would still be cold. All that mattered was that he wanted me beside him.