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But if I don’t say anything now, I may not have a chance to speak to my mother.

In the weeks that had passed, a curiosity had settled in her heart about the woman who’d birthed her—and if she was here. It was possible she wasn’t with Arden’s army or had been killed.

Even still, to be this close to her birth mother and not taking the chance to meet her weighed on her thoughts.

With a groan, she rose on sore muscles and extended a hand to Jessamine. “Let’s get cleaned up.”

There were several hot springs in the mountain, one of which was used for bathing. The one in the cavern where they trained apparently served another purpose. So, they strode up the tunnels to a smaller cave where the bathing springs were.

The light from Jessamine’s torch illuminated the way her lips thinned as they walked.

Arabella tilted her head to the side. “What is it?”

“Hadeon stopped by not long ago,” Jessamine said. “He and Breckett were headed to the bathing pool.”

For a moment, Arabella hesitated.

There weren’t enough resources, especially sources of water, for the shadow fae to be prudish about nakedness. As such, it meant anyone could bathe at the same time.

Up until now, they hadn’t bathed at the same time as Hadeon or Breckett.

Arabella squeezed Jessamine’s shoulder. “Come on. It’s no big deal. I’m sure Hadeon’s got a small cock.”

They turned the corner and passed from the dark tunnel into the mouth of another cave. She knew from the dampness in the air that they’d arrived at the bathing springs.

The tunnel opened up to a cave three or four times the size of their sleeping quarters.

A large pool was at the center of the room with steam pluming from its surface.

The rippling surface of the water did nothing to obscure what was beneath its surface.

There was also nothing in the way of furniture, and at several spots around the pool, there were odorless soaps.

Lounging at the opposite end of the pool with arms outstretched was Hadeon. His eyes followed them as they entered, a wicked curve to his lips. Utterly naked, he sat on what appeared to be a lip in the rock that acted as a seat, his legs spread wide.

As it turned out, his cock was… impressive.

“Fuck,” Jessamine muttered under her breath as she stormed across the room toward a sort of alcove where bathers stashed their clothing.

In another corner of the pool, Breckett rinsed soap from his hair but looked up as they entered. Two other fae males were drying off at the far enough of the room.

Arabella followed Jessamine, offering the males a brief nod.

After her time with Elias where she’d worn dresses that barely covered her ass, she’d slowly become less concerned about covering her nakedness. But for some reason, Jessamine was extra prickly around the fae prince.

After removing her leathers with a few muttered curses, Jessamine marched into the water without acknowledging Hadeon or Breckett. The prince’s eyes fixed on her as she positioned herself at the opposite end, turning from him as she washed her hair.

He soaked her in like a sailor laying his eyes upon the sea for the first time in years.

The two shadow fae males who’d just finished dressing stormed out of the room. They paused only long enough to spit in Hadeon’s direction before disappearing into the tunnels.

Arabella shook her head.

That wasn’t the first time some of the shadow fae had behaved unpleasantly around Hadeon. And it seemed that the weeks they’d spent there hadn’t changed anything.

Whatever Hadeon and Arden spoke about since arriving must have been enough to allow Hadeon to stay in the mountains without fearing for his life, but it wasn’t enough to encourage warmth between the shadow fae and a prince of the Twilight Court.

However, Hadeon seemed entirely unbothered by this latest demonstration of unpleasantries as he soaked in the water.

Striding into the water, Arabella sighed at the warmth around her. “You’re looking better.” She nodded to Hadeon’s face, which had healed of its bruises and swelling.

Hadeon ran a thumb over his lower lip. “The shadow fae missed anything essential in their administrations.”

That was a nice way of saying when they’d beaten him to a pulp but hadn’t broken any bones.

He leaned farther back, not trying to cover himself.

It took conscious effort for Arabella to keep her eyes north of the horizon and not on the impressive cock between his legs.

A cock that was…

Hard. Very hard.

Don’t bother, Prince, she thought as his eyes scanned the length of Jessamine’s body. She’ll never look your way twice .

But Arabella didn’t say anything. Instead, she bathed in silence.

It was only when she’d finished that she said, “I intend to speak with Arden tonight. We can’t linger here any longer.”

Elias needs me.

Either she’d learned enough to control her new magic, or she hadn’t. While she would have loved to train for years with the fae and to learn more about them, she didn’t have the luxury of time. Now, she needed to focus on forming an alliance with the shadow fae—and securing an army.

Hadeon leaned forward where he lounged in the water. “I’ll plan to speak to the prince about… my own propositions after you, then. Unless you’d like me to join you?”

“No.” She allowed herself to relax into the warm waters for a single heartbeat, feeling the tension in her sore muscles loosen somewhat. “I think it’s best if I speak to him by myself.”

“As you wish,” Hadeon said.

“We should discuss our exit strategy,” Breckett interjected from where he lounged by the side of the pool, wearing only his shirt.

“I agree,” Jessamine said. “Are we going to… follow the path to get out of here?”

Arabella nodded, understanding what Jessamine meant—the path where the map marked an X over what appeared to be another oasis to the distant west. “The shadow fae are in the mountains to the north. So, logic says it must be the exit that’s marked.”

“We could talk to Arden about the ma—” Breckett began.

“And risk them taking it and leaving without us?” Hadeon interrupted. “I don’t intend to be trapped here.”

Breckett’s eyes narrowed. “Says the male who’s universally disliked by the shadow fae and for good reason.

You didn’t even think to wonder if your supposed friend might be alive for hundreds of years.

And you only sought him out when you needed something from him.

Meanwhile, the shadow fae have been welcoming to Arabella, Jessamine, and I.

Maybe they’ll only leave you behind when someone who knows how to read the document leads us safely out of here. ”

Hadeon snickered. “I won’t explain myself or what took place before you were born. Besides, you think you’d survive a trek across the desert if faced by the zaol or another greater demon?”

“Arabella and the shadow fae will protect our asses,” Breckett said, utterly shameless, which earned him a chuckle from Jessamine at the other side of the pool. “Even I can feel that her power is comparable to yours now.”

For a moment, it felt like the world stilled.

Once, Hadeon’s magic far surpassed Arabella’s.

That had been when she’d had access to earthen magic as an enchantress and only slips of shadow magic.

Then the amplifier had opened the bridge to her fae abilities.

Now, as she trained with Arden, her power continued to grow and change.

She may not be as powerful as Hadeon yet, and she certainly had far less training than him in her abilities, but she was no longer helpless.

And apparently, others knew it.

Arabella held a hand up, not eager for Hadeon to dangle her favor between them. “Let’s see how my conversation with Prince Arden goes as well as Prince Hadeon’s talk with him. He might be supportive of both our plights. In which case, none of this bickering would be necessary.”

She hoped that was the case. She didn’t want to consider the alternative.

Rising, she turned from them and dried off outside the pool with a rough fabric that acted as a towel. Beside her, Jessamine also toweled off.

Then there was a sloshing of water, and a glance over her shoulder revealed that Hadeon now stood behind them.

Water dripped down his body and off his wings, cascading in long rivulets over a chest and stomach without an ounce of fat. Unlike Elias, his chest was hairless, as was the path that led down to his…

Jessamine pushed one of her legs into her pants. Turning toward Hadeon, she started. “Don’t sneak up on someone like that.” She paused, seeming to fumble for words. “Put some clothes on,” she hissed, gesturing to his manhood. “Before you poke someone’s eye out.”

His head tilted to the side. “Does my nakedness bother you, Enchantress?”

“Of course not,” Jessamine snapped as she shoved her other leg into her pants and yanked them up.

He chuckled before turning to where his clothes were stashed in a corner. “When do you intend to speak with Prince Arden?”

“At once,” Arabella said as she finished dressing. She tied her sheaths back on, checking that the syphen was there, before she quickly braided her hair and placed the chains back atop her head.

“Understood.”

Arabella nodded at Jessamine, who bristled like a wet cat. “Stay out of trouble while I’m gone.” She pointed a finger at Hadeon and then at Breckett. “You, too.”

Then she strode out of the bathing chamber. All the while, she mentally prepared herself to ask a fae prince to send the shadow fae into another war.

Only this time, it would be against a sorcerer.