Page 169 of Lady of the Drowned Empire

“Okay.”

“Right now, we’re just going to get warm. We’re going to get through this night. And then we’re going straight to Gryphon’s Mount and getting your sisters back.”

I tightened my arms around him, leaning my cheek against his as he continued moving us through the water. The sounds of our breathing growing into a steadier rhythm mixed with the tinkling of the spring and the popping of the torch flames echoing against the walls.

After some time, I was no longer in pain. In fact, I was warm, reminded of the hot soaks I’d been able to take at the Katurium after training, reminded of the relief my muscles always felt in the heat.

“Warmer?” Rhyan asked.

“Yes. You?”

“Very.”

“How long did I freeze?” I asked.

“Less than a minute. The second I saw you go over the edge, I didn’t think. I just jumped. I only traveled at the last second so I wouldn’t hit the ice and fall in with you. You were moving so fast, so far from where you fell in. I knew I needed to be quick. I couldn’t miss, or I’d freeze and never get you out. Once I was sure of your location, I traveled under the water, grabbed you, brought you here.”

“You must be so tired,” I said. “I’m sorry.”

“Shhh. You did nothing wrong. All that matters is that we’re okay.” He glanced around the cave. “But, uh, we’re not going to have clothes for a while.”

I eyed the completely soaked through pile of our gear.

“What do we do? Just stay in here all night?” I asked. The cave was the warmest one we’d been in yet thanks to the spring, but after nearly freezing to death, I knew we couldn’t simply be out in the nude, especially not after being wet.

“No. I stayed here before. I think—I hope—I have some blankets that I stored here once. Assuming some other poor soul hasn’t found them. I’ll get a fire going, put our clothes out with them, but,” he pressed his forehead to mine, “body heat is what’s going to get us through the night.” Rhyan pulled back, his hands running up and down my spine.

He’d adjusted me against him, still careful to be sure my pelvis was against his stomach, and I only realized then how much effort and care he’d taken to keep this from turning into anything else.

But now, with his own body temperature regulated, Rhyan was feeling a different kind of heat, the evidence of which had risen up to poke me in the ass.

I stilled.

“Ignore that. You stay in the water,” he said, voice hoarse. “I’m going to find the blankets, start the fire.”

He set me down, careful to keep certain parts of himself from grazing my body. Then he vanished.

The difference in temperature with him gone was almost shocking. I clutched my arms to my chest and sank low into the water, moving my legs as much as I could to build up my own heat. But my stores were weak.

Rhyan reappeared a minute later holding a pile of blankets in his arms. From the looks of it, there were around three—all hanging just so, leaving his modesty intact. His eyes followed my gaze down to the pile of blankets, then his gaze held mine again, and suddenly, I was feeling just a touch warmer on my own.

“Found them. Can’t believe they’re still here,” he said happily, dropping all but one on the ground. The last one, he wrapped around himself. There was already a mix of fire logs nearby, a pile started from someone else who had crossed through here—hopefully someone with no intention of returning tonight. Rhyan gathered more logs and debris by the walls, building the pyre to double the size of our firewood piles from our previous nights of camping. He brought the torch down and let the fire catch. Then he laid out all of our clothes and emptied our bags, spreading the contents by the fire, which was now flaming and powerful enough for me to feel its heat rushing toward me.

“Ready to dry off, partner?” he asked, coming to the side of the spring.

I nodded, moving toward the edge. Rhyan held the blanket out for me to cover myself and use as a makeshift towel. As I stepped out of the spring, he swept me off my feet and carried me before the fire until we were both completely dry. Then he brought me to our “bed” for the night. He folded the blankets a few times to pad the ground then laid me down and curled himself around me.

Our bodies were pressed tightly together in a way they never had been before, with nothing between them. The warmth radiating from him was addictive, so different from the usual cold he projected. I sighed contentedly, feeling warmer and safer than I had in days.

“You know, partner,” he said, rubbing my back, “I didn’t realize just how desperate you were for a bath that you’d jump into the first river you saw.”

I pouted. “It’s not funny yet.”

His laugh was low in his throat. “No. It’s not funny at all,” he said. “But if I don’t joke, I’m worried I’ll succumb to the absolute terror of what it was like to see you go under. Feel that fear of losing you.”

I stroked his cheek, rough with stubble. “I feel like we keep almost losing each other.”

“But we keep finding our way back,” he said.