Page 28

28

Rhea

I wake up in stages, slowly becoming aware of my surroundings and the awful stiffness in my muscles. My mind is foggy, and I barely remember how I got back to my room. Did Vaylen carry me? No, that can’t be right.

Groaning, I throw my legs off the bed, sit at the edge, and massage my neck. The standard issue clock on the wall reads 21:23.

Goddess, I’ve slept all day. I’m going to be so far behind. Wyrm’s rot!

I’m still dressed in my leathers with my boots on, and I feel nasty. I desperately need a shower. My stomach growls. And a meal .

As I stand, I feel the way an old woman must. My back is so sore it takes me a moment to fully straighten, gingerly unfurling one vertebrae at a time. I limp out of the room, wondering if I’ll be able to find food at this hour. I don’t know who occupies the room next to mine, but I knock on the door. No response. They’re either dead to the world from exhaustion or not there.

I continue down the hall, my body limbering as I go. I’m about to head in the direction of the mess hall when I hear voices. I follow the source and find myself in front of an arched entrance. The voices are accompanied by splashing and trickling sounds. What is this? Some sort of communal pool?

“I fucking love it!” someone says. Nate? “Now, if I could just get down to five Tethers.”

“You’d better catch up, mate,” Silas’s voice responds.

Five Tethers? You’d better catch up? Damn, that means I’m already behind!

“We’d all better catch up,” a female voice says. Adelaide.

Communal mixed pool then. I make my way in and promptly run into a narrow wall. I go around it, noticing a change in temperature and a thick steam cloud hanging in the air. When I reach the other side, I’m met with not a pool, but a hot spring.

“If it isn’t Skysinger Rhealyn Wyndward, the bonded ?” Silas says as soon as he notices me. Sarcasm drips from his voice the same way beads of water drip down his brow.

I blink at the steam, clearing my vision. Ignoring the comment, I glance around the torchlit space. Every Skyrider is in the water, a pool shaped like a giant figure eight. The men all soak on the left side, while Phoebe, Adelaide, and Omari Reefsong soak on the right side. Water cascades into the pool from a higher level, which seems accessible through a stone staircase to the left. Pristine white towels and robes rest on shelves in the corner.

Ignoring Silas, I say, “Nice place you all have here. Can I join?”

“If you must,” Silas sneers, giving me a once over. He still can't be mad at me. None of what happened to his brother is even remotely my fault.

“Sure!” Phoebe says at the same time, wearing one of her big smiles, which she seems to reserve for the people she likes. I’m not sure if I only made her list because we’re in the same Clutch, but I’m grateful either way.

Ignoring Silas once more, I turn. Around the pool, there are benches carved straight from the stone walls. I sit on one and unlace my boots. Even my feet ache, as if I’ve walked for miles. Next, I strip to my undergarments. Bins off to the side are filled with dirty uniforms. I throw mine in one and approach the edge of the pool.

Society’s gossips would be scandalized to have men and women share the same room in nothing but their minor clothes. Hells, even in their absurdly modest sunbathing attire, they’d deem our proximity scandalous. Once, I might have cared, but the Academy stripped me of such concerns. Today, I’d plunge into this pool naked for the pure bliss of the hot water.

I lower myself in, goose flesh breaking out all over my skin at the change in temperature. My eyes close of their own accord as I sit on a convenient ledge, submerged up to the tops of my breasts.

“Nice, huh?” Phoebe asks.

Throwing my head back without opening my eyes, I hum in agreement.

“Where have you been all day, Wyndward?” Nate asks.

“Passed out in my room,” I say.

“I guess you don’t have to work hard like the rest of us once you're bonded,” Silas pipes in.

It’s getting harder by the second, but I ignore his vitriol a third time and answer with a simple, “Sure don’t.”

For a moment, there’s only the sound of flowing water, then Silas adds, “Or when you’re fucking your Prime.”

Before I know what I’m doing, I’m on my feet, water dripping down my body. “What in all the hells?”

Silas smiles with satisfaction. It’s what he wanted, to get a rise out of me. He reclines, looking cool and collected, his arms extended over the lip of the pool, while I must look like a lunatic, seething with anger and self-righteousness. Reining in my anger, I force myself to unclench my fists and adopt an entirely different attitude.

“You know what?” I say. “Maybe I should fuck him. He looks like he would make it worth my while.”

Adelaide laughs. “I would have to agree with that.”

Silas’s casual air dies an abrupt death. I start to sit back down, but it’s his turn to stand and look menacing. Sloshing water, he takes several steps in my direction and towers over me.

“You’re a disgrace to the Sky Order, Wyndward,” he spits.

I frown, putting on a confused air. “Why? Because I graduated top at the Academy, and I’m destined to be more powerful than you?”

His face is already red from the heat, but the color turns up a notch. “Because you slept your way to the top and bonded to a mad fucking dragon that should be put down.”

“Everyone here knows none of that is true,” I say with a careless shrug. I earned my spot at the Academy and never slept with anyone. “But I see what this is. You’re sore because I turned down your advances during our second year, and because your brother was too weak for my mad fucking dragon .”

Silas’s fist comes out of nowhere and smashes against my jaw. Pain explodes inside my head, and I stagger backward. Unbalanced, I fall, the back of my neck smashing against the lip of the pool. The world tips, and then I’m underwater, arms thrashing for purchase as I sink.