Page 148 of The Chains You Defy

The prince took a deep breath, and a vein throbbed in his neck as he called his magic back until only one sole strand remained. His eyebrow rose, and I could have sworn the dark purring tendril was not only the same as the one who’d battled the fae for the lacing but also bristled in triumph before attaching itself around my calf.

Despite my concerns, a giggle spilled from my lips as Dion shrugged, and the most beautiful thing happened—he started to laugh, carefree and unburdened. His mirth was so special and wonderful, tears shot into my eyes because I was so moved, and I quickly rested my head against his chest so he couldn’t see the glossy sheen, which he’d surely misunderstand.

“Tsk. Little shit.” Amusement dripped from his voice.

“Adharcan.”

“Pardon me?”

“I’m naming him Adharcan. Harc for short.”

Dion balked, but Harc purred contentedly. “You’re joking.”

“No, not really. He’s around so often, why not name him?” Petting the preening Harc, I wondered myself if I’d succumbed to madness, but as Dion shrugged in acceptance, I had to smile again.

Finally, I let go of the fae prince.

Without hesitation, he used the moment to shed his tunic and wide pants, leaving him in a dark garment resembling underthings. This piece of clothing must beintended for swimming as well—an assumption mainly founded on my observations and countless instances of clothes-washing duties in Ivreia.

Gods, the memory that he normally wasn’t—allegedly—bothering with underwear didn’t help to stop my brain from short-circuiting, especially not as I was confronted with the most perfect physique I’d ever taken in.

Granted, between the time Rewi had forced me to accompany her spying on the village boys taking a dip in Credenta’s river and the few dalliances I’d undertaken in my life, I hadn’t been able to conduct extensive studies of barely clothed male anatomy. But I didn’t have to be an expert to notice absolute perfection when such a phenomenon appeared in front of me. The towel incident in Rastialla had been nothing in comparison. Dion’s body without his Glamour was simplymore.

And as my mind settled on the thought ofmore, well, my blush returned full force when I accidentally caught an eyeful of the outline of an impressive bulge visible in the prince’s skintight swim garb.

Oh Divine Triad, this was a bad idea. And most likely, everything would soon get much, much worse.

Much to my surprise, Dion had been a cavalier when he’d maybe caught me staring at his package, and now, even though I couldn’t say exactly how I got there, I was standing at the bank of the lagoon.

The cold water made me hesitate to walk into the lake, and I observed the crystal clear liquid as if I could warm it by glowering alone.

A splash followed by ripples alerted me that Dion had simply jumped into the pond.

Crazy fae.

Lifting my head, my gaze roamed around in search of the prince, and my breathhitched as I found him.

He stood in front of the opening to the grotto, directly under the waterfall, which cascaded over his spectacular body and from there into the basin. The water barely reached his hips, so I got more than just an eyeful of his perfectly sculpted chest and more than pronounced Adonis belt as rivulets streamed down his skin. With no care in the worlds, he stretched, his eyes closed.

Without a doubt, his display was an intentional attempt to rile me up, and sadly, his evil plan worked.

He reminded me of the Rainbow Spiders native to the Lannear Wildwood in Ivreia. According to rumors, their webs were so alluring that they entranced anyone who caught only as much as a glimpse of such a spun masterpiece. The sheer beauty called to the victim, and even if one knew about the phenomenon, there was no way to escape once mesmerized by its radiance.

Compulsion drew the prey closer until they ended up entangled in the web.

But the lure didn’t stop there. Once a prisoner had been captured in the spidersilk, the material released some kind of toxin, keeping the captive docile and ensnared, even when the spider arrived to gorge on its catch.

And yes, Dion resembled those predators with his perfect features, and I was so deeply enchained in his web, the thought of being devoured didn’t even scare me anymore.

“Will you join me? I promise the water is warmer once you’re inside. And if you freeze—I’ll make sure to heat you up.”

“I’m—” Blanking again, my brain refused to operate. The possibility of so much skin on skin was too overwhelming.

“Ten seconds, or I’m done restraining myself.”

“And then?”

“You’re obviously very…tense, and I’m fighting very, very hard not to ease your tension, but not for much longer anymore.”