a sack next to the fire, though what it contained remained a mystery. She assumed it was fuel or food or water gourds.
“Nix,” he grunted. “I want to take you somewhere.”
Dread seeped into her. Did this have something to do with whoever he met with last night?
“Where?” she asked slowly.
“There are hot springs,” he informed her. “Not that far, so we can go on foot.”
Whatever she’d expected him to say, it hadn’t been that. Her excitement at the prospect of a hot bath? Undeniable. But she didn’t trust him, despite feeling comfortable with him last night. And his sudden suggestion made her wary.
“I don’t believe you,” she put it simply.
His brow rose.
“I’m not stupid, Jaxor,” Erin said quietly.
“What are you speaking of?” he rasped, frowning. “I never said you were ‘stupid.’”
“I know you met with the Mevirax last night,” she said, watching him carefully. She wasn’t certain, but when his lips pressed together…something in her sunk. “And for some reason they want me. And you’re still talking with them, which leads me to assume that you’re willing to give me to them. For something you want, or something they have over you.”
Erin swallowed, looking down at her lap, unable to look him in the eye quite at that moment. Because a part of her was frightened of what she might see if she did.
“If you’re going to give me to them, I can’t stop you. I know that. You’re stronger, faster, and bigger than me. All I ask is that you don’t lie to my face about it. If you’re planning to take me to them right now, then just say it. Don’t give me a lie about some hot springs to try to make me more docile.”
Erin’s mind was racing and her chest was hurting. She was kicking herself. Not that long ago, she was hovering over the mountaintop, staring into the endless sea of fog. She’d had opportunity then. Now, she was at his mercy. Again.
She should’ve been reckless and just gone. Jaxor would’ve come back to an empty base.
“I am not lying to you, Erin,” he murmured, his voice almost…soft. Gentle. It surprised her so much that she looked up at him. He seemed embarrassed at her shock, a muscle around his jaw twitching. As if he wasn’t used to being…kind, as if it was a vulnerability he’d rather not have. “There are hot springs nearby. I wish to take you to them.”
“Why?” she whispered.
Jaxor blew out a breath, running a hand over his horn. He looked so tired. So drained. Erin almost felt bad questioning him so much.
“Because I think you would enjoy them. Because I am tired of this, rixella,” he told her, those blue eyes burning into her.
“Of fighting?” she asked, frowning. “With me?”
“Tev,” he rasped. “Against you. It is not natural, in the position we are in. I am wondering what would happen if we just...give up.”
Her belly fluttered and she pressed her hand to it in surprise, as if it would stop the uncomfortable sensation.
In the position we are in.
That position, of course, being fated mates. They were bound to one another by magic or fate or dreams, or all three.
“Give up,” she repeated softly, wondering what he meant by that, or what it would mean. Her mind raced with possibility. A part of her cautioned that this was a trap.
The other part was intrigued at the prospect, breathless with butterflies.
Erin recalled with dizzying detail—though she’d been half-drunk on Luxirian liquor—the way his mouth felt against hers. Clumsy at first, as if he’d never been kissed before, then taking control with need and efficiency and making her fingers curl into his shoulders. She remembered feeling sympathy and understanding as he talked of his first love, of feeling her heart speed when he asked her if she’d ever been in love.
“I am asking you to trust me,” Jaxor said. “Will you come?”
Jaxor had everything to gain. Erin had everything to lose.
So why was she tempted to do as he asked? To give in? When, just a moment before, she wondered if he was betraying her by leading her into a trap?
Madness.
And maybe Erin was stupid because she found herself saying, “Yes.”
Chapter Nineteen
“This is what’s down here?” Erin asked, gazing around at the strange landscape when they reached the bottom of the pulley system. Outside the short stretch of cave, they were surrounded by tall mountains on all sides.
A white fungus—or perhaps a type of plant—stretched along the base of the mountains. Jaxor led