was a brief moment of silence and then a beaming smile overtook his face—he looked so boyish like that. Almost nothing like the hardened, mistrustful Fae he'd been when I first met him. But then again, I had seen that Fae again in a smaller way when I'd spied on him during his strategy meeting.
Unlike me, who'd grown up in isolation far from the majority of the war, I had to remember that Roan and the others … they'd grown up in the middle of it all. They had seen battle and bloodshed and the front lines. My hand tightened on his wrist.
Roan stepped forward and brushed my cheek as he grinned down at me. "I would love that," he admitted. "Give me a few moments to get ready?" he asked. "You go ahead to the bathing chambers, I'll make sure no one disturbs us."
"Don't be long," I said, firming up my voice even as the corners of my mouth twitched.
He chuckled. "I wouldn't dream of keeping you waiting," he replied.
I released his wrist and stepped back. "You better not," I warned him playfully before I turned and headed for the door.
The corridors were quiet as I headed towards the bathing chamber, recalling how—not so long ago—I'd been overwhelmed by this castle. Now, it seemed like the only home I'd ever known. The convent hadn't been a home; just a roof over my head with lots of strings attached. My mind wandered as I roamed the hallways. Every once in a while, I'd run into another Fae. Some of them turned their noses up at me still and kept walking, but a few—far more than I expected—paused and nodded their heads in greeting.
By the time I made it to the bathing chambers, there were fewer people. No one hovered outside the bathing chambers and when I peeked inside, there was no one present either. Stepping into the warmed room, I spotted a pale skinned little pixie fixing a pile of bottles and vials along one of the large bath's shelves. Its little oblong shaped head popped up and its beady black eyes widened upon seeing me.
One moment, the creature was focused on its task, and the next, it was flying at me. Chirping and waving its hands around as if it was trying to communicate. I grimaced and shook my head before putting my hands up.
"It's okay," I said, thinking the pixie was trying to get me to leave. "Prince Roan sent me."
That seemed to calm the pixie. It stopped waving its arms and stared at me for a long moment before huffing out a breath and flitting away—back to its duties. I'd guessed right, I assumed. It had been trying to get me to leave, obviously preparing for Roan's bath. I turned away from the creature and began to undress. I removed my dress and underclothes, laying them across a nearby half wall. Despite the steam wafting up from the waters in the bath, once I was naked, a chill swept over me.
I decided I wouldn't be waiting for Roan after all. Without a second thought, I rushed into the bath, diving into the heated, swirling milky white liquid and sighing as warmth began to seep back into my skin. Leaning back, I dunked my head and ignored the high pitched chirping of the pixie as I accidentally flicked water his way.
This is so much better than that stupid barrel, I thought as I swam halfway across the bathing pool. The water rippled around me as I spun in a circle before squeezing my eyes shut and taking a huge breath and sinking deep into the center of the bath.
I hovered like that for so long, so focused on just feeling the clean and heated water around me, that at first, I didn't notice new ripples moving within the bath until a wide male arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me up to the surface.
I gasped as Roan pressed his mouth to my ear. "What are you doing, Little Bird?" he asked, the deep timbre of his vibrato sliding through me, heading straight to my core. "Hiding from me?"
My chest squeezed tight as I tried to capture my breath. "No," I said, but with the way my voice came out all breathy and airless, I didn't sound too confident.
Roan chuckled, the sound of his amusement vibrating against my back, making me close my eyes as I rested against him. He was naked. So was I. I could feel