his gaze over my face before dipping down to kiss me slowly. I run my fingers through his wet hair and get lost in the feel of his lips on mine.
“Mmmm,” he mumbles against my lips. “Look at you, owning this mate shit already and making my dreams come true,” he parrots on a whisper, his lips skimming mine. I smile, and we both study each other for a moment.
“I think I like you, Siah,” I tease, and he hums his approval.
“Good ’cause you’re stuck with me,” he counters.
“What made you finally decide?” I ask, curious.
“Your mate Sabin told me to trust the magic. He explained that there was a time when he had doubts and worries and didn’t know how things were going to work out. But he said when all else fails, he’s learned to trust magic because it’s pure, makes us who we are, and always leads us exactly where we need to be.”
My throat gets tight, and my eyes sting with emotion. He told me the same thing once, and I never really thought much about how true it is. “Fuck, I have some good mates,” I announce and wipe a stray tear away.
“Looks like you do,” Siah agrees.
“We should probably get you dry and somewhere comfortable before your runes show up and you question whether being my mate is all it’s cracked up to be,” I joke and push the shower door open and reach for a towel.
“Sorik told me once about what it felt like to get his Chosen runes. I know what I’m in for, Vinna, and there won’t be a moment, no matter how agonizing it is, where I’m not completely honored and grateful for what I’m being given.”
I hand him a towel and swallow past emotion that’s making my throat tight. “Thank you, Siah. That means a lot.” I give him a small smile and step out of the shower to dry off.
I use my magic to dry my hair until it’s straight and shiny. Siah watches me, fascinated, as he towels off and steps into a pair of sweatpants. A knock sounds on the door. I open it to find Knox standing there squeaky clean with a smile on his face. He extends his arms and offers me clothes that I recognize.
“I grabbed these for you when I went to get stuff for everyone.” I stare at a pair of black leggings and a gray slouchy t-shirt that belong to me, and my heart warms with gratitude. I didn’t even give much thought to the fact that I just threw away my bra, underwear and other destroyed clothes and didn’t have anything to replace them with. I take my pile of clean clothes, and Siah walks past me out the door. He smacks my ass as he leaves, and I let out a surprised squeak. Knox gives him an approving nod, and Siah smiles at me.
“That Squeaks nickname makes a lot more sense now.”
I roll my eyes and shut the door in both of their smiling faces. I search my pile of clothes for underwear and quickly realize there isn’t any.
“Knox?” I ask as I open the door again, and all my Chosen turn to look at me. Each of them is clean and showered and look like they’re ready for bed.
“How did this happen?” I ask, gesturing to their ash and blood free selves and the new mattresses that are spread out on the floor.
“Siah told us the two rooms over belonged to Adriel’s guards. They’re not going to be needing them anymore, so we went and showered in there and rehomed their mattresses.
“Oh,” I say nonchalantly, but inside I’m calling dibs on Siah’s mattress. At least I know who’s been sleeping in that one. I turn to Knox, suddenly feeling more tired by the second. It’s like just hearing Adriel’s name has reminded my body of everything it’s been through in the past twenty-four hours. “Um, I don’t have any underwear,” I tell him and then look around the room for my suitcase. It’s not there.
“Oh…uh…I must have forgotten to grab you some,” he tells me, but something in his tone is off. I look over to Torrez and raise an eyebrow.
“Total bullshit,” he confirms, and Knox throws a pillow at him, but Torrez catches it and fluffs it a couple times and lays it under his head.
Knox looks at me and tries to adopt an even more innocent mien, and I narrow my eyes at him playfully.