Page 21 of Somber Prince

He opened the door wider, allowing me to exit the room.

“Why would you even bother with doors?” I asked, following Sigid through a maze of narrow corridors. “Why don’t you just zoom through space like you did when you came to my room?”

“Turning to shadows is taxing. It requires magic and concentration. Walking can be done without much thought, allowing for a conversation.” He gestured between us in demonstration. “Besides, moving as a shadow can be disorienting. Prince Rha’s warriors train hard to be able to use their magic in battle.”

“Do they actually go into battles? Or is that what you call their kidnapping missions?”

“Both,” he replied calmly.

We crossed another gorgeous indoor garden on the way. Then, Sigid led me through a set of carved wooden doors into a room so large, for a moment I believed we’d arrived outdoors. The air was thick with moisture here and filled with sounds of bubbling water. Steam rose from several pools of various sizes and from the intricate water features lining the walls.

“What is this place?” I looked around.

“The palace baths.” Cupping my elbow, Sigid took me to the nearest pool. “Take your things off and put them here.” He pointed at the mosaic ledge of the pool before going to fetch a bunch of vials and jars from the bamboo stand nearby. “I’ll wash you.”

“You’ll what?” I clutched my blanket tighter around my body.

My modesty might be unfounded, considering this guy had already seen me topless earlier at the harness fitting, but “washing” me meant he’d have to put his hands on me. Besides, the palace baths weren’t empty. We weren’t the only ones here. The shadow people strolled along the mosaic floors between the pools. Some washed in the waterfalls cascading down the walls. Others had conversations in groups, wading through the shallow parts of the streams.

“You’re not touching me,” I hissed quietly in Sigid’s ear. “And there are way too many people here for me to undress. Don’t you have a private bathroom with a shower somewhere? It doesn’t have to be an entire swimming pool.”

“Prince Rha has a private bathing area underground. I can put in a request for you to bathe in his?—”

I stopped him by lifting a hand.

“Thanks, but no thanks. Let’s keep the prince out of it.”

I sighed. If I had to choose between Sigid and Prince Rha as my bathing companions, I’d rather go with Sigid. At least this guy wasn’t the mastermind behind all the kidnappings and murders.

“All right,” Sigid replied, arranging the bottles of toiletries along the ledge by the pool. “Could you explain to me, please, what about me washing you makes you uncomfortable?”

“You really don’t get it? Do you honestly think there is nothing weird about a man rubbing oils and soaps onto the naked body of a woman he’s just met?”

“Not if a woman is a Joy Vessel, and the man is a trained Keeper. Taking care of you is my purpose. I also fail to see how gender has any relevance in this case.” He tipped his chin at the other bathers in the area. “There are people of all genders here.”

True. Looking closely, I realized this was a mixed crowd. Men and women mingled easily. Most wore only a narrow strip of fabric tied around their hips and no jewelry to conceal their chests. They seemed completely unaffected by each other’s nudity. There were no heated glances thrown between them. I caught no signs of erections bulging behind men’s loin clothes. Things appeared rather calm, helping my anxiety subside.

Sigid watched me with growing impatience. “Or if you no longer wish to bathe, we can just leave. I have no orders to wash you before the dinner, anyway.”

“No. It’s fine. I do need a bath. But I’ll wash myself. Just pass me those things, please, and let me know what every one of them is for. I don’t want to end up washing my hair with a shaving cream or something.”

“There is no shaving cream. We aren’t werewolves. The only hair we have is on our heads.”

“How convenient,” I mumbled, taking a furtive look at his arms as he handed me an uncorked bottle.

His skin appeared matte, absorbing all light like fine velvet, but it emitted a slight shimmer as he moved. My hand itched to touch him, but I held back, afraid that it might come across as an invitation for him to touch me back.

Sigid didn’t look like he cared either way, however. He seemed impatient and mildly annoyed by the delay.

“Here.” He shoved the bottle closer to me. “This is to clean your skin.”

“Thanks.” I dropped the blanket from around me, then shoved my pajama pants down my legs.

I watched Sigid as I stepped out of my clothes. He slid a curious glance down my naked body, pausing on the trimmed triangle of hair between my legs.

“Yeah, well…” I cleared my throat, turning toward the pool. “We do have hair in more places than one.”

“I see.” He didn’t sound particularly interested.

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