Page 67 of Chained

“Where does it take us?” Maxym asks, his feathers shaking.

“We’ll exit on the far side of the square in front of the dome.”

“Where there will be a thousand Bogarok waiting for us,” Maxym rasps. “What are the other options?”

“I can’t tell where this one comes up.” Retah thrusts his vid-screen at Maxym, and I peer at it from under his wing.

Maxym grins. “I can,” he says.

CLEO

The damp passage runs uphill until we reach an old ladder which is mere metal rungs slammed into the wall.

“Up,” Maxym says, placing me on the first rungs and following behind until we reach the iron grating above.

He listens for a short while and then braces his back against the grate, shielding me with his body. He shoves and the thing gives with a grinding shriek, falling back over with a loud clang.

“If they didn’t know where to find us before,” I hiss, “they do now.”

“Unlikely. I do not believe Bogarok bathe,” Maxym says, helping me out of the drain and onto solid ground before following me out.

The air is thick with the smell of hot water and cleansing products. I might not have the sense of smell Maxym does, given he was able to literally use his nose to find the booby trap back in the vault, but I know the scent well.

“This is a bath?” I query. “In the dome?”

“Not quite,” Maxym says. “The hot springs which feed the baths in the dome are part of this system, but these are in a private bath next to the dome.” He smiles at me and lifts his wings over his head. “We sometimes came here, if we had a passand if we needed to get away from all the fussing clerks.” He stretches out his left wing, twisting it one way, then the other. “The minerals are better for healing here. Helped fix my wing once.”

“All well and good, but we still have to get to the dome,” Retah says.

“Did I also mention we sometimes came here without a pass because they’re more than happy to serve gladiators with mead-ale?” Maxym says with a wicked smile.

“Rogue.” Retah thumps him on his back between his wings.

“You never told me you were this sneaky.” I slide my hand into his.

“Survival makes you do what you need to,” Maxym says, “but survival is about more than just staying alive.”

“It includes mead-ale and bathing?”

“What is life without mead-ale and bathing?” he replies, pulling me against him. “And you.”

“What indeed,” I say as he captures me with a kiss until Retah clears his throat.

“Ah yes, the mission,” Maxym says as I’m released. “If I want mead-ale, bathing, and you all to myself in the future, I suppose we’d better get on with it.”

“As long as I know where I stand in the hierarchy of your life.” I laugh. “Somewhere behind mead-ale and bathing.”

Maxym gives me a long, dangerous look. “My life is yours, sweet mate. Always.”

Like I ever had any doubt.

“It’s this way.” He heads out of the rough-hewn room through an archway with Retah and I following.

We move through increasingly more ornate, and deserted rooms which have deep pools of steaming water. I can see why Maxym is attracted to this place, although the murals of naked females could also have something to do with it.

“Only you,” he whispers in my ear. “Even when I was sold for pleasure, there was none, until you.”

I’m about to ask what he could possibly mean about being sold for pleasure when we reach the outer door of the bathing house, and he takes a sharp left turn, leaping up a flight of stairs two at a time with Retah and I rushing to catch him up. I’m sure I see movement out of the corner of my eye, but I ignore it as we race through a few more rooms, some of which have beds in disarray, making me wonder exactly what else goes on in this bath house.

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