Page 13 of Seducing Scylla
“It’s—WHAT?”
15
Morgan
Okay, Morgan. Be calm. You’ve read books. You had an idea this is what a mate bond meant. My heart rate picks up, and anxiety claws at me.
“Okay. I think we need to discuss this.”
I pry myself from her grip, ignoring the heat and wetness pooling between my legs as best as I can, and back out of the hot spring. Scylla doesn’t resist my escape and follows quietly behind me, the water making calming lapping noises as she exits the spring. My clothing is soaked again, the air in here gluggy with steam, and now that I’m out of Scylla’s arms, the humidity of the cave feels suffocating.
“Let us return to my cave, and we can talk along the way. How is your foot?”
Scylla is unnervingly quiet, and calm, and it eases the frenetic energy bubbling beneath my skin just enough that I can start to think more clearly.
“My foot? Oh!”
I had almost forgotten the nasty slice I received on the way here. I lift the pad of my foot to check it.
Dumbstruck, I look back to Scylla, “It’s healed.”
Scylla nods, unsurprised. “Let us leave then.”
A high-pitched laugh echoes in the cave, and I flinch before I realize it was me.
“Of course, it’s a magical hot spring. I mean, we can understand each other now, so why can’t it also heal? Yep, makes perfect sense,” I babble as I follow Scylla out of the cave.
I’m starting to think this is all one big hallucination and my captors really messed up their dosage of whatever they knocked us out with.Us. Oh. My. God. I completely forgot about the others.
I let out a loud groan. “I’m the worst person ever.”
Scylla tenses in front of me, turning her head over her shoulder to look at me.
“You are a bad person?” She eyes me warily, looking me up and down as if I look like the least capable person of being terrible.
“No—I, yes? No? I don’t know,” I groan, shaking my head.
“There are more of us, and I left them. I’m a coward and I ran away.”
Scylla stops. “There are more of you?” she says slowly. “Humans? Here?”
I nod, biting at my lip.
“That is not possible.”
“I’m here, aren’t I? Unless this really is some wild hallucination and I’m going to wake up any moment.” I pinch my arm, hard, just to make sure.
“I think this is real.” I shrug.
“Tell me everything.” Scylla’s eyes are as wide as saucers.
“Sure, but I think we should probably head to the beach while I explain.”
“Very well.” Scylla nods and continues along the underground cave system.
I try to match her pace as best I can, especially while barefoot and trying to avoid any loose stones, but I’m huffing not long into ourjourney, and I haven’t even started telling Scylla the story of how we got here. Scylla stops abruptly and with a yelp, I almost trip over one of her tentacles. Scylla steadies me and then scoops me up in her arms like it’s nothing. Instantly, the mate fire burns to life under my skin, and I scrunch my eyes and mouth tight in a bid to not let out a breathy moan again and add to my embarrassment.
“I will carry you. We will be quicker.” Scylla’s voice is choked, and I wonder if she is feeling the same heat when we touch.
