Page 47 of Feral Guardian
Alastair stops and turns to look at me. “That’s incredible, Lily.”
I shake my head, brushing off the compliment. “It’s still a work in progress. I was so worried it wouldn’t work, but there was no other option. You were going to die.”
My chest tightens, and suddenly, I’m running to Alastair to hug him. He almost died. I almost lost him for good. My eyes water and I look up at him.
He gives me a rare smile, his hand resting on my shoulder. “You saved me.”
I wrinkle my nose and smirk. “And now you owe me.”
He raises an eyebrow. “What do I owe you?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. Something of my choosing. I’ll tell you when it comes up.”
He hums and turns back to the path he was carving through the forest. The potent smell of sulfur increases, and the air moistens as we walk. Not only that, but the temperature is increasing. I feel my heart growing hopeful.
A bath—a real bath, even if it’s in sulfur water—isexactlywhat I need right now.
We hike up another incline and my weary muscles threaten to surrender, but I tell them that a real bath is close at hand and find a reserve of strength. Alastair leads us one way for a while, and then grumbles, turning back to lead us in the other direction. I follow wearily, ready for a break and please, by The Ten’s grace, let there be a hot spring.
The air thickens and my heart leaps at a part in the trees. There it is! A river flowing down from the snowmelt in the mountains, and in steamy pools of teal and white, a hot, sulfuric-scented bath. The inlets of cold river water to the hot ponds are small, just enough to keep the water refreshed without chilling it.
“Oh, yes,” I say, my voice guttural and desperate. “Look away, Alastair, I’m getting naked.”
I move forward, putting Kor’Tar’s reins over his shoulder. I peel off my shirt as I pass him and hear his sharp intake of breath. Apparently, he didn’t turn away fast enough.
“Princess, the water could be too hot,” Alastair protests as I make my way to the edge.
“There’s only one way to find out if it’s safe for me, Alastair,” I call. Then, in my best damsel voice I say, “You’ll have to get in first.”
I slide my pants down my legs and toss them aside, happy to be rid of them. Alastair mumbles some curse to the gods. I don’t care. I’m about to soak in luxurious, hot water, smelly or not. I hear sulfur is actually good for the skin, or so my mother said when I asked why her room always smelled of such.
The water ishot, and I groan as my right foot slides into it. I sit at the edge and drop both legs all the way in. The wound on my calf burns as it enters the water, but after a brief period of adjustment, it feels much better.
The rocks in the pool are a bit sharp, but I find a good place to step in and make my way deeper. Instantly, my body unwinds. The tension from being constantly on the run, hung over, and attacked by a monster flees my muscles, and serenity enters in its stead.
“Alastair,” I groan with relief. “You have to get in.”
I run my hands up my arms and massage the hot water into my neck. I roll my head around and around until my tight muscles loosen.
This is thebestthing ever.
There’s a splash behind me, small at first, and then the water ripples. I turn to see that Alastair has gotten in, completely naked, as I am. His dark skin is littered with pink scars, some deliberatelymade. I see the runic symbol for Zephrom’s law on his right forearm, and Nol’Ther’s calm on the other. Runes cover his entire body in different shapes and orientations, some connected by circling designs, others by triangles or diamonds.
I cover the place on my forearm where my own hidden runes sit. I wonder who did this to him, or if he did it to himself. Illya is a different culture. Perhaps all the warriors are branded like this.
He flexes his muscled pecs and biceps as he groans in relief, lowering deeper into the pool. I straighten and turn away, the heat in my face no longer just from the hot springs. I move to the other side and turn, resting my arms and neck on the mossy rocks.
Alastair’s eyes are closed, and he breathes deeply as red light glows beneath the surface of the water. Is he healing with his magic? He did say that his powers allowed him advanced healing, but only for himself.
“Will you tell me about your magus ability?” I ask.
His eyes snap open and lock on me, then drop to the swell of my chest before he turns his head. “No. It’s…I can’t.”
I smirk. “Fine, I’m going to tell more jokes, then.”
He glowers at me from just one eye.
“An old man is praying to Osselna. When his wife asks what he’s doing, he says he’s asking for guidance.”
