Page 142 of Between Soul and Vessel
I shrugged. “It smells like stale farts in here.”
That got a laugh from a few of the others. Aryx only continued to eye me with a great deal of skepticism.
I grabbed the bucket from the floor and left the room, weaving my way through the hallways. A petite, hooded figure waited further down, a satchel on her back. Her bodywas tucked against the wall as if she were trying to become one with the shadows. Spotting me, she quickened her pace toward me. “Ready?” Avriel asked as she looked up at me underneath her hood.
“As ready as I’m ever going to be. Stay behind me, alright?” I said, the words a soft command.
She nodded, her hand finding mine.
Gently, I tugged her behind me, leading her into the room where water was gathered from a well fed by a subterranean river. It was then brought up and boiled in massive pots before it was delivered to the washing room.
“Boilerman,” I said to the stocky fellow, his back turned to us. “We’re out of water.”
“Hold your horses. Next pot’s a comin’,” he replied, not bothering to look my way, his magic controlling the flames beneath the steaming pot.
That was a mistake.
Bang!
I sent the bucket sailing into the back of his head, sending him ass over teakettle. He fell onto the ground like a bag of coal.
“Is he . . .” Avriel looked at him and then up at me, eyes large.
“No. He’ll have a sore head when he wakes, but he’ll be fine,” I said, dropping the bucket beside him. “Come on. We don’t have much time.” I gave her a pull, and we rushed over to the well.
I looked over the gray stone, down into the darkness waiting below.
The sound of rushing water could be heard, roaring and growling.
“I’ll take the satchel.” I held my hand out.
She nodded, pulled the strap from her shoulder, then handed it to me. It had a surprising bit of weight to it. I crossed it over my body, my eyes catching with hers.
This time, it was my turn to ask, “Ready?”
“I guess so,” she replied, starting to lift herself onto the edge.
“No.” I shook my head, my eyes flicking to her clothes. “Your dress will make it too hard to swim.”
“Right,” she said, jumping back down.
I looked the other way, giving her privacy as she undressed herself.
“What should I do with my dress?” she asked.
I glanced at the unconscious boilerman. Although he hadn’t seen us, the other soul crushers knew I had intended to come to this room. Sure, they would tell the empress, but why should I leave any extra clues behind if I didn’t have to? Things might point to where we’d gone, but I didn’t need to spell it out for them.
“Toss it in the well,” I replied.
“Alright,” she answered before she hoisted the fabric onto the edge and then shoved it over. I glanced down the well, watching as the darkness swallowed it. We both did. Our gazes met, and my breath snagged in the back of my throat—I had never seenso muchof her before.
A silk chemise clung to her sensual feminine curves.
She looked stunning. The swell of herbreasts—
Focus, jackass,I scolded myself.
“You go first,” I told her. “I’ll be right behind you.”
