22 Spring
Sera
+25 Bonus
The guard led me down a series of corridors that sloped deep into the mountain’s roots. As we descended, the air shifted. It went from the dry, biting chill of the upper fortress to a thick, heavy heat. It smelled of sulfur, damp stone, and something floral- like crushed lilies left in a sauna. Steam began to drift through the doorways, clinging to my hair and making my clothes feel heavy.
My pulse climbed with every step. I kept thinking about what this was. Fenris had sent for me while he was at the springs. Was this the moment? Was he going to claim me here, in the dark and the heat? The thought made my stomach do a slow, nervous
roll.
We reached a massive archway carved with deep, swirling patterns. The guard stopped and gestured inside. “Go through,” he said. He didn’t wait for a response before turning and walking back the way we came.
I stood at the entrance for a long heartbeat. Steam curled around my ankles like thick smoke. From inside, I could hear the echo of voices, the splashing of water, and bursts of laughter. I took a breath, felt the moisture coat my lungs, and stepped through.
The spring wasn’t a pool; it was a cathedral of rock. Natural stone walls stretched up into a darkness that felt miles deep. Amber and blue mineral veins in the rock glowed with a faint, eerie light, casting long shadows across the water. Multiple pools were tiered at different levels, some large and some small, with water flowing between them through channels carved into the floor.
It was crowded. People were everywhere-soaking in the pools, lounging on ledges, or sitting on heated stone benches.
And everyone was naked.
Men, women, the elderly, and warriors. They were all bare, wet, and completely unashamed. I saw a group of men laughing as they washed each other’s backs with rough sponges. Women floated with their eyes closed, their breasts bobbing at the surface of the water. In a shadowed pool in the far corner, I saw three people tangled together-a woman and two men. Her back was arched, her mouth open in a silent gasp as they moved against her.
I tore my eyes away, my face burning. This wasn’t a bathhouse. It was a place of pure, communal iniquity. I felt like a voyeur, standing there in my tunic and trousers while the world bared its skin around me.
Then I saw him.
Fenris was in a pool near the center. It was elevated, carved into a ledge that gave him a view of the entire cavern. The water hit him at mid-chest. Even submerged, I could see the massive breadth of his shoulders and the thick, white scars that crossed his collarbones. His dark hair was wet, pushed back from his forehead.
He was watching me.
Taya was draped over his side. She wasn’t being subtle. Her body was curved against his ribs, her hip touching his under the water. She was giggling into his ear, her fingers tracing lazy patterns across his chest. Her breasts were full and heavy, wet skin glistening in the amber light as she pressed them firmly against his arm.
Fenris wasn’t holding her. His arms were spread wide, resting on the stone ledge behind him in a casual, dominant pose. But he wasn’t pushing her away, either.
On the opposite side of the pool, Mina sat with her back against the rock. Her jaw was tight, her eyes fixed on Taya with a look that could have killed. When she spotted me, her face flickered with a flash of shame and embarrassment. She looked away fast, staring back at the water.
Taya noticed me next. Her head turned, and a delighted, cruel smile broke across her face.
“Oh, look,” Taya called out, her voice echoing off the stone. “Mina’s dear Princess has finally arrived.”
Mina didn’t say a word. She kept her eyes on the water.
+25 Bonus
Fenris’s gaze hadn’t left me. His eyes tracked down my body-clothed, out of place, and clearly stiff with discomfort. Something shifted in his expression. It wasn’t mockery. It was something darker, a heavy, possessive look that made my skin prickle. Even with my clothes on, I felt more naked under his stare than the people who were actually nude.
The memory of the cabin hit me-the way he’d stripped, the massive slabs of muscle, and the sheer size of the thing between his legs that had short-circuited my brain. He was remembering it, too. I could see it in the way his pupils blew wide.
I forced myself to walk closer, my heels clicking on the wet stone. People in the nearby pools started to notice. I saw smirks, raised eyebrows, and heard the hushed whispers of the Northern wolves watching the Southern girl. I stopped at the edge of his pool.
“You summoned me,” I said flatly.
Before Fenris could speak, Taya giggled. She pressed her chest harder against his arm. “How formal she is. This isn’t your Southern court, Princess. No one summoned you. You were invited.”
The scar on my collarbone ignited. I felt a sharp, humiliating jab of jealousy. Watching Taya’s wet tits rub against Fenris made me feel physically ill. I hated that I cared. I hated that the bond was making me want to reach in and rip her away from him.
Fenris ignored Taya. “Get in,” he said. His voice was a low rumble that vibrated through the stone under my feet.
“No,” I said.
He raised an eyebrow.
I gestured at Taya, at the crowded cavern, and at the threesome still going at it in the corner. “I’m not getting in with any of… this.”
Taya’s smile sharpened. “What exactly is ‘this’?”
2/2
+25 Bonus
