23 Sinking
Sera
Taya’s smile sharpened. “What exactly is ‘this’?”
“The hot water will help your legs,” Fenris cut in before she could escalate. “You could barely stand when we arrived. The minerals will help the joints heal properly.”
I stared at him, trying to find the lie. If you want to fuck me, just say it. “I’m fine. My legs are fine.”
“They aren’t,” he said.
“I said no.”
Fenris didn’t react. He just watched me.
Taya let out a sharp laugh. “She’s a soft princess. That’s all. She probably thinks we’re animals. Look at her-she thinks we’re dirty.” She looked at Mina. “Did you really think someone like this could be what the Alpha needs? She can’t even take a bath.”
“Taya, stop,” Fenris said. His voice was low and carried a warning.
But she didn’t. She was emboldened by his proximity. “She’s useless to us. A pampered Southern pet who—”
“Taya,” Fenris said again, sharper this time.
I cut in before she could finish. “Mind your own business. Whatever you think you’re doing with him, you can keep doing it. I
want no part of it.”
Fenris watched the exchange, his face an unreadable mask. He still hadn’t pushed Taya away. I looked at Mina. She gave me a brief, pleading look before dropping her head.
“I’m leaving,” I said. I turned on my heel and started toward the archway.
Behind me, Taya’s voice dripped with contempt. “Princess.”
The word hit me like a slap. I stopped. It didn’t sound like a title. It sounded like a slur, like the worst thing a person could be. 1 stood there for several heartbeats, my hands shaking.
Who did this bitch think she was?
Slowly, I turned around. Taya was smirking, her chin tilted up. She thought she’d won. She thought she’d successfully chased away the uptight Southern girl.
I walked back to the edge of the pool. I looked directly at Fenris. “Do you want me to join you?”
Something shifted in his eyes. Surprise, maybe amusement. He tilted his head. “If you want—”
“I do.”
I started undressing.
My fingers went to the buttons of my tunic. They were shaking, but I forced them to move. I undid the first, the second, the third. I pulled the tunic over my head and dropped it on the wet stone.
I was in my undergarments—a simple, thin cotton slip. I pulled it over my head and let it fall.
Now I was in just my bra and panties. Plain, white Southern modesty. Every eye in the cavern seemed to lock onto me. Taya’s smirk vanished. She hadn’t expected me to actually do it. Mina’s mouth was slightly open.
Fenris was staring. His casual posture was gone. He’d leaned forward, his eyes tracking every inch of skin I revealed. There was nothing unreadable about him now. He looked like he wanted to eat me alive.
1/2
+25 Bonus
My hands reached for the clasp of my bra. I stopped.
The reality of the room hit me. The naked warriors, the whispering elders, the communal eyes. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t strip completely naked in front of all these people just because a mean girl called me a name.
What the fuck am I doing?
I felt the weight of their stares. I was in my underwear, but I might as well have been naked.
“Don’t stop now,” Taya said, her smirk returning with a vengeance. “Take everything off. Show us how a princess does it.”
My jaw locked. I shook my head. Instead of removing the rest, I simply turned and walked into the pool. Underwear and all.
The water was shockingly hot. That was the first thing I registered-a searing heat that enveloped my calves, my knees, and my thighs as I waded in. The mineral smell was overpowering now.
The second thing I registered: I couldn’t feel the bottom.
The pool dropped off sharply, much deeper than it looked from the surface. I was still walking, my own momentum carrying me forward, and suddenly the floor was gone. The water hit my chest, then my neck, then it closed over my head.
And then I remembered. I couldn’t swim.
Panic immediately enveloped me. I flailed, my arms windmilling through the heavy water. My feet kicked at nothing but liquid. I couldn’t find the surface. I couldn’t find up.
The hot water filled my mouth. It burned my nose. I choked, my lungs seizing as I thrashed. I felt my body begin to sink, the darkness of the pool swallowing me whole.
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