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“I understand,” I said, my tone coming out a little breathless, almost sinking beneath the water.
“What do you want to ask of me?” he began, when the silence stretched and it was apparent I wasn’t leaving.
“Where have you been sleeping?”
“I told you,” he said, fire sparking in his eyes, “that I take my vows seriously. Despite…”
He was angry at what I was implying.
“Despite?”
He huffed out a breath. “Despite that we do not love each other. Despite that we barely know each other.”
“I’m trying to change that.”
He stilled. “The former or the latter?”
I flushed, but I hoped the darkness of the night hid the worst of it. Quickly, I said, “The latter, of course.”
He relaxed in obvious relief, and I didn’t know why I felt a thread of disappointment tighten within me.
“There are empty dwellings in the horde,” he told me. “Sarroth is vast. The majority of our people don’t travel with the horde. Only potential riders and those who choose to split their time between the Arsadia and our homeland. As such, there are always places to sleep here in Rysar.”
I nodded, believing him.
“Don’t ask me again,” he continued, walking closer to me, making my heart pick up pace. “I keep my promises, Klara, even to you. It’s an insult for you to continue to question my honor to our union.”
“I won’t,” I whispered. He couldn’t possibly hear me over the falls, but he inclined his head in acceptance nonetheless. Raising my voice, I asked, “Why bathe down here, then?”
I swore the edge of his lips quirked up. “Because I like it down here. It helps me focus. The wildness.”
“The wildness helps you focus?”
“For someone like me, yes.”
“You strike me as a very structured kind of person, one who doesn’t welcome surprises.”
“Then you have me all wrong. Or maybe you’re correct. Maybe this is who I am now, who I’ve needed to become,” he informed me, those eyes reflecting the silver light of the moon. I went a little dizzy looking into them, my legs treading water faster, despite my aching muscles. “Once, most would have called me reckless. Actually, everyone would have.”
A familiar feeling of intrigue pulsed through me like my own heartbeat. It was like the feeling of a brand-new book, one I’d never seen or touched before, but one that held so much promise. That giddy excitement as you peeled back the cover, as you thumbed through those first few pages of delicate parchment.
“But we’re not talking about that tonight,” he added, leveling me a raised brow that had my hope deflating once more in my chest.
“Then what are we talking about?”
I held my breath as his eyes dripped down the column of my throat and to the rippling water lapping just above my breasts. He wouldn’t be able to see them underneath the dark water, but merely knowing that he wanted to sent a dangerous thrill through me. My legs momentarily stopped treading water, and the lake came up to my lips, wetting them.
“I want to talk about you,” he said.