Page 29 of Rising Out of the Darkness
My scream echoed into the night, arms flailing against the air, before my body came crashing down into the icy water below. After a huge splash, I flung myself back up to the surface, gasping for air. The piercing cold water attacked my skin like a thousand tiny needles, causing me to tremble uncontrollably. For a moment, even the memory of how to swim seemed to evade me.
I wiped the water away from my eyes as my toes searched for purchase on the floor beneath. As I treaded closer towards the shore, my toe snagged against a rock and my feet finally touched the bottom. Anger quelled within me, as my breaths began to steady.
“How dare you,” I seethed.
Arms folded across his chest, he leaned against a tree, a perfect display of a smug prince. “You needed to cool down. I figured this was the best option.” He shrugged casually. If that wasn’t enough for me to begin thinking murderous thoughts, he added in a devious smirk.
I submerged myself underwater and screamed—first, to avoid my stubborn mouth saying something I shouldn’t, and second, to cool my emotions before we had a repeat showing of the chaos that was my dynamis. Only once I felt my dynamis seep back to the depths where it resided did I emerge.
“Toss me your clothes, and I’ll hand you some soap.”
I shook my head in response, and he sighed, tilting his head back against the tree. “If you’re going to continue to ride with me, then I need to fix the lingering problems. Snoring I can handle, but the smell? That has got to go.”
“I don’t snore, and I absolutely do—not—SMELL!” My restraint snapped once more. My toes searched for a loose rock beneath me until they snagged against one. I bent down, grasped the slippery stone and drew my arm back before I chucked it towards him, releasing all my rage along with it. It hit the tree with a crack, barely missing his head by half an inch.
His voice rumbled deep and low, like a purr, no sign of anger or annoyance, just pure delight. “My dearest Elena, are you trying to kill me?”
“If I was trying, I wouldn’t have missed. That, dear prince, was a warning.”
His eyebrows shot up as he paused momentarily, running his hand over the scruff on his chin. Pushing away from the tree, he stalked towards me, unbuttoning his tunic with each step.
My heart started to race as he tossed his shirt aside and began to kick off his boots.Just what does he think he’s doing?When he began to unbutton his pants, my eyes bulged, and Declan cleared his throat. “You may want to shield your little eyes, Elena.”
I immediately slapped a hand over my eyes and turned around. A splash arose from behind me as the prince dove into the water.
“You’re safe. You can turn around now.”
His voice seemed to echo from a distance, so I waded around.
I was completely unprepared for the sight before me.
Water rippled over the prince’s clearly defined chest, no doubt constructed from the many years of training and battles. My lips parted as he laced his fingers through his wet locks, sending more droplets of water cascading over his chest. When my eyes finally met his, a faint smile danced across his lips.
I snapped my gaping mouth shut, but I couldn’t unlock my eyes from him, and neither could he from me. His eyes rolled to my lips, down to the rest of my body where they lingered. It was only then that I realized that I was still wearing my white Ascension dress. A very thin dress that was now soaked and probably almost translucent.
Flinching, I wrapped my arms around my body and sank my shoulders under the water. Averting his eyes, he put his focus to use elsewhere.
The water cut him just above his lower abdomen and was dark enough to hide whatever was below. Unfortunately, I’ve always had extremely active imagination, and my mind concluded everything concealed below was probably just as beautifully defined as well. A bar of soap in hand, he lathered his body, perhaps a little too thoroughly, before diving under to rinse.
“Catch!” He tossed me the soap, knocking me out of my trance. The slippery soap floundered around like a fish in my hands as I tried to grab hold of it. “Your turn, stinky.”
Unconsciously, a growl rippled out of me. “Declan, I can’t—I won’t, especially with you in here. Also, I don’t even have anything else to change into.”
“You must really think me daft, don’t you?” He waded towards the shore to get out.
Lost in anger, I almost didn’t realize I was about to see a very naked prince. My hand flew over my eyes just in time. When Iheard the swish of legs sliding into pants, I slowly peeled my hand away.
“I grabbed your satchel earlier. I figured there was a change of clothes inside. So, now you have clothes and no more excuses.”
Fighting hard to not roll my eyes, I mumbled some very un-lady like words instead.
To be honest, I really was beginning to smell. Especially after all the events of the past two days. The idea of a bath sounded amazing, even in this frigid lake.
“Fine,” I conceded, “I’ll toss up my clothes, but you must agree to give me some space. Also, for no reason are you allowed to turn around while I’m in here.”
“Now look who’s giving demands.” He shook his head, and a little smile tugged at his lips. “Here, I’ll lay your new clothes on this rock. I’ll be just over there if you need me. Don’t get any ideas of running away either.”
He laid out the clothes and walked back towards the tree line. Leaning up against one of the tree trunks, he faced towards the camp, allowing me time to bathe.
