Page 55 of Rising Out of the Darkness
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
It was all I could muster, but I knew his Elysian ears could hear me. We all had an unusually strong sense of hearing, and some had sight as well.
A pained expression etched across his face, he shifted his glance outside. “Don’t ever do that again, Lena.”
I opened my mouth once, twice, then closed it once more. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make that promise. No longer would I be frozen. I couldn’t lose another person, another innocent life, because of my fear.
“How is everyone else? How are you? I think my dynamis tossed you aside at one point.” I tried my best to divert the conversation off me.
“The others are well. Killian and I spent the night transporting the rest of the men back to the castle. A few stayed behind to bring back the horses. Liam is okay as well, a little fatigued after using so much dynamis to throw shards of ice at the monstrous beast. He and Killian have been taking turns guarding your room the past few nights.” Declan shoved his hands back into his pockets and walked back towards the edge of the bed.
“And you?” I asked tentatively. “Are you well?”
“No, but seeing you awake definitely makes me feel …lighter.” He held my gaze before releasing it to rub the back of his neck. “My father and Lord Alastor will want you to attend dinner tonight. They’re very curious to meet the Light Phoenix, who has also now become known as the Slayer of Beasts.” He shuffled his body back and forth. “The king and Lord Alastor, they are?—”
“Temperamental?” I interrupted, a smirk dancing across my face.
“Hmm, yes, that’s one way to put it.” His tone was more serious now. “They will not tolerate outbursts, objections, disobedience?—”
“So, you’re telling me I need to be quiet and watch my mouth? Is that what I’m hearing?” I chuckled.
“I’m serious, Elena, it’s for your own safety. We are not good men.”
I raised an eyebrow at the term “we” in that sentence—if he wasn’t a good man, he wouldn’t have saved me—but he just stared at me, waiting for an answer.
“I make no promise,” I said. “I will try my best, Your Highness.”
“See that you do.”
I nodded, and it was silent again until he explained that he would send up my lady-in-waiting, along with a selection of dresses for me to choose from for the evening. A flutter of excitement rushed over me at the mention of dresses. He told me that dinners in the castle were always formal, meaning elegant attire only.
“Before I leave, there’s a few things I want to show you.” He extended his hand to mine.
Sliding back over the edge of the bed, I let my feet fall to the floor and allowed Declan to help me up. Though I was almost fully healed, I had to admit that I still felt exhausted.
His gaze was no longer on my eyes. Following his gaze down to my chest, I realized why. My robe had fallen open, exposing the slip of a nightdress that barely covered me. I gasped, withdrawing my hand from his, and tugged the ends of my robe closed. The prince’s mouth hung ajar, and I couldn’t resist tilting his chin up to close it. He cleared his throat, following me as I walked towards the center of the room, away from the bed.
“What did you want to show me, Declan?”
“First, let me show you the bathroom.”
“Hmm, that wasn’t what I expected.” I tried to stifle my laughter as I began to roll my eyes before I caught his gaze.
“Watch it, Wildfire,” he said in a low growl as he led me into the extremely oversized bathroom.
Now, my mouth fell open. The floor was covered in a beautiful white stone with strands of gray and black that ran through it. Large windows let the light in, but also let you see the ocean below.
Declan spun my body around to face a copper bath to the side of me. Stone tree-like roots supported the bottom, lifting it off the ground, and it had a faucet like the one I used every day to pump water from our town’s well.
“I thought you might like this better than me tossing you in the lake…or the ocean.” He smirked, gazing out the window at the view of the waves below. I shook my head, ignoring his jest, as he pulled on the faucet and water began pouring out.
“You have running water?”
“We’ve always had aqueducts beneath the cities, and a few centuries ago we figured out how to pump the fresh water through faucets into homes. We also figured out how to heat it as well.” He waggled his eyebrows up and down.
“I’ll be doing this immediately.”
Declan cleared his throat.
