Page 14 of Power of Five
9
Leralynn
My eyes widen as Coal pulls the shirt off his broad back, revealing corded muscles and taut skin. An intricate tattoo twines down the groove of his spine, and my fingers long to trace the pattern in hopes of learning its meaning. There are scars all over his back as well. Some long and thin, others jagged and wide, interrupting the ink. The legends say fae heal better than humans do. If that’s true, the amount of force it took to leave those scars... My thoughts scramble away from Coal’s back as the male removes his pants and tosses them on top of his boots and shirt.
The winged muscles of Coal’s shoulder blades taper into a diamond-shaped lower back. The carved mounds of his buttocks complete the diamond’s borders and round tightly before surrendering to honed hamstrings and calves. Coal might look like he’s in his mid-twenties, but there are centuries of training, fighting, and killing lying beneath his skin.
Shade chuckles softly into my ear. “You’ll find the fae less prudish than mortals,” he says, while Coal slips into the water with a small splash.
I open my mouth to ask whether Tye and River will be able to find us, but the approach of two galloping riders, each leading a second horse, answers my question. Shade’s arms tighten around me as the two approach, releasing me only when River pulls his mount to a rough halt and jumps off, his hand reaching toward me.
“Come here, Leralynn,” River orders, the command in his voice sending a shiver through my core. River is taller and broader than the others—though considering that I don’t clear the shoulders of any of them, River’s additional size shouldn’t make the difference it does. Maybe it isn’t his size.
His jaw ticks and he steps toward me when I hesitate, his hands grasping my hips and lifting me into the air for a better look. “Are you all right?” he demands. “Talk to me, Leralynn.”
My mouth is dry. I consider kicking him, but this would accomplish nothing—and hurt my foot. I brace my hands on his broad shoulders, which give off more heat than a woodstove. This close, River’s dominating strength and shimmering wall of command give way to velvety skin, an intoxicating woodsy smell, and keen gray eyes that survey me with soul-clenching intensity.
“Am I in trouble?” I manage to say finally, my heart pounding. Maybe I should have added “sir”or “commander” to the end of that, but words are a scarce commodity just now. “For making everyone... come after me?”
River’s brows narrow, studying my face. “Someone raised a hand to you in the past.” Not a question. He shakes his head violently. “I don’t strike humans, Leralynn. And even if I did, retribution is the farthest thing from my mind right now—I truly need to know that you are all right. There is no trick. There is only you.” His eyes widen as he stops speaking, a fleeting look crossing his face—almost like surprise at what just came out of his mouth.
I open my mouth but no words come. I wonder if River’s magic includes turning me into a mute. If it does, Coal must be jealous.
A second pair of hands pulls me from River’s grip, and the scent of pine and citrus washes over me as my back hits a hard chest. “If you are looking for someone to ride, Lilac Girl,” Tye whispers, “at least I can promise not to dump you off in a nest of sclices.”
I elbow the male behind me, cursing as I hit the sting point and my arm goes numb.
Tye chuckles and sets me back on the ground, his arms still pressing me against him. “Come,” he says. “I smell blood on you, lass. And some of it is yours.”
I’m about to protest, but a glance up shows River and Shade facing each other with arms crossed, their gazes exchanging more than words. Tye might enjoy being obnoxious, but he knows when to give his friends space—as well as when to rescue me from his commander’s attention. Settling me on one of the larger boulders, Tye crouches down to unbuckle my boots, his green eyes level with mine.
“What were those hog-beast things?” I ask, shivering at the memory of salivating fangs and the stench of rotten meat.
“Sclices.” Tye pulls my right boot off and runs his hands expertly over my shin and ankle. Under his wide, rough palms, I look pale, delicate. The latter of which I can’t afford to be as part of this quint. Satisfied that both are in one piece, he moves on to the second. “Mors’s version of rodents. They infested Mystwood a few centuries back and it’s been a chore to keep them contained. Dress off, bonny lass. We are going for a swim.”
I hug my arms around my shoulders. “You can go wherever the hell you like. I am waiting for a bathtub.”
“Not an option,” says River, now crouching beside Tye. “Sclices are attracted to their own blood. Returning to the inn as we are would be like ringing a dinner bell. The rodents should be unable to leave Mystwood, but no wards are foolproof.” River grins, showing a set of sharp canines that utterly reverse any calming effect his tone might otherwise have had. “Plus, Shade smells wounds on you. He won’t let you out of his sight until he makes certain you are whole. That’s the hazard of having a wolf along.” The grin fades slowly, and River’s gray gaze lowers to the ground for a heartbeat before swinging up slowly to pierce my soul. When he speaks next, his voice is low and raw. “Thank you for calling Shade back to us. I owe you a debt. We all do.”
I didn’t do anything.I swallow. “Do all of you shift into animals?” I ask, veering away from a conversation I don’t begin to understand. I examine River with narrowed eyes. “You would be a lion. Coal, I imagine, would be...” I turn to Tye. “Which animal kills first and considers why it bothered later? It must be something from your world.”
Tye throws back his head and laughs, the sun playing in his eyes.
I’m so mesmerized by the rich sound that I fail to notice River leaning forward to scoop me up until my body is already in the air, my legs kicking. “Bath time,” the bastard intones just as he tosses me right into the freezing pool.
The icy cold steals my breath the moment I hit the water, paralyzing my vocal cords for several heartbeats. My limbs flail, my back arching against the chill. Once I can draw a lungful of air, however, I screech loudly enough to—if the fates are with me—shatter the immortals’ delicate hearing.
The water beside me explodes in a fountain of freezing spray. I jump back, my toes vaguely discovering the pool’s bottom as a still-clothed, furiously shaking Tye rises from the liquid depths. He is tall enough that the water only reaches his waist, whereas it laps at my collarbone. Tye’s red hair is plastered to his face and his green eyes flash murder at River, who is still ashore and disrobing calmly.
“It seemed only fair,” River calls, placidly unrepentant.
Tye growls.
I turn my back on River just as the quint commander starts undoing his fly, and I find myself looking at Shade’s naked chest.His black hair spills over his shoulders, dripping water onto a muscled chest, where his nipples are as erect from the cold as mine. The pectorals themselves are harsh, slightly rounded rectangles, contoured perfectly to fit into a girl’s palm.
“Cold?” Shade asks. He holds his arms out to me and I walk to him like a mouse into a snake’s maw, too hypnotized to think. Shade’s hands encircle my ribcage and lift me up in a smooth motion, settling me comfortably on his hips. My legs wrap around his waist for balance, one of my heels settling into the groove atop his right buttock. The heat of his body seeps through my wet shirt, and I give up all pretense of propriety in favor of pressing myself against him.
“Tye,” Shade calls over my shoulder, and I feel a second large body approach me from the back. Hands reach for me and there is a sharp ripping sound that I realize too late is my dress. Shade’s warm hand finds the back of my neck, his other arm still supporting my hips. I’ve never been so mindful of my body as I am now, every soft curve and inch of smooth skin making itself known for the first time and singing in awareness. “Easy, cub. Sclices aren’t known for their hygiene, and one of them marked you deeper than any of us like.”
Tye’s calloused fingers caress my bare back, pouring water from a cupped hand over my tender skin. I have one more brief notion of a struggle, but the cold, the fatigue, and the males’ bullheaded resolve finally win over. I bury my face in Shade’s neck, savoring the way his earth-and-rain scent mixes with Tye’s pine and citrus, while the immortals wash away the morning’s nightmare.
