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*****

~ ELRETH ~

Elreth shrieked as she ducked out of the freezing, mountain-fed water of the waterfall and sprinted across the rocks to plunge into the steaming mineral pool, Aaryn laughing and throwing his arms up to shield himself from her splash.

The high, arching ceiling of the cavern loomed almost a hundred feet overhead, her voice echoing above to bounce from wall to wall of the cavern.

The bathing pools were unique to the Royal cave, a cavern that housed a deep, cool pool of crystal water fed by a waterfall that fell from the crevasse in the ceiling, nestled up against a volcanic mineral pool, hot and steaming, the water cloudy. Together the two pools made a rough figure-eight, though the cold pool was larger and there was a span of rock between them where the spray of the waterfall left a thin layer of water.

The cavern was hidden in the depths of the mountain, it’s only entrance through the royal cave itself.

It had been a part of Elreth’s life since her birth, and was the place she and Aaryn always chose when they wanted to be truly alone.

As Elreth stroked through the hot mineral water towards where Aaryn sat on the bench that had been carved into the rock by some earlier royal generation, she grinned at his mock-anger about her splash.

.....

“You were right, this is the perfect way to start the day,” she said as she reached him and pulled herself into his lap.

Aaryn’s pretend-anger faded from his face immediately, his hands going to her hips as she straddled his waist.

She buried her hands in his silver hair—a little longer now because he hadn’t taken time for a cut since the war—and pulled his head back so his throat was bared. He met her gaze with hooded eyes and smiled as she kissed him.

She was a touch too bright, she knew. A little too loose. But her emotions were in a tangle, and she didn’t know what to do except focus on the good feelings. And Aaryn was letting her do that—something she would be eternally grateful for.

Today they were going to free Zev. Or try to. By Elreth’s instruction they’d pulled the patrols on the Chimera back to the ravine. A dozen soldiers had returned to the Tree City the day before and rested overnight. So they had the protection they needed. There was no more reason to wait.

“Thank you for these last couple days,” Elreth whispered. “I didn’t see how we could do it, but you were right. It was exactly what I needed.”

“I know,” he snorted, but his smile was soft.

Elreth pretended to get irritated, but in truth, she couldn’t. Aaryn was so precious, and he’d been so patient…

“Let’s call Tarkyn back today, too,” she said, combing her fingers from her mate’s temples back into his hair. “I need to release him. He’ll be certain that I’ve lost all trust in him.”

Aaryn looked at her thoughtfully. “Have you?”

Elreth shrugged one shoulder. “Some. But only what I would have lost if Gar had done the same. You were right the other day, Aaryn, any of us would have done it—including me. I know I can’t fault him for that, even if I want to.”

Aaryn shook his head and squeezed her closer. “You never fail to surprise me, El. Impress me. You’re amazing.”

Elreth shook her head. “Nothing about this has been impressive,” she said sadly. “I know that. I know I handled this all wrong. I can see that now. But it’s too late to fix it. All I can do is… better.”

Aaryn watched her, stroking his hands up and down her back. She almost broke in the silence.

“I’m still scared, Aaryn. So scared.”

He blew out a breath. “I’ll protect you, El.”

She curls forward to bury her face in his neck. “I know we have to free Zev, but… I think I have to do it. I think it has to be me. Otherwise he’s never going to believe I want peace.”

Aaryn’s grip on her tightened. “I don’t know if you need to be there the moment he walks out—”

“Yes, I do, but… but we’ll do the rest of our plan first. I just pray that it isn’t foolishness.”

“It’s not,” he said softly. “I’m sure of it.”

Later that morning Elreth was going to bring Sasha to the Treaty Table first, then hopefully Zev, if Sasha could get him to agree to come in peace.

Elreth would have the guards in place to manage him if he was loose and violent—but if he agreed to peace talks… tonight he would be on his way to his people.

At least, that was the theory. Part of Elreth was terrified and still uncertain if she could bring herself to free the male. Since the night they’d discovered the Chimera, Elreth had woken from multiple nightmares in which Zev closed his teeth on Aaryn’s throat and shook the life out of her mate.

She hadn’t even admitted that to Aaryn, knowing that it was ridiculous to fear a male for something he’d done in a dream. But nothing she’d seen of the wolf made her any less certain he was capable of it, and that was the problem.

But Tarkyn and Harth’s bond, Behryn’s reading of the winds, and everything Sasha had said when they’d first spoken had convinced Elreth that this was a risk she had to take. Before, when events kept overtaking her ability to process them, she hadn’t been able to see her way through all the chaos and uncertainty. But these couple days in the quiet and peace of talking with Aaryn, anticipating their baby, and being reminded that she wasn’t alone in having to protect the people in all of this…

As Elreth’s mind drew back to the moment and the epiphany she’d had, she shook her head in disbelief. If only she’d been able to see it from the start…