Page 105 of Godbound
“Not helpful!” I snap, finally wriggling free enough to sit up. My blanket hangs lopsidedly off one shoulder as I turn a sharp glare at him.
Eva, utterly unrepentant, pats my head like I’m a child in need of consolation.
“Don’t you dare indulge them,” I hiss, swatting her hand away.
But despite myself, my lips twitch with the beginnings of a smile. Peonica groans as she crawls off the couch, her cover trailing dramatically over one arm. She stands, stretches, then lets out a long, theatrical sigh.
“You survived that gods-awful challenge, then disappeared without a trace, leaving us to search for you for days. And just when we finallydecide to get some sleep, you fall on my head in the rudest possible manner.” She crosses her arms, her gaze narrowing in mock exasperation. “I just can’t decide if it’s admirable or infuriating.”
Eva rolls her eyes as she stands.
I open my mouth to retort but catch Peonica’s half-hearted glare, softened by the faintest smirk. I can’t keep the warmth from my gaze as I look between my two friends. For all the chaos, all the complaints, I wouldn’t trade this messy, ridiculous camaraderie for anything.
Kaelzar clears his throat, straightening from the doorway. “If you three are finished wrestling,” he says, voice dry but laced with amusement, “perhaps we can move on to more pressing matters. Like?—”
I cut him off with a pointed look as I stand, smoothing my own rumpled cover with deliberate care. “I think you’ve made enough demands in the last few days. The only pressing matters right now are a bath, food, and—” I glance at Eva, grinning. “Catching up on the latest gossip.”
Kaelzar’s mouth twitches in what might be the ghost of a smirk, but he says nothing. He studies the three of us for a long moment, then, as if deciding it’s easier to give up the argument than try to reason with us, steps back into the hall with a shake of his head.
Eva loops an arm through mine. “Oh, there’s plenty of gossip,” she says with a sly grin. “And don’t worry, we’re starting with you… as soon as you wash that horrible horse smell off.”
I groan, casting a glance at Peonica, who trails behind us muttering about rude awakenings as the two of them steer me toward the adjoining bath.
Warmth spreadsthrough me as I sink into the bath, the heat melting away the tension in my limbs. The air is thick with steam, scented with lavender and bergamot. Safe. Familiar.
But the moment doesn’t last.
No sooner do I sink into the steaming bath than a knock startles me and the door creaks open a moment later. Peonica slips into the room,followed by Eva whose face is full of disapproval, as she tries to wrench something out of the younger girl’s hand.
“How long does the leisurely bath usually take?” Peonica asks, plopping onto the small sofa across from the tub. She’s holding something crumpled in her hands, and whatever it is, Eva is not amused. With an exasperated sigh, the older girl strides over to the basin and crosses her arms, glaring.
“I was almost eaten alive by a giant worm,” I say, eyeing them both. “One might say I deserve a leisurely bath. What is going on?”
Eva tsks. “She’s a menace, that’s what.”
I narrow my eyes at Peonica, my mind already conjuring the worst possible scenarios. Peonica sticks her tongue out at Eva and unrolls whatever it is in her hands. It’s a delicate piece of white silk. The moment I see the scandalous lace and barely-there straps, my stomach drops.
“What in all the gods’ names is that?”
Peonica runs her hand down its short length. “Apparently, Eva picked it out specifically for your first time with Ryker. But now that…” she stumbles on her words, as if deciding to be more cautious but not sure how else to communicate. “Since that’s not happening, she was going to get rid of it. So I snatched it from her rooms and smuggled it here.”
I stretch out my arm, and Peonica throws the garment to me. I turn it left, then right, blinking in disbelief as I try to picture myself wearing it in front of Ryker.
For a moment, a flicker of excitement and curiosity stirs, maybe even a thrill at the thought of how he might have reacted. But it fades just as quickly, crushed beneath the quiet weight of knowing that scene will never play out. I’m surprised by the calm that follows, the faint, unexpected relief that I’m not as shattered by that thought as I should be.
“Where would you even get something like this?” I say.
“I’ve got a whole drawer of them,” Eva says with a brazen shrug, entirely unashamed. “Archer goes feral when I wear them. But in ourprudish capital, it’s impossible to find a halfway decent seamstress for anything remotely scandalous. So I found a dealer who imports them in from Maraneethos and sells them in the only place where questionable people sell nightgowns as transparent as their morals. Under the bridges of Bluerush River.”
My eyes widen. Eva? Under the bridges? That’s the filthiest black-market in the entire capital. I gape at her. “You’re shameless.”
Eva tosses me a towel. “Once I got married, I earned the right to be as shameless as I please.”
I snatch the towel, rising from the bath, and wrap it tightly around myself.
Peonica steps closer, her gaze steady as she picks up the white silk from the basin. She runs her fingers along the fabric with reverence, then looks up at me. “I just wanted you to see it before it’s gone,” she says quietly, her fingers brushing the silk before placing it in front of me.
The words settle deep, curling into the quiet corners of my mind as my gaze locks on the mirror. Side by side, Peonica and I couldn’t look more different.
