That thought was meant to be comforting, but it wasn’t.
“Brennan, you would love me no matter what- because we’re connected. My mother still loves my father, who is the most heinous monster in the world. She cannot help it because they are soul mates, like we are. So, you’ll have to forgive me if I discount your opinion based on bias. You would love me even if I was just like my father.”
One tear broke rank and streamed down my cheek. Brennan wiped it away and kissed the spot where it had been.
“I can tell you with no bias whatsoever, that you are not like your father at all. You are the opposite of your father. You have taken a horrible curse, one that put you in the worst position thinkable, and have managed it in the most humane possible way. He would never have done that. Mormo doesn’t care who he harms. I have read that he used to drink the blood of children because it tasted the sweetest. That is a monster, something that you are not.”
His words buoyed me, lifted me out of my dark thoughts. He was right. I would never kill a child simply because their blood tasted sweet. It was true. My father did indeed do horrific things like that just because he wanted to.
“Thank you,” I whispered to him, kissing him lightly on the cheek. “You always know just what to say to me.”
“That’s my job,” he shrugged. “It’s in the soul mate handbook.”
“Really?” I raised an eyebrow. “I haven’t seen that part. In fact, I haven’t seen the book at all. Do you have a copy?”
He grinned. “Well, it’s not so much a printed book as it is a book that I have stored in my head. But don’t worry. I’ll fill you in on the wifely duties that will be expected from you after we get married.”
My heart immediately began racing and I tried not to allow the idea of marriage terrify me. Because it wasn’t marriage that I was afraid of. It was the thought that we might not survive this game so that we could in fact get married. In spite of that, I smiled anyway and tried to keep my thoughts light.
“Really? Such as… I’ll have to give you a foot rub every night?”
“Well, that certainly wouldn’t hurt,” he answered with a laugh. “And a back massage too. But I was thinking of your other wifely duties.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and my cheeks burst into flame.
“Oh. Those duties. Care to elaborate?”
He shook his head. “Nope. I’ll fill you in when the time comes.”
“Great,” I answered wryly and he laughed.
“Don’t worry,” he told me. “You’ll like it.”
“I’m sure,” I replied dryly.
“I hate to interrupt,” Branwyn called from behind us. “But I thought perhaps Empusa would like to come down to the hot springs to bathe with me?”
“Hot springs?” I almost broke my neck, whipping around to look at her. “A bath sounds heavenly.”
“I thought you might think that way,” she replied with a smile. “Come with me, princess.”
I glanced at Brennan. “I hate to abandon you, but I’d really like a hot bath.”
He nodded, giving an exaggerated sigh.
“Women,” he huffed. I rolled my eyes and kissed him on the cheek before I joined Branwyn. She had her arms full of bathing towels and a small wooden bowl that I assumed held soap. I took some of the things from her and we strolled towards the woods.
“I had no idea there was a hot springs here,” I told her conversationally.
“Oh, yes,” she nodded. “It does wonders for our skin.”
We fell into silence as we walked, but our journey wasn’t far. A few minutes later we found ourselves next to a babbling brook, which curved into an inlet encased in rock. Water bubbled up in the inlet from the earth itself, from hot springs below the earth’s crust.
I knelt and dipped my fingers in the water. It was the perfect temperature, hot enough to steam. I closed my eyes in pleasure.
“Brennan was right,” I told Branwyn. “I don’t think there is a woman alive who doesn’t enjoy a hot bath.”
I glanced up and found Branwyn disrobing on the edge of the water. She stepped out of her saffron shift and it puddled around her feet. My gaze flew to her face in surprise as she turned to me, laughing.
“What? You seem shocked, princess. There are no men here, but for your sun god. I feel certain that he won’t venture out here on his own…so we’re safe to bathe in peace.”
I was still shocked. I couldn’t help it. I wasn’t a prude, but watching Branwyn step into the water buck-naked without a care in the world was startling, to say the least. Her milky white skin seemed even paler in the bright sunlight and she laughed at my expression.
“Still mortified, princess? Come. Bathe. You’ll feel better.” Laughing, she splashed onto her back and lifted her face to the sun.
I shrugged. What the hell? It didn’t matter much in the large scheme of things. So, casting off my clothing as well, I stepped into the inlet. The hot water swirled luxuriously around my ankles and I sank into it, relishing the relaxing warmth. Seating myself against a rock wall on the side, I immersed myself up to my chin and leaned my head back, closing my eyes.
I had so missed baths. The bubbling sounds immediately soothed me and I tuned out any other noise… the birds chirping, the wind, the trees. I concentrated solely on the water sounds and it wasn’t long before the tension had left my shoulders and my spirits were lifted.
“I have dreamed of you since I was a child, Empusa. It’s so strange to have you here now in person.”
My eyes popped back open.
“You’ve dreamed of me?” I asked with interest. “What were the dreams?”
Branwyn paused, washing her arms in the pleasant water, staring thoughtfully at nothing.
“There were all kinds,” she said. “Beginning when I was just a child. The strange thing was that I always knew that you were my sister. Your mother was sometimes in my dreams, her presence, her voice. She would tell me how I was so important because someday I would give my life for you.”