I put him in the bed chamber, Kaebl responds, nodding his chin toward the stairwell Malice is disappearing into. His body is mended, but he refuses to wake.

“Is that normal?”

Kaebl’s mouth presses together in a thin, pale line. No. But he used up so much strength to escape Slaine’s palace, it’s to be expected.

Fear clutches my chest, squeezing the air from my lungs at the thought my mate might never awake from his hibernation. “Take me to him.”

I will once your wounds are fully healed. Kaebl gestures to the faint pink scars peppered across my arms and neck, still tingling as the magical properties of the water mend the damaged cells. You still need a few minutes.

“I’m fine. I want to see my mate.”

Kaebl tilts his head, his eyes flashing with an indiscernible emotion. As you wish. Follow me.

Kaebl steps out of the pool, water glistening from the shuddering muscles along his spine, dripping from the tips of his freshly healed wings. My eyes track down his spine, heat rising to my cheeks when I notice he’s fully nude. If he turned slightly, I could see the outline of his⁠—

I’m flattered by your ogling, but I thought you wanted to see your mate? Kaebl cuts me a look out of the corner of his eye, his mouth tipping in a rare smirk.

Cyprien’s chest shakes with a chuckle under my palms as I push away fully, turning my back to both of them as I wade to the edge of the pool. The fabric of my suit clings to my body as I push out of the water, highlighting the curve of my ass and thighs. A thrill runs through me at the feel of four sets of eyes locked on me, tracking every slight movement.

“Are you sure you have to go?” Cyprien asks, his voice raw and gravelly. “It would be so much better if you stayed… just like that.”

Let her go, Cyprien, Kaebl orders, his golden eyes narrowed in a glare. Don’t be so selfish.

Cyprien mumbles something indiscernible under his breath as he walks to Kaebl, making sure to keep my gaze above his waistline. With a flick of his wrist, the water is sucked from my skin and clothes, raining down to the floor in a luminous shower.

Before I can thank him, Kaebl turns on his heel and hurries up the stairwell, leaving me no choice but to follow. Just before we reach the top, Kaebl cuts to the left, passing through a narrow tunnel I hadn’t noticed on my way down—the opening cloaked in shadows and perfectly hidden from view.

The passage opens a few steps in, widening to a space that could easily accommodate three demons standing shoulder to shoulder. It goes back as far as I can see, the endless stretch of tunnel illuminated with iron sconces every few feet.