Havil and I cleaned the kitchen while the others went to get ready. “Are you okay?” Havil asked once we were alone.

“Yeah, I just overdid it this morning in the gym, and I’m worried about Lexi and Kee. Once they get back, I’m going to spend fifteen minutes in the heated pool.”

Havil dipped his chin in acknowledgment. “I know that Nilo can seem rather frivolous at times, but he is an excellent soldier. He and Varro will keep your team safe.”

I smiled gently at him. “Lexi and Kee can keep themselves safe. But that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about them.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

It took Lexi and Kee four excruciating hours to break into the surveillance system without getting caught. But when they returned, just before dawn, it was with proof that someone was in the bunker. It was just a short clip, and it didn’t show Cien or Morten, but it did show a person in dark armor walking across one of the underground rooms. It was all Kee could pull in the time she’d had.

We decided that it would be better to discuss it after sleep, so everyone headed to bed. I’d been up for nearly twenty hours, but the adrenaline of the last few wouldn’t let sleep come easily.

I needed to relax, and short of sex—which I firmly put out of my mind before I could think about taut muscles, black hair, and dark eyes streaked with silver—the heated pool was the next best thing.

Since I didn’t have a swimsuit, I changed into a pair of boyshorts and a sports bra, then covered them with the short robe I’d found in the bathroom. I piled my long, curly hair into a messy bun on top of my head. I looked ridiculous, but everyone else was either asleep or heading that way, so no one would know.

A fifteen-minute soak and then I would sleep.

The hallway was quiet and dim. I slipped through the house on silent feet and smiled when the pool room door slid open at my touch. The air was warm and humid, and I could already feel the heat working the knots from my sore arms.

I was so focused on getting into the heated water that I failed to notice the pool wasn’t empty until I’d already dropped my robe and dipped a foot in. Movement in the corner of my eye startled me so badly that I screamed and flailed.

I lost my balance, but before I could flop into the water like a drunk fish, Torran’s power clamped around my body and set me back on my feet.

“Are you all right?”

I glared at him. “You’re supposed to be asleep!”

He tilted his head. “So are you.”