Thad descended the steps, the water cresting at the tops of his thighs. He lowered me into the water, and I tried to stand. The bottom of the pool was slick and deeper than I thought, and my head went quickly under. I screeched and panicked, transported back to the river and the darkness as we’d all nearly drowned. There were no sea witches here to save me, no sense of what was up or down. I flailed until Thad’s arms found me and yanked up, pulling me back against him. My arms went around his neck, and I tried desperately to calm down. I’d never particularly liked water, but I’d never had such a horrible reaction to it before. The fear had been overwhelming.

Thad sputtered, alarmed. “What’s wrong? It’s just a bit of water!”

He peeled me off him and the bottom half of my body submerged down into the dark depths. I clung to him like a cat on a tree, my body pressed against his in terror as my fingers dug themselves into his wrists. My nails left crescent shaped indentations in his skin.

“Please!” I begged, tears running down my face. He froze at my sincere terror and in one smooth motion yanked me out of the water and onto his shoulder. I kept my arms tight around his neck, my claws poking through my human form and leaving small cuts along his neck and shoulders. We stayed like that for a while, until my breathing calmed and my heart stopped pounding so frantically. Eventually, I stopped shivering like a drowned rat.

“What happened?” Thad asked, his voice even. My head frantically swung back and forth.

“Why . . . why do you think . . . Nothing happened.”

He huffed, his breath hot on my neck as I slid down his body. I allowed myself to relax against him, my nose buried in his chest. This close, his dark scent surrounded me, calming my inner draken. I inhaled deeply, my eyes going wide as a flurry of information about him overwhelmed me.

Fear. Determination. Loneliness. Arousal.

My breathing hitched at the last one, even as I tried to process everything else. I didn’t care about him. I didn’t care.

“I hate dark places,” Thad blurt out suddenly. I tilted my head towards him, my grip around his neck loosening. “That is, I hate being alone in a dark place. When I was eight, I was pushed into a well. The older boys were mad I was beating them in drills, so they . . . Well, I mean—” His face flushed, and he refused to meet my eyes.

“How long were you down there?” I asked softly, unable to imagine Thad as anything other than the imposing figure he was. His dark eyes were haunted, with a faraway gaze.

“Three days. Lord Har . . . Spike eventually found me.” He looked up into the darkness of the room, his gaze faraway. “I’d resigned myself to dying in that hole.”