Deep breath in and out. She wasn’t drowning. There was no endless void. She was here. She was alive. Taking another wobbly breath, she got out, “Wh–what…happened?”

“I feel like I’m the one who should be asking that,” he said, resting his chin on the top of her head.

“You scared the shit out of me, Veralie. I thought someone was attacking you,” he added, holding her tighter. “Fuck, I never should’ve left you alone.”

She raised her head, blinking the last few dots out of her vision. “No one attacked me.”

He threaded his hands in her sopping hair, gripping her head and staring down at her. His eyes were the fiercest she’d ever seen them, and his heart was racing as fast as her own.

“I thought I’d lost you. I was outside talking to a trader about roads when your terror shot through me like a fucking arrow, nearly dropping me to my knees. And then you screamed.”

He swallowed. “Enemies of flesh and bone I can handle. I’ll cut out their hearts and lay them at your feet, but I can’t fight gods damn water.”

She chuckled, but the sound came out raspy, burning up her ravaged throat. “Some mate you are if you can’t even do that.”

He didn’t crack a smile. His nails dug into the tender skin behind her ears, and his emerald gaze seared into her. The pain pulsing out of him destroyed her.

“Tell me what happened.”

She frowned, pulling away from his grasp and looking around the room as she tried to remember it all. The floor was drenched, and her once-clean pile of clothes was saturated from when he’d fought to yank her out.

Oh. Oh.

Chapter 6

VERA

Eyes wide, she looked down, her pulse picking up for an entirely different reason. “Um.”

“Your nakedness is the least of my worries.”

That made one of them. Crossing her arms over her breasts, she discreetly peeked to make sure both her nipples and shoulders were covered. Confirming her soaked, matted curls were hiding all necessary bits, she exhaled, relieved he hadn’t brushed it back.

Misinterpreting her sigh, he raised his eyes to the ceiling and muttered under his breath. He pushed her off his lap, shifting onto his knees, and reached behind him to drag his tunic up over his head.

She barely had time to glimpse the definition of his torso before he slid his tunic over her, blocking her view.

“Thank you,” she whispered when it settled down over her shoulders.

He nodded, straightening his legs and reaching out an arm. Her own legs shaky, she accepted his help, his tunic dropping to just below her ass as she stood, teetering as her vision blurred for a moment.

Jaren led her through the doorway, instructing her to sit before the hearth as he moved to light it. She shook her head, wanting nothing more than to curl up and not move again for the rest of the night.