Strength (Curse of the Gods #4)(31)

“We’re going to stand around talking about it some more,” Coen answered, his voice low and smooth, as though he was trying to calm a wild bullsen. “Look at me, Willa, nowhere but me.”

Confused, I turned my head to the left, meeting Coen’s eyes.

“That’s it,” he encouraged, his calming voice rolling over me. “Just keep your attention here. Do not look at Yael. Do not look at anyone else. Focus here.”

“I’m focusing,” I answered. “But I don’t know why. What the hell is going on?”

A small laugh escaped from one of them, but I wasn’t sure who, because I was being a good Willa and keeping my eyes on Coen.

“Is there a bug on me?” I eventually asked, feeling my skin start to crawl.

“No.” Coen’s lips twitched. “Keep your focus here. Tell me, do you want Yael to get better?”

“Yes, of course I do.” My brow was furrowing in confusion, my hands twitching against Yael’s forearm.

“Good. Do you want him to get better?”

“Uh, still yes.” It wasn’t like any of the gods to repeat themselves, which made this even odder.

Coen smiled, his stare finally breaking as he glanced down at Yael, and then back to me. “You can look now, Willa, it’s finished.”

Frowning, I flicked my eyes to Yael. Why the hell was everyone suddenly so quiet? Yael shifted as my eyes met his. He moved to sit up. I started to panic, leaning forward to push him back down again, but then I caught sight of his skin.

His unmarked skin.

“You h-healed,” I spluttered out, relief flooding through me. I tossed my arms around his neck, half climbing onto his lap in my enthusiasm.

He laughed, pulling me the rest of the way onto his lap before his hands found my face, tilting it up to his. “No.” He shook his head, his eyes glinting with wonder. “You healed me. We could all see the colour leaking from your hands. Coen didn’t want to distract you by pointing it out, so he guided your focus.”

I froze, my eyes wide. “What?”

“You healed him,” Cyrus reiterated. “The colour wasn’t clear, but it was there; a brief light emanating from your palms.”

“I did something good?” I felt stupid asking these questions, but I could barely believe it.

“Yeah, Rocks, you did something good,” Yael murmured, his hands tightening on my face, drawing my lips up to his.

The kiss was strong, completely capturing my attention. Within a fraction of a click, I had forgotten that there were other people in the room. My legs had found their way around his waist, my hands threading into his hair. Yael groaned, pulling his mouth back from mine.

Somewhere in the room, there was an awkward cough. It sounded like Cyrus. This was followed by a few barked commands, and then the room was blissfully silent. Yael stood then, bringing me with him, my legs still around his waist. Our lips clashed again, our tongues tangling together. “I’m so sorry I hurt you,” I said against his mouth. “I feel terrible.”

His rumble of laughter sent intense vibrations down my body. “It was nothing, Willa-toy.”

Sparkling water came into view then, and just as I was about to ask what he was doing, he walked us into the pool, warm water washing across my legs.

“We’re going swimming?” I blinked up at him, excitement wrapping around my emotions.

He laughed again. It felt like both of us were a little too euphoric in that moment. The healing had clearly done more than just repair his skin.

“This is the bathing area, the water has healing minerals and properties, and it’s cleaned and filtered constantly.”

He was holding me in waist-deep water; I struggled to get down. When I was standing—the water almost to my shoulders—I took a proper look around.

“This is a bathing area?” I asked drily. “It’s twenty times the size of those baths you have in your marble god box on Topia.”

Yael just nodded, his eyes mesmerising in the low light of the room. On top of the huge mineral bath, there were statues in all four corners. They looked almost like baby gods, with wings, and musical instruments. The water was aqua in colour, the dimly illuminated lanterns mixing with the steam rising from the surface gave it a very ethereal look.

“It’s so pretty in here,” I mused, turning in a circle, my hands gliding across the surface of the water.

Yael looked around as well. “I figured we could both use some healing properties right about now.”

My focus was immediately back on him, my hands already reaching for his arm. “Are you not healed properly?” I asked in a rush.

He twisted his arm so that he could take my hand in his. “I’m fine. I was worried that you might be feeling the aftereffects of healing. It takes a lot of energy.”

Weird. I didn’t feel tired at all. If anything, I was amped up. Swishing my arms in the water again, I grimaced as my sodden shirt caught on Yael. Both of us were fully dressed, and wet clothes were the most annoying thing ever.

“Do you mind?” I asked Yael, half joking as I struggled to get Siret’s Trickery clothes off. Asshole always tricked me into the tightest outfits.

The right corner of Yael’s lips quirked up and it took every ounce of my self control not to kiss him. He didn’t answer me: he just reached forward and untangled my arms, helping me out of my shirt and pants. His hands were wrapped around my back, holding me up, and when my shirt was finally off, I realised how close we were pressed. Tilting my head back, I parted my lips and breathed him in. Yael and I had been together, but … also not really. I ached at how beautiful he was, his hair darkened by the water. His eyes locked on me with intensity.