The Hidden (Shadowed Wings #1)(16)

Zeph freezes, and his eyes flash with something as a growl slips out of his mouth. “We would never dishonor a woman or ourselves in that way,” he tells me, and I think I catch a flicker of hurt in his eyes before indignation snuffs it out.

“Then what the fuck are you doing?” I ask, confused, my eyes dipping to the untied laces of his pants.

“We have to cleanse you,” Ryn tells me, and his hold on me loosens ever so slightly.

“Yeah, you keep saying that, but what the fuck does that mean?” I demand.

“We have to make sure you’re not here to hurt us or the pride. We can only confirm that by making sure you and the truth aren’t cloaked in magic somehow,” Zeph tells me, his voice a deep rumble. “Every inch of you will be washed with the tears of clarity, and then you’ll be scrubbed clean with verity moss. Once that’s been done, you will take a tincture made from axiom leaf. We will question you again, and then the truth in what you’re saying will be certain and unquestionable,” he tells me as if it’s all so simple.

I picture his hands on my body as he works to rid me of magic I don’t even have, and heat flutters through my stomach. “Fine,” I tell him, and Zeph’s mouth hangs open for a second in surprise. “I’ll bathe in whatever you want, but I can do it myself. I don’t want either of you touching me.”

“It doesn’t work that way,” Ryn starts to say, but I cut him off.

“Then you do dishonor me,” I accuse, using the term that Zeph did and trying to ignore the fact that I sound like the dragon from Mulan.

Zeph growls and steps into me, pressing me deliciously between him and Ryn. “I will not risk the lives of many for the discomfort of one,” he snarls at me. “This is a necessity, not an act of gratification,” he declares, and the look he gives me as he does has me feeling like a bug he’d rather crush under his shoe than touch.

I look away from the scathing judgement in his eyes. “And when this is done, I can go home?” I ask, my voice small as the fight in me slowly drifts away.

“We’ll do what we can, yes,” Ryn tells me, and he drops his strong arms from my body.

I don’t miss the fact that what he just said wasn’t actually a yes, but I don’t challenge it. “Fine,” I consent, and I side step out of the gryphon sandwich I’m currently liking way too much. I spread my arms out in invitation and wait for them to do whatever they need to do.

Zeph gives a slight nod to Ryn, who picks up a glass bottle of clear liquid. He grabs the now empty brown leather bag that he brought everything in and bends over to fill it with warm water from the pool. He hands the waterskin to Zeph who grabs it and holds it in front of Ryn. Ryn pours some of the clear liquid into the pouch of steaming water, and Zeph cinches the top with a meaty hand and shakes the water inside.

“Tip your head back,” Zeph orders me, but I just stare at him unmoving.

“We will start with your hair, then your face, arms, torso, hips, legs, and lastly your feet,” he informs me, and I swear his voice gets deeper with each listed part of my body.

I do as I’m told, and as soon as my face is turned up to the sky, Zeph pours the contents of the skin slowly and carefully through my hair. I gasp in surprise when Ryn’s fingers comb through my locks, and he works the tears-of-clarity-laced water into my scalp like an award winning head masseuse. I have to actively battle against the satisfied groan that tries to sneak out of me as Zeph pours warm water on my head and Ryn’s magic fingers go to work. It’s over before I want it to be, and I try to mask my humph of disapproval with a cough.

The waterskin is refilled and mixed, and I hold my breath as it’s poured over my face, neck and chest. My eyes snap open, and I freeze when Ryn reaches around me from behind and cups the bottoms of my breasts ensuring water makes its way under them. It’s clear they have a no-nook-or-cranny-left-untouched policy at work, and my heart picks up as water is poured on me and Ryn’s hands move down my body. I should not be fucking enjoying this, but there’s no hiding the truth from myself, because for whatever reason, I really fucking am.

I put full blame on my bitch of a gryphon who is apparently pumping some baser animal need through me to combat the good sense I was born with. She may be all for this alpha do what I say bullshit, but I don’t want to be. Usually I can count on a little sharp wit coupled with a venomous retort to get me out of most sticky situations. But mouthing off gets me nowhere here. They’re bigger and stronger than I am, and they have the added bonus of knowing where the fuck they are.

Ryn’s hands move down to my hips, and he brings them in to skim my lower abdomen. Lust and alarm war inside of me, and I step back from his touch.

“I will cleanse that myself, asshole, thank you very much,” I snap at him with a glare. I reach my hands out and cup my palms together and wait for Zeph to pour the water in my bowled palms. I stand like that for a couple beats, waiting to see if they’ll argue, but as warm water fills my hands, relief washes through me.

I splash water between my thighs dampening the now dry curls there. I’ve never been self-conscious of my body. Growing up around shifters, nudity is common place and not at all taboo or socially unacceptable. But right now in this moment, with these two watching my every move, their hands and gazes running over my naked body, I feel more vulnerable than I ever have in my life. A shiver runs up my back. The cool night air works to steal the warmth of the water from my body, and I’m filled with conflicting emotions.