Chapter 27

Ava

“You do know how much I hate surprises, don’t you?”

Chris walked behind me, his hand still clasped in mine. The further we walked, the more the sounds of the party faded into the distance, replaced instead by the sounds of the forest. I could never decide which was louder: the sound of music or the sound of the woods teeming with life at night.

“Of course I do,” I laughed, deftly ducking beneath a low-hanging branch. “That’s what makes this so fun.”

We continued on like that for a while, Chris peppering me with questions and attempting to needle our destination out of me, while I simply deflected each one with a coy smile or a teasing remark.

Eventually, though, the path began to grow steeper, the trees thinning out until we emerged into a small clearing dominated by a towering rock face. Chris stopped short, his gaze drawn to the mouth of a cave set into the stone.

“Wait…” he murmured, recognition flickering through his eyes. “Is this…?”

I couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle at the almost childlike sense of wonder that had crept into his voice. “Go on,” I urged him, giving his hand a gentle tug. “Let’s go inside and you can see for yourself.”

Curiosity seemingly getting the better of him, Chris allowed me to lead him into the dimly lit cave, his eyes widening ever so slightly as the familiar sights and smells washed over him.

Glowing mushrooms and bioluminescent vines clung to the walls, bathing the space in an ethereal glow, while the faint trickle of running water echoed from somewhere deep within. We had been here before, many times. It was a little hidden gem set deep into our forest, a place that not many people knew about.

“I can’t believe I’d forgotten about this place,” Chris breathed as he reached out to trail his fingertips along the softly pulsing lichens that coated the walls. As he touched them, their gentle seafoam green glow intensified, sending a ripple of light down the sides of the cave.

We rounded a bend in the tunnel, and suddenly, the cave opened up into a large, vaulted chamber. And there, at the center of it all, lay a pool of crystal-clear water, its surface gently rippling and sending shimmering waves of bioluminescence dancing across the walls.

Kneeling at the water’s edge, I dipped my hand beneath the surface, watching as the liquid seemed to come alive with swirling tendrils of blue and green light. Chris let out a soft exhale, something between a sigh and a chuckle as he shook his head slowly.

“This place is incredible,” he murmured. “All this time, and I forgot it even existed. How could I have forgotten about something so beautiful?”

“And this is only one place of many,” I reminded him with a smirk. “I’d be happy to take you on a tour of our homeland to help jog your memory.”

Chris’s eyes snapped to mine at my words, his expression unreadable in the ethereal glow that surrounded us.

Then, slowly, another ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “I’d like that,” he murmured, his voice echoing off of the cave’s walls even though it was barely more than a whisper.

I felt my heart flutter at his words, a warmth blooming in my chest that had nothing to do with the heat of the cavern. Unable to find my voice, I simply nodded, averting my gaze down to the glowing water.

But it wasn’t long before the sound of movement drew my attention, and I looked up to see what he was doing.

He was already shucking off his shirt, the lean muscles of his chest rippling with every movement as he kicked off his shoes and shimmied out of his pants. I felt my cheeks flush, the sudden rush of heat only intensifying as he turned to face me, gloriously nude and utterly unashamed.

“What are you waiting for?” he teased, tossing me a roguish wink before taking off at a run and launching himself into the glowing water with a splash.

I gasped, instinctively throwing my hands up to shield my face as the resulting splash sent a shower of bioluminescent droplets raining down on me. When I finally lowered my arms, Chris was treading water in the center of the pool, his hair slicked back and a boyish grin plastered across his features.

“Come on in!” he called out. “The water’s warm.”

I bit my lip, suddenly acutely aware of my still-clothed state and the way the damp fabric of my dress clung to my skin in all the wrong ways. “I… I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” I whined.

Chris’s grin only widened at that, his eyes sparkling with mischief in a way that made my heart skip a beat. “Oh, come now,” he chided playfully. “I’ve seen it all already. Or are you the one who needs your memory jogged now?”

I felt my flush deepen at the blatant reminder of our night together, cursing the way my thoughts immediately conjured up vivid flashes of heated skin and tangled limbs.

Chris was right, of course—we had already been with each other. Still, there was something about the idea of getting naked in front of him now, in this moment, that made my stomach twist.

Seeming to sense my hesitation, Chris’s expression softened. “I’ll turn around,” he said gently.

I wavered for a moment longer before finally giving in with a curt nod. “Fine,” I replied, tilting my chin up at him. “But no peeking, you hear me?”

Chris simply grinned, spinning around in the water so that his back was to me without another word.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, I quickly began to take off my clothes, doing my best to avoid glancing in the direction of the gently rippling pool. By the time I was fully nude, my heart was thundering in my ears, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.

Finally, I crouched down and slipped into the water. Chris was right; it was warm.

“Alright,” I called out now that my body was hidden beneath the water. “You can turn around now.”

As Chris turned around, his gaze swept over me in a heated manner that somehow managed to be both scorching and tender all at once. I shifted self-consciously under the weight of his stare, but didn’t look away.

Then, a devilish glint sparked in Chris’s eyes as he smirked. “The water reflected everything, you know,” he teased.

I froze, my gaze immediately snapping downwards to find that, sure enough, the glassy surface of the pool was providing a perfect, unobstructed view of the entire cavern. With a strangled gasp, I instinctively moved away.

“You jerk!” I crowed, my cheeks turning an impossible shade of red.

“What?” he laughed. “It’s not my fault. I tried not to look, I promise. Although, I must say, it was quite the show—”

Before he could finish, I suddenly threw my hand forward, sending an arc of bioluminescent water cascading toward him. The water drenched him, leaving him sputtering and blinking in surprise.

“That’s what you get!” I cried out, splashing him again, finding myself unable to contain my laughter. “You’re an animal, Chris! An animal!”

“Oh, yeah?” Chris laughed in return and sent another cascade of water back at me. “Two can play at this game!”

We carried on like that for what felt like an eternity, splashing and shrieking and giggling like a pair of children until we were both thoroughly soaked and breathless.

By the time we finally collapsed in a tangle of limbs on the rocky shore, neither of us so much as considered our nudity any longer. Rather, I was more focused on how my cheeks ached from smiling so much, and my lungs burned from the type of laughter that I hadn’t felt in a long, long time.

As I laid there, staring up at the ceiling and watching how the lichen and mushrooms glowed, I couldn’t deny the sense of peace that settled over me. It felt right, being here.

But then, a dark form pressed itself over me before I could move away.

Pinning me with his weight, Chris hovered over me, his eyes flickering down to my lips—and my breasts.

“Ch-Chris—” I began, but my voice caught in my throat, the words fully stuck. Slowly, almost reverently, he reached out, trailing his cool fingertips along the line of my jaw and tucking a wet strand of hair behind my ear.

“Thank you,” he breathed, his voice barely audible over the ambient sounds of dripping water. “For showing me this place, for reminding me of the beauty and the magic that I’d somehow forgotten…”

He trailed off then, his voice catching in his throat as those vivid eyes of his bored into me with an intensity that made my heart pound. I opened my mouth, wondering if he might kiss me—or if I might lose myself for a moment and kiss him.

But then Chris sighed, the weight of a sudden melancholy settling over his features as he eased himself off of me and sank back onto the cavern floor.

“I’m going to miss this place when I have to leave again,” he murmured.

I felt my chest constrict at his words, a cold tendril of dread snaking its way through me as I propped myself up on my elbows. The Elders’ words echoed in my mind then, reminding me of the real reason why I had brought him to this cave tonight.

My duty was to convince him to stay; the prophecy said as much.

“Who says you have to leave?” I countered.

Chris’s eyes snapped to mine, his expression flickering with a look I couldn’t quite read. “If we’re going to be together, you know we can’t stay here,” he said simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I felt my heart plummet at the implication of his words. “Chris…” My voice cracked despite my best efforts. “You know we can’t be together—not like that. Tradition forbids it, of course, but… you know I’m too old for you…”

Chris sighed, standing and gathering his clothes. It was only then that his features took on a darker quality, his eyes averted and lacking their previous sparkle.

“So I suppose it won’t be a problem if I move into the Packhouse now?” he asked.