As soon as my suite door closes behind him, I suck in a deep breath and let it float out disturbing the steam rising from the water. Life has been going ninety miles per minute since the moment I stepped foot in this realm. This right here is much needed before I go absolutely crazy.
Staying in the water until my fingers look like raisins, I stand to get out, giving a silent thanks to the water and its gods. My muscles don't feel like they're cramping to the point of trying to crawl out of my skin and it doesn't hurt to move at all. I take my time brushing my teeth and drying the hair that has somehow managed to keep the same style despite fighting and the bath. Makes me wonder if Zephyr used some kind of magic on it, but I'll save the question for later. I'd love nothing more than to stuff my face full and catch a nap. Looks like the latter will be the winner, though. Once I plop down onto the soft mattress, it's not but a few seconds later that my eyelids start to droop. Considering I'm naked as the day I was born, I simply pull a sheet up to cover my body and succumb to the sleep yanking me down.
When the smell of food and coffee wakes me a few hours later, I feel rejuvenated in the best ways possible. Adding to all the stress and information overloads, I guess I hadn't stopped to think about not getting as much sleep as I'm used to. Zanthus and Zephyr are partially to blame for that, yet I regret nothing. Stretching my arms and every other inch of my body across the soft bed, I end up having to untangle my legs from the sheet. Hesitating for half a second, I debate on just staying where I am. Everything will still be as it is if I do. The only the thing that gets my ass moving to the side where I can throw my legs over and sit up is the sound of my stomach that rocks my insides like an earthquake. I'm just glad the Zs have given me this small amount of space. Not that I don't miss them already, it's just nice not having to hear their commentary as they witness my state of hunger.
With a small groan, I heft myself out of bed and realize I'm still without a stitch of clothing. First order of business is a quick pit stop to relieve my bladder then grabbing a robe from the closet. As always, it's prepared to cater to my needs and desires. Subconsciously, I must not have wanted actual clothes. When the soft robe slips over my shoulders and I tie the sash around my waist, I send out another silent thanks because it's exactly what I didn't know I wanted.
Next order, food. One of my mates must've brought the tray up here. There's no way in the hell of the deep would they let another male in here knowing I'm sleeping and naked, to boot. I pick it up and move it to the little sitting depression in the floor. Proper etiquette would demand I eat at the table where it was placed, but I'm going to do what I want. Plus, there's no one here to witness or chastise me for it. Once we get to the kingdom and I have to actually start acting like Queen Eurybia, I will. For now, I'm going to keep being Rubi. I do, however, take the time to chew my food and not inhale it like my stomach demands. Of course, it helps that I pick up one of my abandoned books and get distracted within the pages. My multitasking skills are subpar at best.
Once I kill the whole platter of breakfast food and a small bowl of fruit, I set the book on lineages off to the side, leaving it open at the spine on Bruinen's clan. I place the tray back on the table before taking my cup of still steaming coffee to the open French doors. Sipping it slowly, I gaze into the dark water surrounding our barrier. It could just be my imagination, but it looks more menacing than usual. But that feeling can also be chalked up to my reading material, too. Bruinen's savage history and family are just as much mine as his now. I can't help but to wonder if he knew about me, or what the consequences might be when he does find out. It'd be too sinister and naïve to consider the thought of him perishing right along with those good folk of my mate's clan. My gut tells me that he's still out there, biding his time and waiting along with the rest for the curse to be broken.
A knock at the door pulls my mind from the abyss it's been trying to fall face first into.
"Come in," I call out.
If the knock wasn't enough to keep me planted in the moment, the sight of my unclaimed mate would be. Zale's smile is soft as he lets the door drift shut behind him and moves to stand with me at the small balcony. He brushes a kiss against my cheek before settling into a relaxed pose against the opposite side of the door frame.
"How are you feeling?" he asks.
"Fine," I reply quickly. A little too fast if the look Zale casts me is any indication. Thinking about it, physically, I do feel better after the bath and sleep. Mentally, I'm weighed down by the burdens and unknowns we're having to face. Not to mention the ones that'll make themselves known once the curse is lifted. Bringing my eyes level with his again, I answer honestly, "Nervous. Worried. Scared."
Nodding his head like he expects those answers, he offers, "Want to talk about any of it?"
I take comfort in his presence. My mates may have similar appearances, but that's where they cut off. Zanthus is a brute and would likely try to argue my worries back into their box while Zephyr would make me laugh as they wait to spring on me at the last second. Neither option allows me to confront them head on, which is exactly what Zale is offering.
Wanting to gauge his true reaction, I press my back into the door frame and watch his expression as I ask, "Do you think Bruinen is still alive?"
"Absolutely," he replies instantly.
"Do you think he'll come looking for me once the curse is broken, and he finds out about my lineage?"
One side of his lips pulls up, but it's not the version of a smile he sauntered in here with. This one looks lethal as he assures, "Damselfish, he would have to make it through your three mates and an entire kingdom if he wanted to get his hands on you. That should be the least of your worries."
He's right. I know it's true, but the inky blackness waiting outside the barrier is messing with my head. I let my eyes trace the sexy male in front of me instead. With his hands stuffed in his pockets and his shoulder leaning against the frame, his demeanor screams laid back without a care in the world. Anyone who truly knows him, understands just how much that isn't true. If I had to bet, I'd say his shoulders have more weight on them than mine. All of that sun-kissed blond hair draped down his chest just does better to hide it is all. Of course, I can't control the urge to keep my gaze moving further south past the ends. Zale may be a book nerd at heart and practically lives in the study, but his body says otherwise. The hard planes of his chest and abs are stacked like a man that visits the gym every day of the week. A bulge in the front of his jeans has me flicking my eyes back up to his face.
There's a smile there, but it contradicts the next words to leave his mouth. "I didn't come here for that."
"Then what did you come here for, Zale?" I ask, my voice a husky sound I barely recognize.
His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows. "I just wanted to check on you and make sure you're doing okay. Not just with the training that I know had to have been hard on your body. Caelan and Easton are known as the best for a reason; they go easy on no one. But, more than that, you were pretty much kidnapped and the mating between you and my brothers might as well have forced you to stay without your approval."
"You're troubled because you think I feel like I didn't have a choice in whether I stayed or not?" I ask, trying to make sure I'm understanding where his head is. His short shrug is enough. I continue, "I don't see it as being kidnapped. I was going to drown or get eaten by sharks or die some other horrible unfun way out there in that ocean. The three of you saved my life. I felt like I owed it to you to at least try to break this curse. The fact that it turned into having all three of you for mates and being able to break it, was icing on the cake."