Elemental Awakened by Helen Scott
25
Tessa
We had crossed the city ring, and part of me was pleased to discover I was right about there being another ring of water. As we crossed it, I glanced down and saw schools of silvery fish swimming, almost dancing, beneath us. My heart swelled with joy at the sight. I’d always loved nature and seeing the variety of animals and organisms that it contained.
Mr. Grumpy’s spear nicked me between the shoulder blades again, as it seemed to do whenever he had the opportunity to do so. Apparently, I had slowed down too much for his tastes. I picked up my pace and caught up to the other guard, who was only a few steps in front of me, but it was what was beyond him that had my jaw dropping, even as I felt the sharp point of the blade scratch my back once more.
The temple wasn’t as high as I had initially thought, and the gold wasn’t gold so much as it was glass covering the gold and red of the sandstone. I was marched up the steps, and by the time we reached the top, I was coughing up a storm. It felt like hours since I’d had a drink, and between the fight and the trek here, I was more than parched. I was gasping.
Inside the temple was dark and cool, now that we were out of the sun. I hadn’t realized how hot I was until I had the chance to cool down. The stones inside were all carved with symbols, none of which I understood, but as we walked forward, I got the impression that we were going either in the direction of whoever was in charge or the jail cells. Either way, so long as I could stop moving for more than a few moments, I’d be happy. I didn’t doubt that my guys would be looking for me, so even if I was stuck in a cell, it wouldn’t be for long. At least I hoped not.
I was pleasantly surprised when we ended up in what looked like a throne room instead of the dungeon or something similar. Every few feet, there were stone pillars, and in between those, toward the top of the building, were windows, not glass ones either, just a gap between the stones that was open to the air. At the end of the room, there was a cluster of people, one of whom looked like Griff in his leather and cotton outfit, and I had to hold my breath before my hopes ran away with me.
The closer we moved, the surer I became that it was him, especially when his white-blond head turned to me and those pale flame eyes of his went wide.
“Tessa!” he shouted before taking two strides and picking me up, swinging me around like I weighed nothing more than a bag of oranges. “Where were you, dove? I was so worried,” he whispered into my hair.
“Where’s everyone else?” I asked quietly, finally letting go of the stress I’d been ignoring as the muscles in my shoulders had bunched tighter and tighter.
“We’ll figure out what happened, but for now, let me introduce you to the Queen of Atlantis,” he said with enough volume that I knew the people around us heard him.
With that statement, I sobered and tried to make myself look presentable. “Your Majesty, may I present Tessa, the woman we were discussing earlier.”
I dropped into what I hoped was a curtsy and glanced up at the slight figure on the throne. She stood, her long flowing cream and pale blue gown fanning out around her as she descended the steps from her dais toward me. I tried to remain in the curtsy for as long as possible, but after the day I’d had, my legs were starting to shake.
As soon as she was close enough, she reached a hand out and lifted my chin so I looked her in the eye, her skin cool and soft against my own. My eyes traveled the length of her, taking in the extraordinary details on her dress that made it look as though the waves themselves were caressing her body once the viewer was close enough. In parts, the fine gold stitching looked like sand that was being tossed by the waves, and when paired with the gold headpiece that sat atop her honeyed hair, it made her beauty intimidating.
I’d never felt myself to be a particularly attractive woman, not that I was ugly either, but this woman in front of me was truly a queen. It radiated out of every pore. Even her gaze was royal, and not in a hoity-toity way either. It was benevolent and understanding.
“You’ve come a long way,” she said, her voice almost musical, as though she were on the verge of breaking out into song.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” I mumbled.
“I’m sure you want to get freshened up and be properly presented, yes?”
I nodded. “May I inquire after Finn?”
“I’m sure Griffin will take you to him should you wish,” she said with a smile.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Griff said softly by my side.
She turned and walked away from us before calling over her shoulder, “Be sure you’re cleaned up and prepared for dinner.”
I hadn’t expected to be invited to dinner with the queen. That wasn’t something the guys had ever discussed with me. Hell, I hadn’t even known there was a queen until we were introduced. Needless to say, I felt like I had a lot to catch up on.
Griffin bowed next to me, so I curtseyed as he said, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
When he picked up my bag and took my hand, I was surprised but grateful to be led from the room and no longer under the gaze of the guards, or the queen for that matter. I followed him down hallways and around bends, and the whole time, the two of us were silent. Finally, we came to a small suite of rooms, and as he shut the door behind us, I felt him sag with relief, even though we weren’t touching.
“I’m so glad you’re back, dove,” he said again before walking over to me and helping me get the backpack I’d had slung over one shoulder for the better part of a day off. “What happened?” he growled out as the bag landed on the floor next to my feet.
“I don’t know, I went through the portal and there was no one there, and I thought Dres would follow but he didn’t, and the portal disappeared. I was so worried,” I whispered at the end, hating to admit it.
“No, I mean on your back? There’s blood on your shirt.” His tone was still and almost oppressive, like the quiet before a storm breaks.
“An overeager guard wanting to make sure I kept up with his partner. I didn’t realize he’d made me bleed.” I tried to look over my shoulder to see the injures, but they were too low and too centered for me to even catch a glimpse.
“Come on, let’s get you to the healing pools,” he said, leaving my bags in the rooms that were apparently ours.
I wasn’t sure what these healing pools were, but if they worked on blisters, then I was going to be one happy woman. There was a doozy of a blister forming on the back of my ankle where my boot had been rubbing, and I couldn’t wait to take it off. I just hoped the queen didn’t mind if I wore sandals at dinner.
“I didn’t know I’d be meeting a queen,” I said, worry about dinner flitting through me as we wound through corridors that occasionally peeked out into small courtyards. “I didn’t exactly pack anything appropriate to wear to dinner with royalty.”
“I’ll find you something, don’t worry,” Griff said, grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze. I expected him to let go afterward, but he didn’t, and that made my heart melt. I felt like he really had missed me.
“Where are Dres and Kai?” I asked quietly as we walked.
“Taking care of some business before dinner. Think about it like checking in with an embassy abroad. They wanted to wait for you, but they didn’t have another choice.”
“Oh, I see,” I said, wishing that I could see them and verify with my own eyes that they were okay.
The hallway we were walking in turned a corner and split. There was one side that looked almost blocked off by opaque glass, and the other disappeared around another corner. Griff led me around to the glass wall and through a gap that was carved into one side of the wall, making it look like the glass blocked off the hallway, even though there was a way through. I hoped nobody had to get through there in an emergency, because it certainly wouldn’t fit a group of people or even two people carrying someone else. So there had to be another entrance, right?
Before my mind could stew on how the injured got to these healing pools, we were standing in front of a woman in a blue dress. It was simple and clean, with two pockets on the front and was cut to form but not to accentuate. Overall, the dress looked very practical, just like the bun she wore on her head.
“Griffin, who do we have here?”
“Malia, this is Tessa. She has some nasty scratches on her back from a spear and I’m sure some blisters on her feet, among other things. Can she use one of the pools? I’ll be bringing by some more appropriate clothes, and then she’ll be visiting with Finn, if that’s okay with you?” The blond-haired warrior was so polite here, it was almost amusing. Part of me craved the teasing goofy man that I’d originally met to come back though. I knew he wouldn’t have shown me a false side to himself, so I just needed to be patient and I was sure I’d see all sides of him eventually. At least I hoped so.
“Very well. Finn is the only other occupant of the pools, and he should be healed in time for dinner, per the queen’s wishes. Tessa, you may choose whichever pool you desire,” she said with a tight smile as she looked over my clothes.
“Each pool has a different feel to it. Some are all about the views, some are relaxing, some are energizing, some enhance sensation. There’s many options for you to choose from,” Griff added, explaining what the woman didn’t.
“I just want to relax, if that’s okay?” I asked, glancing at Malia.
“Right this way. Griffin, please find me when you have the appropriate clothing for Tessa, and I shall pass it along.” Malia dismissed Griff for all intents and purposes, and he looked unsurprised by this as she took my hand and led me away.
I glanced over my shoulder at my warrior and caught him watching me, a small smile on his face. When he saw me looking, he winked at me and grinned before walking away. I was glad to see the flirtatious man was still in there, even if he was subdued for the moment.
When we entered a small room, I was surprised that the healing pool looked like a pond that was set into the floor. The top of the room was open to the elements, and the sun shone in while birds fluttered in and out of the trees that were growing in the corners of the room.
“You may strip down and get in whenever you wish, but please be respectful of the other animals. Nothing in here will hurt you, so there is no reason to be afraid of it. In case your…friend didn’t explain it to you, we believe in the unity between all creatures. The animals in this room lend us some of their energy to allow us to heal faster. The more respectful you are of them, the faster they will help you heal. There’s a drying cloth just there, and cleansing lotions for your hair and skin over here,” she said, gesturing to a small stool I hadn’t even noticed with the towel on it and some small pots on the side of the pond.
“Thank you,” I said quietly, looking around in wonder. “Won’t that dirty the water though?”
She paused for a moment at the door and said, “Not at all, it all circulates and filters out. I take it you have nothing like this where you’re from?”
“Not even close. This is magical,” I said, already feeling a sense of calm seep into my bones.
Malia smiled at that. “It’s even better once you’re in the water.”
With that, she left me, and I stood in the quiet for a moment, just appreciating the beauty of the room before I stripped down and got in the water. It was much warmer than I’d expected, and I felt more like I was being wrapped in a blanket than getting in water. As I settled and closed my eyes, I let my thoughts drift, and the two things they kept coming back to were hoping that I wasn’t going to let everyone down and hoping that Malia was right and Finn would be healed soon. It felt weird to think it, but I didn’t like being without Finn, or any of the guys for that matter. Finn was who I was most concerned about though. The need to see and touch him to verify that he was okay was almost enough for me to say screw the bath and go and find him, but the longer I stayed in the water, the better I felt, so I figured I could be patient, at least for a little bit.
