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She tried to keep up with Pyetar, but he kept slowing down to accommodate her. She ached, she was cold, and she was unsteady on her feet. It took all her energy not to rush him; she wasn’t sure if she could go much farther, and he just kept writing off the spots he found.

But finally, on a narrow overhang that she had needed Pyetar’s help to navigate due to her shaky legs, they found the cave. The entrance would not only be hard to find and almost impossible for large creatures to make it inside, but a cluster of tall pines stretched up from the ground below the overhang, their branches obscuring it almost entirely.

The floor was uneven, and Pyetar held her close as they shuffled inside. It was dark but didn’t smell nearly as musty as she would have expected. The snow tapered off a few feet into the cave, along with the moonlight. Pyetar bent down to help her take off her snowshoes and then removed his own. She let him take her bow and pack now that there wasn’t any threat.

It almost felt warm. And humid.

“This is amazing.”

“It opens up farther in,” Pyetar said, his voice less strained with worry than it had been. He pulled out his imbued lantern and lit it so they could see inside.

“I don’t think we could have been luckier,” Iryana said weakly as they made their way deeper into the cave. She kept her eyes glued to the cave floor, where piles of rocks, jagged edges and pits, and clumps of debris threatened to trip her.

The air grew warmer, and Iryana was grateful to realize she’d be able to remove some layers. But she didn’t understand why the air seemed so wet.

Pyetar stopped beside her, and Iryana wobbled, leaning against his side.

“That pool wasn’t here last time.” Pyetar said with confusion. “I—this must not be the cave I used before…”

Iryana looked up.

The cave did, in fact, open up before them into a proper cavern. Along one side of the cave was a large pool of water, fed by a crack on the far wall. The lantern-light reflected off the slowly waving surface.

She realized all the steam rising off the water made it hard to see. “Is that… a hot spring?”

“It appears so.”

They stared at it for a while in disbelief before Pyetar went to investigate. He dipped his hand inside, tasted some of the water, and walked around it carefully with the lantern. She knew hot springs like this weren’t uncommon in the highlands, but they were sometimes dangerous.

“It’s safe,” Pyetar announced.

Iryana had almost thought it would be their luck that something was wrong with it. “I would kill for a soak in a hot spring.”

“You should get in. I’m going to set some snares and cover our tracks, but I won’t be long. It’s not that hot, but if you start to feel lightheaded, I want you to get out immediately.”

“If you insist,” she chuckled, feeling so much lighter and already ripping off her gear.

When Pyetar returned, Iryana had already shed her clothes and climbed into the water.

Iryana watched him slowly remove his own clothes, staring at her with those hooded eyes. His gaze trailed over her leisurely. There was a temptation to sink lower in the water, to cover the scars marring her skin, especially the ones scraped over her right shoulder, but Iryana held fast. Let him stare. She knew he didn’t see her scars, just her.

And she stared right back. Watched the way his muscles flexed as he made something as simple as removing his pants look obscene. His arms were bigger around than her thighs, his abs and pecs clearly visible beneath soft, curling brown hair that tapered down the center of his stomach.

When Pyetar got in, his eyes trailed over the bits of her body visible above the steaming water, but he placed himself more than an arm’s distance away.

“How are you feeling?” he asked casually, as if they weren’t both naked. As if they weren’t both struggling not to stare at each other.

“Weak, but this water is already helping.”

“Good.” He ran his hands over the surface of the water, sending ripples cascading toward her. “I—I worry that I shouldn’t have asked you to come. I didn’t realize using your forgings had gotten this bad. It scares me.”

She swallowed. “I think it was because of the arrows, forming and releasing the forgings is the worst part.”

“Should we head back?”

“No,” she said firmly. “We can’t go back empty-handed. And we already made it this far.”

His brow scrunched together, conflict painted across his face. “Promise you’ll tell me if it gets too dangerous for you.”