The Dragons' Bathhouse: A Reverse Harem Enemies-to-Lovers Soulmate Romance

26

Eden

Her body felt heavy.

It was as if her blood were made of lead, flowing sluggishly within her body, and her bones had been melted together to form a single structure. Whenever she tried to move, a deep ache blossomed over her back like a terrible muscle tear, one that felt bone deep and refused to go away.

But the pain wasn't what bothered her, it was the never-ending nightmares. Nightmares of the whip to her skin, nightmares of the pearls bouncing on the floor, nightmares of the spiders that crawled and bit into her flesh. They never stayed long in her memory. Each dream flitted and danced out of her mind whenever she awoke. But she definitely remembered how they made her feel, how her heart seemed to dance at the tip of her tongue, and her stomach flopped and twisted with nausea.

But for some reason, she could not open her eyes. She could not escape the never-ending darkness, and the shadows continuously lulled her back to sleep. Eden was always taken back into the nightmares, again and again on repeat. It was as if she were swimming in the raging seas, surfacing for brief moments to desperately take huge gulps of air before being dragged down by the relentless current.

It only stopped when the fire was there. The lighthouse in the tumultuous sea, the star in the night sky, the warmth in the blizzard.

The fire.

They were gentle with her.

Soft fingers brushing over her skin, the flutter of lips against the nape of her neck, the press of a cold body on her tender back. They were warm and cold. A dichotomy of feelings. The heat of one radiating against her cold cheeks, the dance of cold fingers over the stinging of her neck.

But they were both warm, so warm. They sparked a fire in her chest, their touch bringing forth the bubble of gold that frothed from a crack in her heart. Their touch made the gold flow into the confines of her empty soul, filling it until she felt as if her heart had sprouted wings and could actually fly.

She felt whole in their arms. And the dreams that she had when they cuddled into her frame were about the setting sun, the brush of wind in her hair and the smell of summer rain and winter frost. And so she found herself weeping for their touch whenever she couldn't find them in her bed.

Eden rose, her heart hammering in her chest to another bad dream of medusas and fire. Her fingers trembled as she desperately searched for the fire. Her hands combing over the sheets in her panic, but the silk was cold and empty. And the horrible darkness seemed to close in on her, looming over her frame.

Her eyes! Fear held her in its grasp, her heart quickening in the cage of her bones. She struggled desperately, trying to will her eyes open. Her body twitched and she tried to move her hands, but all she could manage was the twitches of her fingers. She could not see!

"Your highnesses, this is a paste made from fire newt and kelpie hair. It should reduce the burn." The pitched voice of an imp echoed across the room. High-pitched and squeaky.

"Apply it on my brother first, he suffered greater damage." The soft, sweet voice that answered piqued her interest, and she stilled, straining her ears to listen. "Be careful with his spine. The growing skin there is still new."

"B-but my prince, it will hurt a lot." There was hesitation in the imp's voice. "The fire newt saliva has a poison to it. And your back... Your wings. I'm afraid that there might be greater damage. Your ability to fly... My princes, reconsider this perhaps there are other ways, the soul flowers perhaps—"

Princes? Her brows knotted together at those words.

"You think I don't know that? You think I did the exchange on an impulse?" The third voice was raspy, low and gruff with his words. Solemn and grave. "Just do it. I know what I'm doing. I made my fucking bed, I take the fucking consequences. Just fucking do it."

"Here, bite this." There was a rustle, the brush of fabric and the sound of movement. Then a sharp, desperate inhale. "You have to keep quiet. She's sleeping." Eden froze at their words, feeling terribly self-conscious of her movements. She stilled her body, letting her racing heart calm into a steady beat, focusing on her ears.

Then there was the sound of sizzling.

It reminded her of the sound of raw meat on the grill, the fat and oil dancing on the hot metal. It seemed to intensify as if the heat had been increased. Then a low groan filled the room, the sound forcing a tremble of cold over her body. It coiled in her belly, biting at her stomach, nibbling at her insides like ants that crawled over her skin. Fear held her tight in its suffocating embrace. His pain scared her.

His moans were strangled, rough and raw. It was as if he were biting into something and screaming into the fabric that muffled his voice. He was hurting. It was easy for her mind to make the necessary links, and a tremble of horror filled her as her creative brain conjured thousands of possibilities. Were they torturing him? Where was she?

What were they doing?

"It's almost done. Just a little more," the pretty voice said softly, and the answering grunt was almost desperate. Wet with his tears and pain. Eden's heart squeezed at the sound, a curious lump forming in her throat. She didn't want to hear this. Her chest hated the sound of his pain, whoever he was. And she felt as if she could taste his blood in the air.

A prince.

The sizzling stopped and then there was a soft gasp, the clearing of a throat. The croaked whisper of the baritone voice. "She's awake. She's scared. S-smell—can smell her. Her tears. C-can you?" Eden's breath hitched in her throat at his words. She could hear someone approaching, the nimble taps of feet on the floor and then the gaze on her skin. She stilled her body feeling panic cling to her heart, swirling in her head.

Whatever they were doing...Would they do it to her? She swallowed nervously, her mouth going dry at the thought. Would they hurt her too? What were they doing—A cool finger brushed against her cheeks, a thumb dancing over the bottom of her eyes. And the welcoming fire returned, albeit a little weak. It ignited in her chest, reassuring her that all was right in the world and the gold began to spill once again.

It soothed her.

"Did you have a nightmare?" The mellifluous voice whispered, soft and gentle like honey in warm milk.

She inhaled sharply. The voice of the man before her was familiar and her mind ached with the memory. That voice brought her discomfort, but her body longed for his touch. It confused her. Who was he to her? Why did she feel this way?

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace in one quick swoop. The musk of his scent, fresh and inviting engulfed her. And she could hear his heart, the steady thump lulling her back to sleep.

"You're okay, go back to sleep."

And she slept, lulled back to sleep from his gentle touch.

The darkness was kind when they were there; it was warm and pleasant. Sometimes, in that empty endless blackness, she would hear things. They would speak to her, their voices sad and solemn as they stroked her hair. The faceless men that cared for her health seemed to have hearts of gold, and she could tell from the way they treated her. Although they always seemed to be apologising.

"I'm sorry, I wish I could take back everything. I wish... I wasn't so fucking stupid... I wish I had held you in my arms and had never let you go. What's the point of having so much power if I can't even protect you?"

"Eden, please you need to be strong. You have to. Please, please don't go. I don't care if the fire takes me, I don't care if it hurts me. I don't care if I never see the sky. Y-you just need to be strong, you just need to be safe. You just need to live. "

"I know the truth now. I wish I knew earlier, I wish I knew what you are to me. I wish I could turn back time. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry."

I'm sorry.