Eclipse: Time Thief (Romantasy)

25. Confession

Endless stairs.

Absolutely endless stairs with narrow stretches of tunnel that echoed our every breath stretched on and on and on. For hours upon hours, we walked and didn't stop for a break even once we'd been reduced to crawling up the stairs, unable to speak.

We'd both sweated so much that the mud had run down from our faces and necks in dark streaks. Every muscle in my body burned.

Three more stairs and I rounded a bend that wrenched a cry from my chest.

"You hear it?"

Nash perked up. "Water."

We clambered up the last few steps and stumbled down the hall to a natural cave in the mountain. Stalagmites reached their spindly fingers for one another from above and below. A still pool of water reflected the blue hue of the cave's ceiling. I stumbled for it, collapsed, and sucked in mouthfuls of water so fast I nearly wretched.

My stomach hurt from drinking too much. "I didn't think we would make it."

"Me either. I'm going in." Nash pulled his tunic over his head and pried off his shoes before reaching for his pants.

"A warning would be nice!" I turned my face away.

"I told you I was going in."

"Not without clothes," I muttered. Washing away the mud and sweat did sound nice. I bit my cheek. "If you look you die. Okay?" I glanced over at Nash to find that he'd ventured chest-deep into the water.

He covered a bare shoulder with his hand. "You're the one who's looking. Keep your eyes to yourself, Sharpshooter."

I rolled my eyes at his smirk. Even after he turned his back to me, I felt nervous. "You really can't look."

"I would never do that." He splashed water over his face. "Not even if you were drowning. I'd look the other way and preserve your dignity so you could perish untainted by my gaze."

"Oh, shut up." I left my clothes in a pile, so exhausted that even that simple task of undressing felt incredible tiring.

The relief of the water immediately soothed me. I relished the feeling of weightlessness on my heavy body. Once I felt like I could move my arms again, I unknotted my hair to scrub away the mud.

"They'll try to ambush us higher up the mountain now that they know we're here." I pulled chunks of mud from my tangles. If Rune saw this, he would tease me and say this mess would break the brush. I missed the little guy.

"I figured," Nash said. "I'm getting out now. You can look if you really want to."

"How do you have the energy to be an ass right now?

"An ass? I'm trying to do a nice thing for you."

I scoffed. "Oh, how generous of you."

"I like to give to those in need. You seem pretty stressed out."

My jaw dropped. I was somewhere between laughing and wheeling around to punch him in the kidney. "You better walk away right now."

"I'll accept a simple thank you, but I wouldn't turn away coin if you're feeling especially grateful."

I dragged my arm across the water to splash him. "You're insufferable."

Refusing to look at him for even a second, I turned away immediately. His laugh both grated at me and made it hard not to smile.

The effort to drench him in water had drained the last of my strength. My body was so weak that I could have cried at the effort of having to dress. Nash reclined against a large rock, facing the passageway. I stumbled to him on numb legs and slid down the rock.