And maybe, just maybe, I didn’t want to stop touching him. Maybe I wanted his head in my lap and my fingers in his hair for just a second longer. Long enough to convince myself he really was okay.
I worked hard to keep any of those thoughts from showing on my face as Trace stood though. They unnerved me, and it would only be worse if any of the men realized what I’d been thinking.
How much I was starting to actually care about them.
Trace clapped Merrick on the shoulder. “Thanks man. I owe you one.”
“No you don’t.”
The other man shook his head, and I could tell he absolutely meant it. I was suddenly very glad that the four of us had agreed to team up—not just for my sake, but for theirs. The guys were all competitive people, and the unspoken rule of the gods’ challenge was that each competitor worked on their own. There could only be one winner, after all.
But if we’d split up after the dome, if all of us had forged ahead alone… how many of us would be alive right now?
Half of Trace’s shirt had been burned away by the fire water, and he ripped off the remaining charred fabric, craning his neck to see the damage. His face fell, sadness reflecting in his angular features.
“Ah, fuck. I liked those tattoos.”
He looked truly pained, and I wondered if the inked images had held special meaning for him. Probably. Most tattoos did, didn’t they?
I stood, dusting off my hands as I approached him. Running my fingers over the skin, which had continued to heal to the point that it was barely even pink anymore, I traced the edges of the burn marks where they met up with the half-formed images of his remaining tattoos.
“I’m sorry. That sucks.” My voice was lower than I’d meant it to be. Softer. “I’m sorry you lost them, but… this is beautiful too, in its own way.”
Trace’s other hand reached up, grabbing onto mine and squeezing gently as his bright blue eyes searched my face. “Thanks, Snow.”
“Uh, guys? Ye might want to take a look at this shite.”
Lachlan’s voice dragged me from the deep pools of Trace’s eyes, and the three of us joined the Irishman in looking around, finally taking in our surroundings fully.
The river of fire hadn’t simply dead-ended into nothing. It fed into an enormous lake, which flickered and crackled, providing enough illumination to light the entire cave.
We all watched the waves of flames for several moments, the dark, slick cave walls contrasting with the vibrant flames of the water.
Despite the light of the flames, the cave seemed to be getting darker and darker as the moments passed, and I glanced over at the large hole in the cave wall we’d entered through. It was obviously getting late.
I scrubbed my hands over my face, suddenly feeling so exhausted I could’ve collapsed right there.
“Well, I don’t know what we’re supposed to do from here, but I think we all need to get some sleep. We’re not gonna find whatever new clue we’re hunting for if we’re absolutely exhausted. We know it’s in here somewhere, so I say we rest, regroup, and start searching tomorrow.”
Lachlan lifted his arms overhead, his muscles bunching as he stretched out his shoulders. “I agree. I’ll take the first watch.” He glanced at Trace. “I know it’s meant to be yours, mate, but ye should get some sleep first. It’ll only help the healin’ do its thing.”
Trace nodded, accepting his friend’s help with more seriousness and grace than I would’ve expected of him when I’d first met him.
Then again, I’d learned enough about these three men in the past couple weeks to realize that most of my first impressions of them were wrong—or at least, incomplete.
Merrick shifted his gaze back to the large lake of fire. “I don’t think it’s worth trying to make a fire. Not when we don’t have much to burn, and there’s a ready-made fire right there. We can sleep close to the shore—just not too close.”
“Agreed,” I muttered.
As proud as I was of the magic I used to light our campfires every night, I really didn’t want to do it right now.
At that point, when we got back to the human realm, I wasn’t sure I’d ever light so much as a candle ever again.
Chapter Eighteen
“That was really decent of you.”
My quiet words seemed too loud in the large cave, as if the massive space picked up each sound and amplified it. Or maybe it just felt that way because I really didn’t want the others to overhear me.