Kitsken led me quietly through the halls of the Inn that the Emir had rented. It didn’t have the rigid and regimented feel of a hotel. It felt like and was the size of a resort back home. It kinda made me feel like I was in Vegas. It was not quite as refined as Vegas, but it was apportioned the same. It just fit what I had seen of this world so far. This would be a luxury place where hundreds of guests would relax and mingle. It was probably an oasis away from the rest of the city.

  We walked down below the ground floor, and the polished plaster and wood walls turned to hewn stone lit by torches that gave off no smoke. I could feel the pull of the fire rune in each as we passed. I didn’t dare dawdle and verify or see if there was any variation, as I didn’t want to lose sight of Kitsken.

  After what felt like traversing a city block, we came to our destination. Once we turned down the hallway, I could see the steam rolling out of the door to the baths. I could see further down the hallway that there were other steamy rooms, and I was willing to bet they were more ornate.

  Still, the room she led me to had a small steaming pool carved into the floor. The water looked every bit the Jacuzzi type. I didn’t feel the grime of the road until that first moment that the steam hit me. Suddenly, I felt every bit of the road stuck to my skin. It was so bad that I simultaneously both wanted to dive in and thought that I would contaminate the pool. The small voice behind me read my mind.

  “Do not worry, the water is self-heating and self-cleaning.”

  “Apologies, the road was…”

  None is necessary. I will let you disrobe and clean yourself. There are soaps and scented oils for you to use in the basket on the side.” She pointed to a small wicker basket.

  “Thank you, Kitsken.”

  “I will return with Pasha and your uniform. Also, I overheard your conversation with Diana, so I got you this.” She places a small vial in my hand with an almost guilty look on her face.

  “Tonic?”

  Like a cat that ate the canary, she smiled and blushed a little and wrung her hands before twisting and walking out the door. I wasn’t sure what that was, but I drank the tonic nonetheless.

  I took my dirty clothes off and set them aside. They practically stood on their own at this point, the steam having turned the grime almost solid.

  The water was almost impossibly hot, but oh so soothing. The circulation of the water and the heat was powered from below. I could feel the magic calling.

  I looked around and was alone and probably would be for a while. I didn’t know when the sixth bell was, but it sounded like an early evening thing. I wasn’t going to waste time. I sank into the water and began my dive.

  The runes were etched, crudely, into a series of plates affixed to the walls of the tub just below the seating area. I could have probably opened my eyes and looked at them, but it was hardly necessary with my powers. They were within my aura, and the whole of the ‘object’ that they were carved into was easy to pick out. One of the runes I recognized almost right away. It was like a lesser version of fire or what fire would leave behind. I assumed it was heat or something similar.

  The next two were a challenge. I couldn’t quite figure out what they did. I knew from previous experience that I had to know at least part of the concept that the rune represented to learn it, and I was at a loss for these two. They were different than all of the others I knew. At least the heating rune was similar enough to fire that I could identify it. These two were still a loss.

  I looked at the other three plates. They all had the same three runes. I immediately noticed the inconsistency in them, though. They were all poorly drawn and with jagged lines. One was so bad that I couldn’t stand it. It offended me. Part of one of my skills called to me, and I used a judicious application of create and destruct to improve it.

  The results were immediate. I could feel the force from that plate increase and circulate the water faster. It had to be what was swirling in the hot tub. The tub was hot and swirling, but that’s all it was. I thought the last rune might be water, but it didn’t have that feel.

  It hit me in that moment that Kitsken had called these tubs ‘self-cleaning.’ I wondered if this was some sort of cleaning rune. Speaking of Kitsken, I noticed her as she jumped into the water.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  The girl was stripped to a light pale shift of silk or some other material as she jumped into the water in a panic. She reached around and pulled me to the surface. I guess I didn’t notice that I was submerged in the water as I did my dive to study the runes.

  Despite her size, she had some strength as she pushed me back against the edge of the pool and placed her mouth against mine. I was definitely not experienced with a woman being this forward, nor was I expecting it in this of all places. As I reached around her back to pull her closer, I felt her hot breath against the back of my throat. As I slid my hand against her back, she stiffened and pushed back, a look of shock on her face.

  It wasn’t a kiss. It was Mouth-to-mouth. She literally jumped in because she thought I was dying or, given my situation, thought I had offed myself.

  “Ahh…not a kiss then. My savior?”

  “I came, and you were face down. I thought you were just holding your breath and enjoying the heat. I called out, and you didn’t respond or even move. I waited over five minutes, and nothing. I started throwing things. And then I just had to. I had to try. I thought you were dead. You weren’t breathing. You weren’t…” She was in minor hysterics at this point.

  I couldn’t help but notice her, though. The water had soaked her shift thoroughly, and her panicked breaths were causing her chest to heave further, accentuating her breasts through the now almost pointless cloth. Her straddling me as she rocked back in her panic did nothing for my arousal either. At this point, it had been years since I had had sex with a woman who wasn't a god. There was something entirely enticing about her in that moment. I gently grabbed her by the arms and tried to calm her.

  “It’s ok. I’m ok. I was just holding my breath. It’s a piece from my past, I think. Maybe I was a sailor or something. The water was just nice and calming, so I was just in a trance.”

  I was in a trance, but I bet it was way longer than five minutes. How did I not drown? Did I really even need to breathe? What effect did a dive have on my physiology? On time? I asked these questions as she began to calm down.

  “Thank you for saving me, by the way.”

  She looked at me with a deadly smirk. It wasn’t the ‘I’ll kill you’ one either, it was the .. Aris’…..kryptonite’ one. She started to move from straddling my lap, and I took a chance. I dropped my hands down to her hips and held them. Not forcing her down or anything, but clearly showing I would enjoy it if she stayed right where she was.

  She didn’t even give it a token effort. Feathers had applied more pressure than I did, and she sat back into her straddle. She even shifted a little bit forward. I will admit I cheated a little and used my aura sight to scope out the situation. Yep, the little she had moved had allowed her shift to shift all the way up from in between us. There was about half an inch between the parts of us that were important at that moment.

  She gave me the look. Yeah, that look.

  “You did save me, however, shall I repay you?” My voice was dripping with sarcasm and innuendo.

  She stayed a minute after all was said and done. I could still taste her on my lips. She lay back in the water next to me with her arm draped across her chest.

  “Mmmhmn. The best on staff for sure. I wouldn’t worry about a cold bed the entire time you are in the Emir’s employ.”

  I was stuck on her last word.

  “Doesn’t it bother you? Being property. Answering his…whims?”

  “Who? The Emir?…. He is a gentleman. I would grace his bed again in a heartbeat. Or any that he would offer me up to, for that matter.”

  “Really? Why?”

  “A way out. They say you don’t have a lot of knowledge of what happens to slaves. I’m sure it’s horrible, but the Emir is different. He cares, almost like he is human.”

  “That makes it worse. I understand being owned by a beastkin and them seeing us as lesser, but to humanaize him it’s not like he has…”

  “Has what? An understanding of what it’s like? The Emir does! He was like us once. Won his freedom or bought it and then started to take as many of us in as possible. And at least he has respect for ‘no’. Even if he didn’t, at least he has compatible equipment. I will never forget the sound my sister made as three Bulkin wanted to ‘try before they buy’ with her. I will never. The Emir saved me from that. For that, anything he wants from me he gets. I don’t care how depraved or who. You understand that?”

  She went from sweet and pensive to violently defensive. I wanted to chalk it up to Stockholm Syndrome. But I could feel it in her voice. She loved him. Not in a romantic way, but he was her savior. I could feel how angry she was. I needed damage control, and I needed it now.

  “I didn’t know that. That sounds horrible, and I cannot fathom what that must have been like. You are right. I don’t know so much. I need someone to teach me about this place. For what it’s worth, everything you have said is the truth I have seen of the Emir so far.”

  She didn’t seem too convinced and started to get out of the water. I didn’t make an attempt to stop her. I did turn to admire her body as she got out of the water. She gathered her things and started out the door. She paused as she reached the door and looked over her shoulder, wet black hair framing her face.

  “Im sorry I shouldn’t have yelled at you. You are new to this life, and it’s probably been tough. It will get better, I promise..umm…..I don’t even know your name yet.” A little blush crossed her face.

  “My name is Aris. And it’s ok. It sounds like he saved your life. I should not have insulted him. Especially given he has shown me nothing but grace.”

  “Aris?….. I like it. I will see you around, Aris,” She walked out of the room. I want to think the ass-sway was on purpose. On purpose, like how neither of us mentioned her panties lying on the top of her dry clothes.