The Immortal Prince ✔️

21

"It's tranquil," he muses, stepping away from us.

Taking a step, I note the soft forest floor, covered in damp leaves. The trees are impressively tall, stretching their branches out toward the sky, casting shadows across us three.

"Could you be anymore predictable?" Eyla mutters, unimpressed. She would be far more overjoyed by a beach, with other people, where she could strip down and run into the sea with abandon.

"Oh come on, it's nice," Hale encourages, motioning for us to follow. "Come through here."

Eyla drags her feet as we weave through the trunks. Hale holds branches above us, leaves tickling my skin, even as I duck.

My best friend gasps, seeing the sight first.

Blinking through the watery rays of sunlight, I see a lake, stretching out wide, seated below a sprawling mountain. The water is deliciously blue, tempting me to run down along wooden wharf I spot, to dive into it's clutches.

"Okay, I take everything back that I said," Eyla marvels, turning in a circle as she takes in our environment with a new found amazement.

I glance toward Hale, whose hands are pressed into his pockets, as he looks out over the flat lake, admiring it's glassy finish.

"Wow, this is beautiful. I've never seen anything like it," I tell him.

He looks toward me. Under the sunlight, he looks even more otherworldly, his beauty rivalling the lake, the forest and even the mountain. And there's a glisten in those silvery eyes. One contentment.

"Shall I leave you two to swim?" he asks gently, nodding at a stunned Eyla.

"No, you have to join us!" Eyla wines, reaching out to grab Hale's gloved hand, so brazenly even I flinch. "It will be fun."

I step toward the wooden wharf, kicking my shoes off. "I've compromised my dignity far too many times in front of you, Hale. I am not stripping down."

"Suit yourself, friend," Eyla grins.

Both Hale and I watch as she races onto the wharf, the old structure creaking uneasily as she sheds off her shirt, and then her pants, leaving them scattered about randomly, before she launches off the end, and into the water.

When she emerges above the surface, she grins, waving wildly at us.

Hale smiles. "She is quite bold."

"Actually, she is usually the less explorative friend. Me being in that cave has made me weak," I admit sheepishly. Usually it would be me, not hesitating to throw myself into the water, but being a mortal has me second guessing everything.

What if I drown? Plants at the bottom of the lake could wind around my ankle and pin me under the surface, or lake-dwelling creatures could take a bite from my flesh, leaving me to bleed out helplessly.

Hale's gaze is soft as it tracks me. "You're not weak. You're unwell."

"I feel better, you know. Around you," I murmur, watching Eyla lay on her back, sunlight glistening on her wet front.

"What are you two waiting for? It's delightful in here!" She yells.

"I don't know about you, but I could do with a swim." Hale tugs his shirt off first, dropping it on the smooth stones that line the lake.

Stepping away from him, I can't control my gaze as it roves over his shirtless figure. The sharp lines of his muscled torso has my throat drying, and those deep silver tattoos...I wish I knew what they depicted.

"Hale!" I admonish, tugging his shoes and pants off next.

"I'm not fully naked." He grins, motioning to his underwear, which I refuse to look at. "Not that you haven't seen me unclothed before."