The warm water enveloped them both as they settled into the marble pool, and Ashlynn let out a soft sigh of contentment as the heat began to work its way into muscles that had been tense with worry for two days straight. Nyrielle's cool skin warmed gradually in the steaming water, and soon the temperature difference between them faded until Ashlynn could barely tell where her own warmth ended and Nyrielle's borrowed heat began.
"So," Nyrielle said, reaching for one of the silver bottles on the elegant tray beside the pool and pouring a generous amount of primrose-scented oil into her palm. "Tell me about your day. You said you've been making preparations, but I know you too well. You've been pushing yourself to your limit again when you should have been resting, haven't you?"
"You know it's enough if you take a few days to yourself, my darling," Nyrielle added gently. "You're allowed to claim victory over the day even if all you did was to plan an evening together for us."
