Chapter 31

Kira

I sipped from my water bottle, aware that this was the second gallon of water I’d been through in an hour. The sauna was well over 100 degrees, and I could feel the steam licky my body, my skin covered in gleaming sweat. It was also blissfully quiet; I had it all to myself, thankfully. While the saunas weren’t technically private, nobody really bothered to use them so late at night.

Or, had a key to the Lodge for after-hour use.

I thought of the time I stole Ethan’s key–a few years ago, at least–and made a copy so I could train late in the evening’s on the nights he and Perrin were otherwise occupied. I could practice–fail, and try again–without the looming judgment of one–nearly two–older brothers.

I wiped sweat from my forehead lazily onto my towel, nearly soaked through. I had felt my muscles relax over the last hour or so, my head nodding as I listened to the rhythmic hiss of the steam as it pumped into the sweltering room.

I had decided–whether through reason or in my curr