Chapter 468: The Secret Beneath the Hills
Lyria's POV
Jim turned towards me at once, his attention sharpening so suddenly that I found myself hesitating beneath the weight of his gaze. I had not yet determined how best to broach the matter, and now that I had begun, I could scarcely withdraw my words without inviting questions I was ill-prepared to answer.
I cleared my throat softly.
"M-might I a-ask w-whether the p-place you s-speak of is s-somewhere the w-water runs n-naturally w-warm?" I ventured. "A h-hot s-spring, p-perhaps?"
The change in Jim's expression was immediate. His brows drew together, and the guardedness that had begun to ease during our conversation returned with such force that I might almost have imagined a wall rising between us once more.
"'Ow d'ye know about that?" he asked, his voice cold — it had never been particularly warm before, but it was colder still now.
