The smell of the soap didn’t matter, in the end. Water cleaned so much on its own and he needed to peel the days of healing from his skin as it was. Alegan filled his lungs to capacity, all the way down to his sternum, and let the water pull him down.
Air escaped from with his gasp. The water was scalding hot against his face, where the stars burned just days ago. They ached in harmony with his pulse, but he ignored the sensation as best he could. Ten seconds was all Alegan needed, long enough to saturate his hair.
He moaned as he broke the surface. A hand settled on his bare shoulder, cool on his skin. Alegan cracked an eye open and found Catli giving him a concerned once-over.
“I was about to warn you to be careful of your burns.” Catli let him go. “The ones on your face are far worse
