Magiano lifts one hand out of the water and touches my chin for a moment, tilting it up, leaving a droplet of water to run along my skin. “I’m looking forward to seeing you become Queen of the Sunlands,” he says, his gaze wandering across my face.
What do you see now, Magiano? I wonder. When he first met me, I was a girl cast out by her friends, allied with her sister, intent on getting revenge on the Inquisition Axis. Now I rule the Inquisition. What do you see when you stare at me? Is it the same girl you once kissed by a crackling fire?
Gradually, an old, mischievous light appears in his eyes. I tremble as his lips brush against my ear, and I can’t help but think about the submerged half of him, flushing at the knowledge that I, too, am naked below my shoulders. “I found a secret place,” he whispers. His hand finds mine under the water, tugging on my wrist. “Come with me.”
I’m unable to suppress a laugh. “Where are you taking me?” I say in a mock scolding voice.
“I’ll beg your forgiveness later, Your Majesty,” he teases back, flashing me a grin as he pulls us toward the far end of the pool. Here, the water branches into two narrower segments, each leading into a more private chamber. One of the private chambers has been sealed off for the past few months, though, as part of the archway had collapsed into the water and left it impassable. As we near the bend, I think Magiano is going to lead us into the still-open private chamber on the right. But he doesn’t. Instead, he guides us to the left, toward the collapsed arch. We pause in front of it, a trail of water disturbed in our wake.
“Behold.” Magiano spreads his arms in a gesture of pretend triumph. “Revel in its majesty.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Are you trying to impress me with a collapsed archway?”
“No faith. No faith at all.” He is back to his old self, and it sends a rare thread of joy through my heart. “Follow me,” he murmurs. Then he takes a deep breath and dives down, grabbing my hand as he descends.
At first, I hesitate. There are still a few things I fear in life. Fire. Death. And the last time I was submerged in water, in a canal in Merroutas when my illusions first betrayed me, I did not fare well. When I resist, Magiano resurfaces. “Don’t be afraid,” he says with a half smile. “You’re with me.” His hand tightens around my wrist, tugging me down again playfully. And this time, I feel safe enough to take a deep breath of my own and do as he says.
The water is warm, caressing my face, and as I go deeper, the world disappears into shades of light and muffled sound. Through the water I catch a glimpse of Magiano’s bare body, gliding like a balira down toward the broken archway. Then I catch sight of what he wants me to see. At the very bottom, the archway hasn’t completely blocked off the private chamber behind it. There is still a narrow entrance under the water, one that looks just wide enough for a person to swim through.
Magiano goes first. His movements send up a cloud of bubbles. I follow in his wake. The light in the water darkens, turning black, and for a moment, I feel a suffocating sense of fear. What if I have entered the Underworld? What if I will never surface again? The whispers in my head stir, chittering. What if he is leading you in here so he can drown you?
Then I feel Magiano’s familiar hand close on my wrist again, pulling me up. I surface with a gasp. As I brush wet hair and water from my face, I look up to see a chamber lit only by the faint blue glow of moss on the walls.
Magiano watches me as I take in the sight. He turns in the small secret chamber, gesturing along the walls to where the plants have started to grow. “Amazing, isn’t it,” he says, “how quickly life finds a place for itself when no one is around to keep it out?”
I stare in wonder at the moss’s faint glow. “What is this?” I ask, reaching a hand out to the blue-green vegetation. It feels as velvet as the finest fur.
“Faery moss,” Magiano replies, admiring the view along with me. “It thrives in damp caves in Merroutas too. Once it finds a good slit on the wall where it can seed, it spreads everywhere. They’ll have their work cut out for them once they fix the archway and reopen this chamber.” He grins. “Let’s hope it takes them a long time.”
I smile. The glow adds a hue of blue to the edge of Magiano’s skin, softening his features. He drips water. I draw closer to him, suddenly bolder. “I suppose you come in here often, then,” I say, half teasing. “Bringing your maids and admirers?”
Magiano frowns at that. He shakes his head. “You think I’m bedding every maid I speak to?” he says and shrugs. “Flattered, Your Majesty. But you are very wrong.”
“So, what you’re telling me is that you come to this secret space alone?”
He tilts his head in a flirtatious way. “What’s wrong with a thief wanting a little private time now and then?” He comes closer. His breath warms my skin like the fog that hovers over the water. “Of course, here you are. I suppose I’m not alone, after all.”
A blush rises on my cheeks as I become very aware of my bare skin, both above and below the water. My energy stills, as it tends to around him, and I find myself aching for his touch. He leans down so that his lips are just a breath away from my own, and there we hover, suspended in time.
“Do you still remember the fire? Under the stars?” he asks, suddenly shy, and I feel innocent for the first time in a long while.
“I remember what we were doing,” I reply with a small smile.
A laugh escapes his lips. Then his expression turns serious. “You asked me whether or not I miss my old life,” he whispers, his voice now hoarse. “Do you know what I miss the most? That night.”
My heart skips a beat, aching in sudden sadness. “And what about the girl you once sat beside, on that night? Do you miss her too?”
“She is still here,” he answers. “That is why I stay.”
Then he closes the distance between us, and his lips touch mine. Around us is nothing but the sound of water lapping gently against overgrown stone and the faint glow from the moss. His hand trails along my bare back, tracing the curve of my spine. He pulls me close so that our chests are pressed together. His kiss goes from my lips to my chin, and there he plants them lower and lower, creating a gentle path along my neck. I sigh, wanting nothing more in this moment than us, content with staying here forever. The tether tying me to Enzo fades in my mind, and for an instant I can forget that we are linked at all. Magiano’s hands run down my back, unwilling to let go. My breaths come in ragged gasps. Gradually, I notice that we have made our way to the edge of the pool, where he presses me tightly against the stone. One of his hands tangles in my hair, drawing me forward to him. His kisses return to my lips, more urgent now, and I fall into them eagerly. A low groan rumbles in his throat. I wonder, for a wild second, if he will take us further, and my heart pounds in my chest.
“Your Majesty,” he whispers, breathless. A note of amusement creeps into his voice. “You’ll ruin me.” Then he pulls me to him, so that every inch of our bodies is pressed together. I lean against him, soaking in the luxury of the warm water. I don’t want to ask him what he’s thinking.
A faint voice rings out, muffled, from the other side of our hidden space. I ignore it as Magiano drowns me in another kiss. Through the haze of my thoughts, the voice comes floating over again.
“Your Majesty? Your Majesty!”
Water ripples against our bodies.
“Your Majesty,” the voice continues, drawing nearer. Now I recognize it as one of the stewards who deliver my messages. “There is an urgent letter for you.”
“She’s not here,” another voice complains. “The bathhouse is empty.” The voice sighs. “She’s probably off slitting some poor fool’s throat.”