There’s a hint of wariness in her gaze as I stroll closer, until there’s no space between us. Her head tips up to look at me. There’s not a huge amount of difference in our heights. I already know how perfectly Selene’s face fits into the crook of my neck.
I raise my hand, running it over her cheek. So gods-damned soft that I do it again, indulging myself in the feel of her.
She stiffens as my fingers skate down. Brushing against her neck. Her arm.
A glorious bark of laughter bursts from her as my fingers skate down her side, tickling her through the linen of my shirt. “Callan!”
She tries to dart away, but it’s all too easy to steal her. To wrap my arms around her, one hand spreading over her lower back and my fingers dancing lightly over her side as her laughter peals out in endless waves. “S-s-s-stop!”
I hold up my hand. And my grin is nothing short of victorious as I wiggle my eyebrows at her. “I believe this game ismine. Victory has never tasted quite so sweet.”
She snorts, still breathless and shaking in my arms. “You have a charmed tongue.”
“And talented fingers.”
My quip has the scarlet tinging her moonlit skin deepening, spreading down her neck and vanishing beneath my shirt. “A bold assertion. I’ve seen little evidence so far.”
My own laugh fills the air as I lift my hand again. But she pulls away, a grin splitting her cheeks as she dances back, out of my arms. They feel far too empty without her.
Selene backs away from me, her feet vanishing into the warm water as I advance. But she’s still smiling. “Another round. I wish to reclaim my crown.”
My eyes travel to the water behind her, reading her intentions. “First, I need to know—do you have any fear of the water? Any limits?”
I have not forgotten what the shadows showed us. Of that small figure, plunged beneath the filthy mud banks, held in place, legs kicking in desperate futility.
I will never forget it. For as long as I live. And I will never tell her the way it haunts my dreams, not when she has plenty of nightmares of her own.
Her eyes widen. “No. I have always loved the water.”
“Good,” I murmur. “Name your terms then, Amaris.”
Her eyes narrow. “A challenge. The first to sink the other.”
My mouth twists, considering it. “You can try to sink me. I win if I catch you.”
Pushing her beneath water is not something I will ever do. Not if the gods themselves commanded it.
But her eyes are filled with stars tonight. They burst within her irises, sparks and showers as she keeps edging back, her lips twitching up until she’s submerged past her knees. “Agreed.”
My eyes travel down. She’s still wearing my shirt. But her legs are bare, endless moonlight above the water that laps at her knees—
Warm water spatters across my face, and I shake it free to another laugh. I feel as though I am counting them. Collecting them up in her wake, storing them in my memories to be marveled at later. She’s laughing at me again when I lift my damp face to hers.
The smile stretches across my face. “I’m feeling generous, so I’ll give you a head—”
She shrieks when I lunge before finishing my sentence, twisting out of my reach and throwing herself back into the water. My heart leaps into my mouth as she vanishes with a splash. “Selene!”
Fuck.
I wade out further, searching for any glimpse of light beneath the water. But the pool is still and silent, and I curse my own stupidity for pushing her too fast as I stride out. The water soaks my trousers, creeping up to my waist and higher, until I swim forward and begin treading warm water.
My heart thunders inside my chest, rapid as a set of wings. As if I might take off at any moment. I massage it with my palm as I search, panic beginning to creep up my throat. “Selene!”
Two hands wrap around my lower legs from behind, andtug.
I topple forward, the world vanishing as water closes above my head and climbs up my nose.
I emerge spluttering for breath, freezing at the sight of Selene a few feet away in the water. She looks delighted with her work.
