“How much have you had to drink?”
“Enough that I think taking a dip in my smallclothes sounds lovely!” Noelle stood, pulling her shirt over her head. Her modest breasts were bound tightly. Underneath her loosetrousers were a pair of small, thin shorts. “Are any of you coming?”
Ducot was already stripping down.
Eira shrugged and stood. Cullen and Olivin, unsurprisingly, followed her lead. She was keenly aware of every sidelong glance from them as she peeled her shirt over her head. After their morning training, she’d elected for a looser-fitting, sleeveless top under her outer shirt, one with a drawstring just under her breasts—more for sweat than support.
Cullen and Olivin couldn’t be built more differently. Cullen was lean, but muscular. His tanned skin had a golden sheen from the day’s heat. Thoughts of running her fingers over the divots in his stomach had Eira fumbling with the drawstring on her trousers.
Olivin, on the other hand, was lithe. Almost a pained frame. She could count his lower ribs when he inhaled deeply. But he was also a man trained for combat. Sinewy muscle cut against his pale skin, the shadows creating deep lines that accentuated every bulge and dip. He had narrow wrists and small hips, assuring her that his thinness was a result more of his natural frame than of poor nutrition.
Cullen was every image of a woman’s daydreams. Strong. Full. Exuding the capability to sweep someone off their feet, if not by magic than with the bulk of his muscles.
But Olivin had a sort of otherworldly appeal to him. A number of odd angles and shapes that stacked up to make an unexpectedly handsome frame.
Eira needed to get in the cool water. Now.
She followed after Noelle and Ducot, down the hill and to the sandy beach. The rocky bluffs created a natural cove that broke most of the waves, creating cool, clear water. Noelle and Ducot splashed in, hands intertwined. But Eira glided effortlessly, thewater parting and collapsing around her, as though giving her a hug.
“Showoff!” Cullen accused her, yet he jumped for the water but his feet didn’t touch the surface. Instead, small pockets of air balled under his toes, pushing the water away as he took three steps like a skipping stone. Be it intentional, or his magic giving out over an uneven surface, he went off-keel and hit the water hard next to her, sending up a monumental splash.
Eira roared with laughter as he came up for air. “Graceful.”
“Guess there’s only room for one of us to be graceful,” he praised her as Olivin, rather normally, joined the rest of them.
Noelle remained close to Ducot, always within reach, as they lazily swam around. Eira wondered if it was because his magic was disrupted in the water. Or so they could brush up against each other whenever desired.
Eira floated lazily on her back as her magic propelled her slowly over the surface of the water. She stared up at the sky, blinking slowly like a cat sunning itself. When was the last time she had gone swimming in the ocean? It wasn’t the summer before the tournament’s start…she and Marcus had been too busy with their various Tower obligations to make it back home that summer.
Which meant it had to have been at least two years ago. Two years since she had been back to Oparium.Home?She tried on the word again. It didn’t quite fit, still. But just because it wasn’t home didn’t mean she couldn’t look back on it fondly.
The faces of her parents flashed before her eyes. Eira’s chest knotted and her magic faltered. Could she really be enjoying herself when they were possibly in the hands of the Pillars facing who knew what fate? Guilt put a chill in the water around her.
No… Eira swallowed down the feeling. She wouldn’t torture herself when nothing could be done. Agonizing over their circumstances would only upset her—make it harder to focusand put more tension between her and her magic. She was helping them as fast as she could. It wasn’t as if she asked to get wrapped up with Adela. Or for the pirate queen to be one of the safest places for her and her friends to be. And she was heading to Carsovia so Adela would give her the ship she could get back to her parents on, cutting off the Pillars’ supply of flash beads in the process.
She was taking all possible actions to move forward. Worrying would give her nothing more.
“Hey, I think there are caves over here!” Cullen called, drawing their attention.
“Where’s Alyss when you need her?” Noelle said, swimming over. “Where’s the opening?”
“Down there.” Cullen pointed. The water was clear enough to see a small opening all the way at the rocky bottom.
“Oh,no, no thank you, I am not going down there.” Noelle paddled away.
“I’ve actually been meaning to try a new technique I’ve been working on.” Cullen looked in Eira’s direction. “Would you be willing to help me?”
“What do you need?”
“I’m going to make a bubble of air around me. I want to see how long I can sustain it for.”
Marcus trapped under the water flashed before her eyes. She pressed them closed and drew a slow breath. “Why don’t we try that in the open?”
“Because if I ever need it, I’ll be in a dire situation. And dire situations are more like moving through a confined cave than a calm open sea.”
Eira sighed. It did seem like a good skill for him to have, especially with them being on ships… “All right. But at the first sign of trouble I am getting us out in a blink.”
“Of course.” He beamed.
