The water rippled around Isla’s shoulders as she sliced through the university pool, the steady rhythm of her strokes mirrored by Juliette in the next lane. Juliette’s bright cap bobbed through the water, a splash of color, and her laughter echoed across the tiles each time she “raced” Isla. “You’re letting me catch up, you know!” she called, water dripping from her chin.
Isla grinned over at her; the burn in her arms from exercise felt like she’d achieved something positive. “I’ve slowed because I’m conserving energy for the final lap, not because I’m exhausted,” she replied.
The two women came to a stop, breathing hard, the water now pleasantly warm around them.
“So, tell me about your interview. I told him you absolutely weren’t a suspect when he spoke to me and Andrew.”
Juliette shrugged, one slim shoulder peeking out of the water. “I don’t blame him, to be honest.” Her gaze drifted, distant. “I’ve seen what my power can do ... I’d have questioned me first, too.”
Isla opened her mouth to object, but Juliette held up a hand. “Honestly, it was easy to convince him of my innocence. Harold, you, and Andrew all acted as my spokespeople, and I even had an alibi for the time Ray was killed.” She shuddered. “I’m sorry you had to see that, Isla. I’m sorry your introduction to all of this has been ... less than pleasant.”
Isla didn’t know how to respond. It hadn’t been pleasant, and yet questions still swirled in her mind—how to control her new abilities, what they truly meant. The more she sat with it, the more she felt a strange connection to it all. She was a seeker of knowledge; that had always been her life’s passion. It had shaped her, even transformed her, in ways she could hardly have imagined. If she chose to embrace this as her future, who could say how far her understanding might reach? If knowledge existed out there, beyond her current grasp, she refused to remain ignorant of it.
“You know, I might be growing to think that it may not all be a bad thing.”
“Oh, of course!” Juliette snickered. “No doubt your mind will grow and expand just as quickly and easily as the plants you let loose in your bedroom.”
“Hey!” Isla splashed Juliette, and her friend only laughed louder.
The pool was beginning to empty of the few female staff that had been taking advantage of the university’s facilities, and the evening light slanting across the water was dimming. Closing time was almost upon them—but maybe there was still time for a few more laps.
“Speaking of growing,” Juliette said as she wiped water from her eyes, “I seem to have noticed your tolerance level to Andrew has grown. Where is he, anyway?”
Yep, definitely time for a few more laps.
“Oh, you know ... he’s out there waiting with Edmund. He could hardly come in on a women-only swim session. I tried to get him to leave, but ...”
Mischief danced in Juliette’s eyes. “I’m sure you’ve tried very hard to shake off your knight.”
“Well, now it seems I’ve inherited two knights. He and Edmund insisted on trailing me this afternoon after the detective heard my story. It appears I’m connected to both attacks.” She raised an eyebrow at Juliette. “Maybe you could take one off my hands?”
Juliette’s cheeks warmed, the blush striking against her pale skin, paler still from the chill of the water now that they had stopped swimming.
“And that’s my cue to get out,” Juliette said, swimming toward the steps. “I’m going to change. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” She smiled as she climbed out. “Enjoy yourself, Dame of the Daisies.”
“Oh, I’ve been demoted to dame now, have I?” Isla called after her, hearing Juliette’s laughter echo as she disappeared into the changing rooms.
Sighing, Isla pulled off her swim cap and set it aside—no one was here to insist she keep it on. Floating on her back, her hair fanned out in the water, the cool temperature threading through the strands. For a few moments, she let herself drift weightlessly, enjoying the rare quiet and the simple peace of being alone.
After a while, she shifted upright, resting her legs against the wall of the poolside. With a strong push, she launched herself down into the deep end, skimming along the bottom, relishing the effortless glide and the solitude that wrapped around her like a cloak. Each time she swam, she had challenged herself to hold her breath for longer. It was a game she played in many areas of her life, always wanting to improve in everything she did.
Then the water changed. A sudden, biting chill slithered around her body. She kicked toward the surface—and slammed headfirst into something solid. Ice. The surface of the pool was frozen, while cold water swirled around her.
Panic flared. Her lungs screamed for air, her chest tightened, and every instinct begged for her to rise to the surface—but the ice would not give. Tiny bubbles escaped her lips, and the cold bit through her skin, into her bones. Thoughts fractured:I can’t breathe ... I can’t get out ... I’m going to die...The world around her blurred, her ears ringing as the surface seemed impossibly far. Her heart pounded in her temples—each beat an urgent, merciless drum. Her hands clawed at the ice, slick and unyielding.
Chapter Ten
A piercing scream had Andrew shooting out of his chair faster than a Spitfire taking off from a runway. He rushed into the women’s changing rooms, Edmund hot on his heels, not caring that he wasn’t supposed to be there.
The screams for help guided him, each echo slicing through his chest, and his heart sank when he recognized Juliette’s voice. He skidded on the slick floor as he rounded the corner onto the poolside.
What met his eyes stole the air from his lungs. Juliette knelt in the middle of the pool—there was no water to meet his gaze. Instead, a solid, gleaming sheet of ice stretched across the entire pool, smooth and unyielding, catching the light like a frozen mirror. The cold radiating from it seemed almost alive, and a wave of dread coiled in his stomach.
He ran onto the hard surface, skidding slightly as he joined Juliette. An Aetherian had frozen the surface. To freeze the whole pool would have been tough, only achievable by someone extremely powerful. Still, the trap he dreaded it to be was clearly effective.
Through the sheen of the ice, Andrew caught sight of Isla. Her hair floated around her like a dark halo, strands fanning gently with the last of her movements. Wide eyes stared up at him, brimming with panic, before they began to flutter, the strength behind them fading. A stream of bubbles escaped herlips, rising in a slow, ghostly trail until they smudged against the frozen barrier, trapped with her. She pressed one hand weakly against the ice, a silent plea, before her body drifted, weightless, in the cold blue gloom.
Juliette was sobbing Isla’s name, her eyes wide with fear. Flames flicked and danced across her palms, licking the surface of the ice as she traced frantic circles over a single spot. The fire hissed and steamed where it met the frozen barrier, sending up small clouds of mist, but the ice refused to yield easily. Every movement of her hand radiated heat, glowing against the blue of the frozen pool, a desperate attempt to carve a path to Isla beneath the ice.
