He squeezes my backside again. “And we will come back here once we return.”
Then he pulls me closer. “Sometimes I wonder if our children will have your beautiful, delicate features or if they will look as I do.”
It’s so unexpected, and yet… not. The more I see just how much love heals both of us and makes everything as it should be, the more I realize that our future continues in one unstoppable round.
What if the power between us fades? Can we plan for the future with two behemoths of missions looming in the distance?
I study my mate’s face.
Later.
He grins down at me. It’s such a beautiful sight, and I feel terribly inadequate. He is perfect, without any scars while my body is imperfect with every scar. Not even just scars from lashings and punishments, but the growing marks around my thighs and breasts.
He interrupts my thought. “Are you ready to practice for tomorrow?”
I take a deep breath and look over at the crystal suits that have been left on the side of the pool. “Yes.”
Together we walk out of the water, still entirely naked. As he brings up my suit, I look for my clothes.
He strokes my skin. “You don’t need them right now. This is just a trial before tomorrow.”
As he helps me slide the flexible, clear material onto my skin, I’m happy to find out that it fits like a glove. But then the sound hits.
It’s high-pitched and slightly unpleasant. Not so much as to be annoying, but I think it will be a problem.
“You get used to it,” he says as he finishes closing the magical clasps.
Then he holds me out and I resist the urge to cover myself. I am fully clothed, and yet fully naked and on display.
He assesses me, pleased, but when I meet his eyes, I see the heat there. I smile weakly at him, and he bends down to get my helmet.
As soon as it is placed firmly on my head, I letout a breath, expecting to feel restricted, but it is not. The sound improves once the ensemble is complete, and I walk stiffly over to the deepest pool.
I step off the edge, sinking down into the glowing water.
As soon as I do, my vision is filled with glimmering particles and the luminescent algae that accumulates at the bottom of the dark pool. I swim down to it, feeling… calm.
I can breathe like normal. I am comfortable.
The water doesn’t invade my suit. It doesn’t even touch my skin.
I let out a laugh, and somehow a bubble passes through the material. Pushing water through my closed hands, I spin in a circle.
It feels good.
Delighted, I kick back up to the top and burst out of the water. My laugh lights up the area, and Teo, who is now sitting on the edge of the pool, grins at me. He reaches out and takes my hand.
“You seem pleased. Was there any discomfort?”
I shake my head, smiling. “No.”
He nods once. “Good. We leave tomorrow.”
My stomach knots up at the thought. A warm pool with pretty, glittering things is one adventure, but the cold dark ocean…
You can do this.
Chapter 33
