"Within these waters, I chose the direction of my life." She gazes out at the glowing surface. "Before the ceremony, I was just Vanti. A girl with no title, unsure of her path in life. I knelt in this water, and I chose to join the Artist caste." She touches the base of her throat. "That is when I added the A to my name. The designation of my caste."
"A'Vanti," I say, her name feeling different on my tongue now.
She smiles, slow and a little wistful. "I am glad my people are doing away with the caste system. It served us once, but it also limited us. No one should have to choose their entire life's path when they are that young." She looks at me. "But I do not regret my choice. The Artist caste gave me my architecture. It gave me Brishar. It gave me this moment with you."
She squeezes my hand.
"Come."
We step into the water together.
The warmth hits me first. The water is denser than I expect, soft and almost slippery on my skin, like liquid silk. It seems to hum through me, a low, tingling heat that seeps through muscle and settles into bone. My feet sink into the fine sandy bottom,and with every step forward, the water rises, climbing my calves, my thighs, until it is up to my waist. The minerals feel like they're gently fizzing against my skin.
Every ache I didn't know I was carrying begins to dissolve. Even the tension in my shoulders from wrestling the ship through the storm begins to ease. All of it melts away, drawn out by the water.
A'Vanti wades deeper beside me, and I watch the water rise along her body, lapping at her golden scales. In the blue-white glow of the pool, she is breathtaking. Her hair drifts around her shoulders, darkening from gold to deep amber where it touches the water, and the steam curls around her like something alive. She looks like a figure out of myth – the kind you'd find painted on the wall of an ancient temple.
She looks like home. I don't know when that happened, but it did.
"You know," I say, trying to lighten the mood, "I've alreadygota second name. Goober."
A'Vanti's laugh rings off the cavern walls, happy and free, and the sound of it fills the whole space. "Yes," she says, still grinning. "You are a goober sometimes."
I spread my hands. "See? Already named. Cody 'Goober' Johnson. Very distinguished."
Her laughter fades. She looks at me with those luminous eyes, and I feel the shift in the air between us.
"You are also vel'shar," she says.
"I don't know what that means."
"I know." She steps closer, the water rippling around her waist. "Kneel."
There's a command in her voice that makes it impossible to do anything but obey. I lower myself into the water, my knees finding the sandy bottom of the pool. The water rises up my chest, silken and tingling, and I stare up at her.
A'Vanti cups her hand under my chin and tilts my head gently back. The cavern ceiling stretches above me. The shafts of daylight that once lit the cave have grown dim and thin. But she fills the rest of my vision, golden and radiant, as though she's kept all the light for herself. She looks at me with an expression that makes my throat tight.
She cups her hands together, scooping water from the pool, and lifts them above my head. The water pours over me in a slow cascade, running down my face, over my shoulders, dripping from my hair.
A'Vanti's eyes find mine and hold them.
"A vel'shar is a protector," she says. "Someone who stands guard without being asked. Who protects without demanding recognition."
Her hands scoop more water, pouring it over me again. The heat runs down my spine.
"You carried me out of that prison when I could not walk." Her voice is quiet but steady. "You brought me books about buildings because you understood what I had lost. You waited outside my therapy sessions with that sweet grin, helping to make me laugh when I had forgotten how." Her fingers trail through my wet hair. " You brought me to Brishar because you saw that I needed it. You flew through a sandstorm to keep me safe. And you never ask for anything in return." She presses her palm flat against my chest and meets my gaze. "You are my vel'shar."
She slides her hands to my shoulders, her palms resting there.
"You are the vel'shar of my body," she says. "Of my feelings. And of my heart."
A wall cracks open inside me. One I've been holding together with jokes and grins and easy confidence for longer than I wantto admit. One that has been waiting for exactly this, to be seen fully and chosen anyway.
I rise from the water, scooping A'Vanti into my arms in one motion. She gasps, her hands flying to my shoulders, and then I'm kissing her. I kiss her with everything, all the months of wanting and waiting and holding back. All the words I haven't said. All the promises I want to make. I pour it into this kiss, and she meets me beat for beat, her arms wrapping around my neck, her body pressed flush with mine, warm and wet and perfect.
When we finally break apart, we're both breathless.
"Vel'shar," I murmur against her lips. "I like the sound of that."
