Genie clears his throat and adjusts his spectacles. “It’s a reflection pool.”
I squint at the lake. “Reflection of what?”
“Your true selves.”
Hart grunts. “We don’t have time for riddles.”
Genie snaps his fingers. The lake ripples, and the surface fills with moving images. A crowned Hart sitting on a throne of black iron. Malachi kneeling before a battlefield littered with bodies. Nash, wrapped in shadow, eyes glowing red as the world burns around him.
My stomach twists.
“Stop,” I whisper. A dragon swoops across the entire scene and lights it up in a blaze of fire. I swear I can feel the heat.
Genie snaps again, and the water goes still. Silence falls over the camp like a dropped curtain.
“Well,” I say, “that was horrifying. Does anyone fancy a swim?”
Nash stares at me. “You cannot be serious.”
“I am. I refuse to let a puddle bully me. I don’t intend to drink it, merely bathe away the day’s ride.” Before anyone can stop me, I run toward the water.
“Daphne—” Hart snaps.
Too late. I dive into the water, my breath catching as the cold steals the air from my lungs. The moment I surface, I burst intolaughter. “It’s fine!” I shout. “No murder visions down here. Just my toes.”
Malachi groans. “She’s going to drown.”
“I will not,” I call. “I’m immortal until you stop loving me, remember?”
Nash mutters something under his breath.
“I have seen enough nakedness for today,” the genie grumbles before disappearing.
“Guard the camp,” Malachi demands, and Sir Sweeps-A-Lot stands to attention, glad to be of service.
I dip my head back to stare at the stars and the moon. A moment later, three splashes follow. I lift in time to see Hart wading in, shirtless, like an angry sea god. Malachi dives in with a wicked grin. Nash’s eyes flicker with crimson before he slips beneath the surface like a living shadow.
I push backward, moving deeper into the lake.
Malachi reaches me first. He grabs my waist and launches me into the sky. I hit the water laughing and surface sputtering. “Traitor,” I growl, flipping my hair back.
Hart smirks. “You started it.”
Nash’s hand closes around my wrist, pulling me closer. “You never think, do you?”
“I think all the time. It’s exhausting. Right now, I want to be the mindless, possibly murderous maiden who gets kissed in lakes under the moonlight by her dark knights.”
He stares at me for a long tempo, then leans down and captures my mouth. The water laps around us, the moon trembling across the surface. My heart stutters, caught somewhere between laughter and heat.
Malachi presses in behind me, while Hart’s hand slides along my back. For a moment, the world goes soft and quiet, and I bask in the attention they lavish on me, glad to find this is heading in a direction where I don’t fall to sleep, because unlike the creepyhorses I cannot sleep standing up with my eyes open. Or can I? I should try it. Who knows, maybe they are on to something?
A loud splash breaks us apart, and we stare at the shore as Sir Sweeps-A-Lot launches himself into the lake and sinks below the surface. I wait for a few heartbeats with a frown. Bubbles rise to the surface. “Tell me Sir Sweeps-A-Lot didn’t drown,” I whisper.
The water churns, and then he rockets out of the water, spinning wildly, spraying everywhere like a possessed fountain. He smacks Hart in the face with a soaked bristle, and Malachi bursts out laughing.
Nash wipes water from his face. “We’re being assaulted by an enchanted cleaning implement.”
Sir Sweeps-A-Lot spins in proud circles.
