Gemma explained, “Magic is an art, but it’s also something you can study. Once the base parts of it are understood, you can transform or create anything with it. Like how you can form ice from water. The dryads spoke of a water wielder long ago who could transform water into breathable air. I can help you channel your affinity to do the same.” Her eyes glinted at the prospect, her excitement contagious.
“I’ve done a lot with my magic, but I’ve never understood the mechanics of it.”
She waved her hand in the air. “No, no, of course you didn’t. You simply made it happen. But the why is important to know as you grow and expand your magic’s reach. If you can harness thatpower completely, there is much more that you could do with it. For now though, let’s practice breathing underwater.”
Gemma guided me in the process of threading my magic with the water, separating and transforming it, until it became a stable pocket of breathable air. My affinity rushed around and within me with silken fingers. She offered pointers for swimming, but with the ability to breathe underwater, the threat of drowning receded. We held on to rocks at the bottom in an effort to remain submerged.
I broke the surface, unable to contain my grin. “Next time, we need a rope to keep us underwater, so we can really test my endurance.”
Gemma smiled, continuing to instruct me. She mentioned the importance of visualizing my intentions. Ultimately, my magic would be as restricted as my imagination. She reclined on the shore as clouds skittered above us.
My confidence grew with every challenge Gemma gave me. I dove to the bottom again. The effort of maintaining the bubble proved easier and easier. My muscles loosened as I drank in the reverie of wielding and replenishing my magic through the very pores of my skin as if I had done it a million times. My body slowly floated to the surface. With a bubble of air encased around me, any urgency to breach the surface fell away in the comfort of my magic.
Above me, the water violently rippled. A burst of bubbles knifed through my relaxed state. My body collapsed in on itself as I flailed my arms, unsure of the source of the commotion. I moved like a confused bird trying to fight and fly at the same time. Something firmly gripped my wrist, stilling me, then gently and swiftly pulled me upward. My chest hit a wall of rock.
Breath whooshed out of me as I threw out my hands for balance, splaying them to find a stable grip. My fingers didn’t realize the stone beneath them was actually a warm body. Ofsolid muscle. The bubbles fizzled along with my pride as I stared into amused amber eyes. Gemma was nowhere in sight.
I lost my hold on my magic, the oxygen bubble instantly forgotten, vaporous droplets glittering back into the lagoon. Startled, I sucked in a breath, accidentally gulping down water in the process. I devolved into a fit of coughing.
Dom bit his lower lip, restraining a smile. He eyed me with mock concern as I hacked out whatever miserable amount of water lodged itself in my lungs. When at last I quieted, recovering my wits and my breathing, I glowered at him. “You might have warned me.”
Dom peeled my hands off his chest. He eased his arms through the water, his shoulders and forearms tightening with the motion.
“I thought I’d follow up on those swim lessons.”
I wasn’t sure if I was ready to face him. The opened wound from my past was bleeding out and I hadn’t staunched the blood. “Gemma is a great teacher. I feel confident I won’t drown with my magic. We can forgo the lessons,Dom.” I couldn’t repress my sneer.
He quirked his head at my tone. “Magic isn’t always a given. I need to know you could swim to the surface if necessary; if you ever became depleted underwater.”
My eyes narrowed. I would rather teach myself. Surely it wasn’t that hard. I didn’t want his concern. I knew I was his ticket to the Nereids. He was my way out of Nolan’s clutches. It could only ever be that simple. I had one friend here I could connect with. “I’ll ask Bowen to help. I’m sure you’re busy doing ‘General’ things. Don’t worry I won’t die before getting you to Queen Thaleia.” His whole body tensed and his shadows spun around him.
I dove into the water to get away from him. My arms and legs jerked in uncoordinated movements. My defiance andpersistence buckled down. I would not yield. I refused to use my magic, even as I sputtered and thrashed.
Dom scooped me out of the water. I shoved against him, not caring how belligerent I seemed. I struggled like a desperate fish in his hands. “What’s going on, Rue? I’m trying to help you.” I slammed my elbow into his ribs, a tiny whoosh of his breath my only reward. He tightened his grip to stifle my movements. I didn’t want his help. I didn’t want anything from him.
Emotion, long-coiled in my chest, erupted through my weakened shields. “You never came back for me!” I blurted, unable to hold back any longer. The nakedness of my words in the misted air left me raw. I tried to squirm out of his grip, only to end up facing him directly when he refused to release me. I trembled with the effort to keep myself together. The fissure that released my words threatened to widen.
Dom studied me, the golden flecks of his eyes burning into me. I didn’t hide my anguish, locking onto his gaze so he could see what pain he’d caused. His eyes darted to the scars on my wrists, then back to my face. His mouth fell slack. Like a flower blooming in reverse, I watched as his confusion shifted into bewilderment. How recognition melted into understanding.
“Liora.” If hope had a tone, it was this.
“That’s not who I am anymore.” I was numb, resolved. I tried to swim off, but damn him, I had to remain in his grip or I’d flounder to the bottom of the lagoon.
“I searched for you. Everywhere. Every time I returned to Maripol.” His words were desperate, cracking through the space between us. I wanted to believe him, but my pain was a writhing vicious thing, and his words cut into my raw wounds. “What happened that night?” Slowly, Dom eased me to the shore, where my feet met sand and rocks.
I kept shaking my head, too afraid to speak. My jaw clenched in an effort to maintain my composure. Every question he posedthreatened to unravel me. The air stilled around us, as if it too held its breath. “That was the night my parents died, because of… from Glint. I lived in an orphanage for only a few days before King Nolan found me.” The king who saved only to deceive. The king who made me his puppet-weapon.
“Liora, I never stopped looking for you.”
“Stop calling me that.”
As if bespelled, our eyes locked. “Every trip to Maripol since that day, I have searched for you. Every. Time. Even when I thought you were dead.”
Stillness settled around us, the only movement the drowsy descent of wisteria petals and the gentle lapping of the lagoon. What I knew of Dom clashed with my experience of every male I’d ever known. They lie. They take. They forget. I wanted to trust. I couldn’t. Turmoil churned in a tempest.
I didn’t know what to believe. “You aren’t who they said you were,” I whispered. It would have been so much easier if he was. Hate could bolster me, grant me solid ground. Whatever this was felt like aftershocks from an earthquake. Like quicksand.
He reached for me then. I wanted to believe him, but I had been deceived before. My shields locked down, severing me from my overwhelm. My skin frosted over.
