I scrunched up my face in a grimace. What was that supposed to mean?
Splashing sounds made me turn, and I choked on a breath. Sainte stepped into the pool wearing naught but thin silken trousers. The water’s glow illuminated the dark, angry wounds on his back and chest. My jaw clenched, memorizing every painful mark on his skin.
That monster within coiled tighter.
Sainte extended his hand to me, and I regarded the liquid with caution. The glowing things at the bottom swayed, moved by an unseen current. He seemed unfazed as he strode over them. In fact, they flared brighter beneath his feet.
Perhaps that was their self-defense.
Squashed by something? Glow brighter.
“Princess.”
I blinked, then, with a dramatic sigh, took his hand and eased into the pool.
I should have taken a piss before all this.
Shoving that thought aside, I pushed at my gown as it threatened to balloon around me. Sainte was patient, waiting with a stoic expression, and I glared at him in return.
He guided me to the center, where the warm water enveloped us, its gentle ripples lapping at my chest. I clung to him as my body threatened to float in a way I couldn’t control.
“I can’t swim.” My nails dug into his skin like tiny anchors.
He spun me to face away from him. “I remember.”
“Well, don’t let me drown this time,” I hissed.
The priests and priestesses encircled the shimmering pool, interlocked as a barrier of unity. Even Edne, usually reliant on her cane, clasped the hands of two young girls, forming an unbroken chain.
“Trust me,” Sainte whispered in my ear.
“I do–”
He dropped his weight, drawing me under the water with him. Panic surged through me, my heart pounding as I struggled against his hold. My limbs flailed, though he didn’t keep me submerged for long. We rose, and I gasped for air as his arms wrapped around my middle, holding me to his chest.
“Trust me, Elspeth.”
“Trust you?! You just–”
Once more, he dragged me beneath the surface, and a string of curses spewed, muffled by the water. I thrashed my legs, aiming for a solid strike to his nether regions.
He resurfaced, bringing me with him, and I sucked in greedy lungfuls of air.
“Sainte, please!” I begged, my voice tinged with desperation.
At that moment, the crowd’s presence faded to insignificance. My heart thudded in my chest, a relentless drumbeat of terror. I didn’t want to drown. The water closed in around me, each passing second a cruel reminder of my vulnerability.
“Deep breath.”
I listened, sucking in a huge mouthful just before he submerged us. His weight pressed against my back, his arms encircling my chest, securing me in a tight embrace. My fingers dug into his skin as I trembled, panic coiling. Right as I was about to flail and demand release, he pushed upward. We broke the surface, and I gasped for air, blinking to clear the water from my eyes.
His touch glided along my arms, intertwining his fingers with mine. A shiver of warmth slid across my skin. The gentle hum of a melody reached my ears, drawing my gaze to the priests. Their features relaxed in serene concentration as they swayed in unison, their clasped hands creating a tangible bond of unity and peace.
“Elspeth–”
“What?”
Sainte stepped, pulling me with him, and I stumbled, gripping his fingers awkwardly.
