"There it is," Zane teased. "The famous Rook glower. We were worried they'd massaged it right out of you."
Rook grunted, but there was less hostility in it than usual. He settled into the water, closing his eyes as he leaned his head back against the pool's edge.
"See?" I nudged Zane. "Even Mr. Grumpy needed this."
"We all did," Zane agreed, his eyes still on me. "Some of us more than others."
The moment between us had been broken, but something lingered, a promise, perhaps, of a conversation to be continued.
Our peaceful interlude was short-lived, however. One of Milo's skeletons had discovered an unattended cart of towels and was now attempting to build a tower by stacking them precariously high.
"Jeffrey, be careful with those!" Milo called, but it was too late.
The tower toppled, sending towels flying in all directions. One landed on an attendant's head, momentarily blinding her. She stumbled, knocking into another cart laden with crystal bottles. The cart overturned with a tremendous crash, spilling its contents across the floor.
"Containment breach!" Fenric shouted, leaping from the pool with surprising agility. "Those are enhanced relaxation elixirs!"
The spilled liquids began to bubble and merge, forming a swirling puddle that emitted rainbow-colored steam. The steamrose, forming shapes that looked disturbingly like tiny laughing faces.
"Oh dear," the blue attendant wrung her hands. "Those weren't supposed to mix!"
Milo rushed over, his skeletons scurrying behind him. "I can help! I know a containment spell!"
"Milo, wait!" I called, but he was already chanting, his hands glowing with necromantic energy.
The spell hit the bubbling puddle, which immediately stopped moving. For a moment, everything was still. Then, with a sound like a hiccup, the puddle rose into the air, forming a wobbling sphere that hovered at eye level.
"I did it!" Milo exclaimed proudly.
The sphere pulsed once, twice, and then exploded in a shower of glittering droplets that rained down on everyone in the room. Where each droplet landed, it left behind a small, glowing rune that sank into whatever surface it touched. Skin, fabric, floor, wall.
I looked down at my arms, now covered in tiny, shimmering symbols that complemented the prophetic markings. They tingled slightly but didn't seem harmful.
"What just happened?" I asked no one in particular.
"Enhanced relaxation," the blue attendant explained, looking resigned rather than alarmed. "Everyone affected will experience deep relaxation for approximately two to three hours."
"That doesn't sound so bad," I shrugged.
"The side effects can be unpredictable," she added. "Emotional vulnerability, heightened sensory perception, occasional spontaneous levitation."
"Of course," I sighed. "Because nothing can ever be simple."
Fenric was already on his tablet, likely filing yet another incident report. Rook had slid deeper into the water until onlyhis eyes and nose remained above the surface, looking like he was trying to hide. Milo was apologizing profusely while his skeletons attempted to help clean up, mostly making things worse.
And Zane…
Zane was looking at me with an expression I couldn't quite read, his mismatched eyes reflecting the glow of the runes that now decorated his skin.
"Perhaps we should continue our conversation somewhere quieter," he suggested, his voice low. "Before anything else explodes."
I was about to agree when Fenric approached, his expression strained despite the relaxation runes glowing on his skin.
"There's been a booking error," his eye twitching slightly again. "The private soaking pools are all occupied except one."
"So?" I raised an eyebrow.
"So," his voice was tight, "you and Agent Zane will need to share."
