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Alessa jumped, covering her chest with crossed arms, but he was still out of sight.
“Smells like a damned orchard in here.”
“What do you have against lemons?” Alessa retorted.
His only response was to radiate curmudgeonly gloom through the wall.
She opened the jar of body scrub again, aggressively wafting it in his direction. “You know, some people think there’s healing power left in these waters.” If she kept him talking, it would serve as an early warning if he moved.
Dante probably would have preferred to shrug, but the lack of visibility forced a “Hmm” out of him.
“My Nonna says it cured her rheumatic knees.”
“Miraculous.” Dante’s tone was so dry it drew a smile from her.
“Either way, it feels glorious.” She waved her hands through the water to create small waves. “La fonte di guarigione.”
“Lafonte dellaguarigione,” he said, emphasizing every syllable she hadn’t and none she had. “And your accent is terrible.”
“Well,excuseme,” she said, a bit indignant. “I didn’t begin studying the old language until I came to the Cittadella, and pronunciation wasn’t my priority. Are you fluent?”
“Yes.”
“Who taught you?”
Silence.
That’s what she got for trying to be nice.
She twirled her hand through the water to create a funnel. “Do you believe any of the old lore?”
“Some.”
“How about the ghiotte? Some people think they’re still out there.”
A pause. “You ever met one?”
“Of course not.”
“But you believe they’re lurking in the forests, waiting to attack the good people of Saverio.”
“No,” she said, drawing the word out. “They were banished to the continent, so they were either killed in the first Divorando or died out since. No one could survive that long without a community.”
“Maybe they had their own. Maybe they still do.”
“You’re awfully crabby for someone who doesn’t have an opinion. I thought you didn’t believe in them.”
This time, she was left to picture his shrug.
“You’re probably right,” Alessa said. “If it was true, Dea would have just taken the power back. Why let someone keep a stolen gift?”
“Who knows why the gods do anything?”
“We know plenty. They created Finestra and Fonte to protect the island. Obviously.”
“From the attacktheysend. Why doesn’t Dea tell Crollo to knock it off?”
“She’s trying to make us better. To remind us about community, kindness, and connection. Two souls joined in partnership, creating a window to the divine and a physical reminder that all mortals can, and must, be a stitch in the tapestry of the world.”
