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Rukia was intent on the water, and her knees bit into the soft dirt bracketing the side before her hands dipped into the stream. She let out a contented sigh. Though she’d have loved to dive into a deeper pond, this would do for now.
Rising to her feet, she waded fully clothed into the shallow river and let the element invade her senses. Crystal clear and utterly delightful, the spring was a breath of fresh air amid the dryness of the desert. Waist deep in the running water, she closed her eyes and let herself fall backwards into the chill. Even as the current threatened to drag her downstream, she remained stationary, beaming in the frigid flow.
Sinking deeper into the water, she filled her lungs with the element and let the chill of the current whisk away the debilitating sadness that ate away at her. Here, she felt calm. Strong. Protected.
Like she felt in Isaiah’s arms.
Though the stream was only three or four feet deep, the rushing waters exhilarated her the same way Isaiah did. In Paracel, there was no current that swelled across her skin as it raced downstream.
In Paracel, the water was still.
Like Gideon.
Eyes shooting open, she would have cried out if she could have made a sound. Here, there would be no noise to give her away. No hitch in her voice that’d expose her. There would be nothing but silence under the water’s surface.
For once, she was glad of it. Collecting herself, Rukia soaked in the element with every pore, every cell, every molecule of her body. Her throbbing knee no longer stung and the faint trickle of hunger vanished.
Water healed everything.
Elementals were a robust breed, all things considered. Nearly any wounds they suffered, any hurts that befell them, their elements could cure. To believe they’d been too late to help Gideon—that his element was too late—was nearly more than she could stomach.
Underwater, no one would see her tears.
Having collected herself and taken her fill of the element she loved so dearly, Rukia expelled the water from her lungs and rose to the surface several minutes later. She spotted Isaiah instantly, the Raeth transfixed on the spot in the water where she’d gone under. No surprise lingered in his eyes at her lengthy interlude below the surface.
Drenched from head to toe, she moved through the water as it licked at her legs.
Every ounce of the liquid leisurely trailed back to the small river, rendering her dry once more. Rukia knotted her long hair in a hasty bun behind her head and shot an expectant gaze over at the Raeth who was leaning against a boulder.
“Ready, sparky?” Fisting her hands on her hips, she closed the distance between them and planted her feet in front of him. “Or did you want to go skinny dipping?”
“Love to,” came his ready reply, a hint of mischievousness in his voice. “Ladies first.”
Chapter Sixteen
Isaiahdelightedintheway Rukia’s face lost all its color. Taking great satisfaction in finally turning the tables on her, he made a sweeping motion with his hand to indicate she had the space to strip.
That was when she regained her potent cynicism. “You’re an arrogant jerk, you know that?”
“So you keep telling me.” He feigned hurt. “I shall wither away ‘neath the insults you bestow.”
Rolling her eyes, Rukia smacked him on the shoulder with the back of her hand. “I doubt you’ll wither away under anything, Shakespeare.”
Quirking an eyebrow, Isaiah cocked his head and spoke with heavy mockery in his voice. “You’ve a penchant for physical violence. Are you certain you’re not of Raeth descendancy?”
“Heaven smite me if that was ever the case.” She gazed at the heavens as if expecting a bolt of lightning.
“Something against Raeths?”
Her lips pulled to the side in a comical line. “You’re the only one I know well, and we both know you’re no gentlemen.”
“You know me well, do you?”
He stepped closer, tilting his head to the side as he peered down at her. Somehow, she’d managed to drain every ounce of water off her body, now appearing completely dry once more.
Tipping up her chin so she could hold his gaze, she offered him a genuine smile, the first he could remember. “You’re the only Raeth I’ve ever kissed.”
“Is that true?”
