Chapter 10 #3
"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 steam rose, 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 only his 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."
Zane's eyes widened fractionally, then a slow smile spread across his face. "I'm amenable to that arrangement if Winter is."
They both looked at me expectantly.
"I... sure?" I managed, my heart suddenly racing. "I mean, we're all adults here."
Fenric's eye twitched again. "Indeed. Follow the attendant to Hot Spring Suite 7. I'll be monitoring the situation from the meditation garden."
"I bet you will," I muttered as he walked away.
The blue attendant led us down a candlelit corridor to a private room where a steaming hot spring bubbled invitingly.
Unlike the main pool, this one was smaller, more intimate, with just enough room for two people.
The walls were lined with luminescent crystals that cast a soft, ethereal glow, and the ceiling opened to the actual night sky, stars twinkling overhead.
"Enjoy your soak," the attendant bowed slightly before leaving us alone.
I stood awkwardly by the edge of the pool, suddenly very aware of Zane's presence beside me.
"We don't have to do this if you're uncomfortable," his voice was gentle. "I can find somewhere else to relax."
"No, it's fine," I answered quickly, perhaps too quickly. "Like I said, we're adults. We can share a hot spring without it being weird."
Zane's lips quirked in a half-smile. "Not weird at all."
I rolled my eyes and stepped into the water, which was the perfect temperature, hot enough to soothe my muscles but not so hot it was uncomfortable. Zane followed, settling on the opposite side of the small pool. Our knees almost touched beneath the water.
For a few minutes, we soaked in silence, the only sounds the gentle bubbling of the spring and our own breathing.
The relaxation elixir was definitely taking effect; I could feel a pleasant heaviness in my limbs, and the constant background anxiety I'd been carrying since this whole prophecy business began had receded to a distant hum.
"This is nice," I let my head fall back against the edge of the pool. "I didn't realize how tense I was."
"Carrying the weight of a prophecy will do that. Not to mention being surrounded by four supernatural bodyguards 24/7." Zane chuckled softly.
"You guys aren't so bad," I opened one eye to look at him. "Except maybe Fenric."
Zane chuckled. "He grows on you. Eventually. Like a very orderly fungus."
I laughed, the sound echoing off the crystal walls. "I'll take your word for it."
Another comfortable silence fell between us. The steam rose in lazy spirals, carrying the scent of minerals and something floral.
"Can I ask you something?" I finally spoke.
"Anything."
"Why did you accept this assignment? To protect me, I mean. You could have said no, gone back to your yoga studio, and your date with that succubus you mentioned."
He considered the question, his expression thoughtful. "Several reasons," he finally answered. "Curiosity, for one. Class 1 prophecies are rare. Professional obligation, for another. Despite leaving the demon-hunting business, I still have certain responsibilities to the Bureau."
"And?" I prompted, sensing there was more.
"And," he leaned forward slightly, the water rippling around him, "sometimes the universe puts people in your path for a reason. I've learned to pay attention when that happens."
The intensity in his gaze made my breath catch. The relaxation elixir had lowered my defenses, made everything feel more immediate, more real.
"Is that what I am?" My voice barely above a whisper. "Someone the universe put in your path?"
He moved closer, the water lapping gently between us. "I think you might be," he admitted. "Though I'm still figuring out the how and why."
The air between us felt charged, electric. I was acutely aware of every detail; the droplets of water clinging to his eyelashes, the faint scar that curved along his jawline, the way his mismatched eyes reflected the crystal light.
"Zane," I wasn't sure what I was going to say.
He reached out, his fingers brushed a strand of wet hair from my face. The touch was feather-light, but it sent a shiver through me that had nothing to do with the water temperature.
"Winter," his voice had dropped to a low murmur. "I'm not very good at following rules. Never have been. Probably why Fenric is constantly filing reports about me."
"What rule are you thinking of breaking now?" My heart was pounding.
He smiled, a slow, dangerous curve of his lips. "The one about maintaining professional distance from the prophet I'm supposed to be protecting."
He was close enough now that I could feel his breath on my skin. The world seemed to narrow to just this moment, just us, suspended in time.
"That sounds like a serious violation," I wasn't pulling away.
"Catastrophic," his gaze dropped to my lips. "Fenric would have a fit."
"We wouldn't want that," I leaned in slightly, drawn to him like a magnet.
"Definitely not." His hand came up to cup my cheek, warm despite the water.
The distance between us shrank to nothing. His lips were a breath away from mine, the moment balanced on a knife's edge of anticipation.
And then the door burst open with a bang.
"GUYS! GUYS! I CAN brEATHE UNDERWATER NOW!" Milo's excited voice shattered the moment as he cannonballed into the small pool, sending a tidal wave of water over both of us.
I sputtered, blinking water from my eyes as Milo resurfaced, his curly hair plastered to his head and a look of pure joy on his face.
"Did you see that?" He was so excited, oblivious to what he'd interrupted. "I held my breath for like, thirty seconds! It must be the relaxation elixir! I feel AMAZING!"
I couldn't help it, the absurdity of the situation, the look of stunned disbelief on Zane's face, the pure enthusiasm radiating from Milo, it all bubbled up inside me until I burst out laughing.
Not just a chuckle, but full-bodied, uncontrollable laughter that bent me double and brought tears to my eyes.
Zane stared at me for a moment, then his expression cracked, and he joined in, his deep laugh harmonizing with mine.
Milo looked between us, confused but delighted. "What's so funny? Did I miss something?"
"Nothing, Milo," I managed between gasps for air. "You're just perfectly timed, as always."
"Oh! Good!" He beamed, then ducked underwater again to demonstrate his new skill.
I caught Zane's eye over Milo's submerged form, and something passed between us, amusement, yes, but also a promise. A rain check, perhaps. The moment had been interrupted, but not lost entirely.