Page 85 of A Chill in the Flame
One moment later, he jumped into the small lake, grateful for its cooling waters. They gave each other a wide berth while their body temperatures lowered, enjoying the healing sensation of the pool. He gulped directly from the pond, savoring sweet relief over his burning throat.
Eventually, he found a place where the pond was both shallow enough to stand and deep enough to continue covering most of his chest. The bottom of the pond was hard and compact, which made standing easy.
“How did you know it was an oasis?” he asked.
She looked at him deviously and wiggled her fingers.
His jaw dropped open. “No.”
She took a mouthful of water and spit it at him.
“But you’d guessed oasis so many times! You were always wrong! You were…” He let the realization hit him. She could sense water. Of course. “You were hustling me.”
“You owe me a secret.”
“You goddess-damned bitch.”
“A bitch owed a secret.”
He dunked his head under the water, shaking it like a dog when he reemerged. At least Knight was happy. Their mounts had cooled themselves and now rested comfortably on the banks, looking to all the world like they’d died asthey napped beneath the shade of a tall, thin tree with odd, fanning leaves clustered at the top.
“Fine. What do you want to know?”
She considered her price and kicked up from the bottom of the pond, floating on her back and looking into the sky. “What will you do with the power if you get it?”
He deflated, heart heavy. Of course, this was her question. It could have been worse. It could have been any number of things that he’d been less willing to answer. All things considered, it might feel good to get this off his chest.
“I’ll return to Sulgrave and use ice, shadow, and flame to kill three men.”
Her eyes widened. “What? You’re doing this for…three people?”
He nodded, not bothering to elaborate.
“Come on.” She moved the water slightly in his direction, not quite splashing him. “There’s a story there. Three gifts, three men, a trip across the continent, an unhealthy obsession with a stunning young woman. I’m referring to me, of course.”
He chose not to nibble on her narcissism. He was doing his best to get on her…better side. Gaining her favor might be out of his reach, but perhaps they could hate each other a little less. “There is a story, but your bet was for one secret, and you got it.”
“These are three specific men, right? You’re not just attracted to the number three and have an itch for the murder of your people, correct?”
He closed his eyes before he could roll them, lips twitching in a half smile. He could tell from her quiet chuckle her taunt was intended to make him laugh. She grinned at the success of her joke. “Yes. These are three specific men, with three specific powers that deserve to be used against them.”
“It’s for the woman, isn’t it? The one you refuse to talk about?”
Tyr said nothing.
She made a low, appreciative sound to revel in the tension. “Well, next time I make a bet, I know what I’ll ask you.”
He chuckled. “You think I’m going to fall for the same hustle twice?”
She dunked her head once more, splashing upward with more exuberance than the occasion called for. “I have other tricks up my sleeve.”
“I don’t doubt that.” Their bickers were so commonplace, it nearly passed for kindness. “Can I ask you something?”
She turned and began walking toward the shore, now cool enough to enjoy eating the provisions in her saddlebag. He averted his gaze with some irritation that she insisted on being so blatantly immodest.
“That depends. Can you stop being a prude? It’s just a body.” She wrung the water droplets from her hair and reached for the saddle that had been left to dry out on a fallen member of the peculiar, thin, branchless trees. She chose a handful of dried figs and began to pop them into her mouth, relaxing in the shade with her toes still in the water. “You want to know how I learned to drain people?”
He ran a hand through his wet hair. “Well, yes, everyone does, but it’s more than that. Why do you need Ophir’s power if you already take whatever you want?”
