10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

E ven Anatolius, with a lifetime of experience attending royal events, was ready to leave by the time the last noble came down the receiving line to offer their congratulations. Maura had handled the whole thing with a quiet strength; he could tell she was uncomfortable, and every instinct screamed at him to get her out of this situation.

The moment it was appropriate, he excused them both, and took their leave of his parents. Maura took his arm, and the feel of her skin against his was…distracting at best.

"Would you like me to show you around the palace? I thought you might like to know your way around so you don't feel stuck in your room."

Maura looked up at him, and he was struck not for the first time by how expressive her eyes were. This woman felt things deeply, and she lived brightly and openly, and Anatolius knew he was falling harder with every moment that he spent in her presence.

"Yes, I'd love that. Thank you," Maura said earnestly. She looked a bit confused.

Anatolius leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I know I am both your rescuer and your captor, but I don't want you to feel trapped or unwelcome here, Maura." He heard her suck in a soft breath at his words. Perhaps she was not wholly unaffected by him.

"Where should we start?" Maura asked, adjusting her hold on his arm.

"Would you like to see the garden?"

Maura's eyes lit at his words. "Yes," she said without hesitation.

He led her through the halls of the palace, pointing out various spaces that might be helpful to her, before they came to the door closest to the garden.

"Hold my hand," Anatolius said as they stepped into the sinking chamber. Maura took his offered hand, and Anatolius felt—for this one small moment—that all was right with the world.

He focused enough to call his magic, and it cradled Maura to ensure she remained safe as they entered the water. He looked over at her once they were submerged, and her halo of curls floating in the water around her took his breath away.

They swam out toward the garden–Ana much more slowly than normal–and Maura gasped as it came into view.

"Ana, it's so beautiful! How does all of this grow down here? Don’t plants need sunlight?" Maura was still able to speak because of his magic, but her voice didn't cut through the water like a siren's would. He had to remain close to hear her.

"I'll explain it all, but do you want to shift? This may be an easier outing if you're in your other form."

Maura laughed, and it was like the sun's light flashing on the surface of the sea.

"Right, I forgot!"

Anatolius laughed too then, and then they couldn't stop, and Maura was clutching her stomach from laughing so hard. If they hadn't been underwater, Anatolius suspected he'd have tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. Finally, Maura collected herself and closed her eyes. In a flash, her otter floated in the water before him.

Wow, I don't think I'll ever get used to that. What an odd feeling.

"I imagine it feels similar for us when we take on our legs," Anatolius answered. "You asked about how all of the coral and plants grow down here? The lights you see around the city, they're all sort of magical pockets of sun. Our siren magic allows us to trap water glowing with sunlight on the surface, so all of the life-giving energy of the sun is here with us in Vathós."

Alright, well, that's really neat. I always assumed siren magic would be the same as the Aphanians, but it actually seems really different.

"Yes, it is quite different. We share the Vaporiad Sea with the Aphanians, but their magic is centered more around controlling water than drawing from its inherent magic. And we’re much stronger swimmers," he finished with a wink.

Anatolius led them through the winding paths of the garden. The tiny fish darted through the elaborate coral formations, and Maura and Anatolius traded tales of their homes. Maura told him of her bakery back in Beitar, and of the night she had decided to flee. She told him how her family had succumbed to the fading magic of Beitar, leaving her on her own, and of the fateful night her whole life had gone up in flames.

Anatolius listened, and his respect for her deepened as he learned her story. She was so strong and had endured so much, and Anatolius wished with every fiber of his being that he had been with her to support her and carry some of the weight of the trials of her life.

He, in turn, told Maura of his life here in Vathós, of all the ways he had been a disappointment to his fathers, of his hopes and dreams for his future. When he told her the story of his spectacular failure at managing a petty squabble between two nobles as a teenager, she only laughed, and told him–with no malice or judgment–that ‘everyone has their own path to finding their talents’. He told her of his desire to have a family and a quiet, simple life.

After a long walk through the gardens, they made their way back to the palace. They both shifted in the sinking chamber, and walked back to Maura's room hand-in-hand, comfortably silent.

When they arrived at her door, Anatolius found himself struggling to let go of her hand. She didn't seem eager to let go, either. She looked up at him like she was seeing every piece of him, and he wanted to kiss her more than he had wanted anything in his life.

Maura's eyes flicked down to his lips, and his breath caught. She wanted to kiss him, too, he was certain of it. He leaned closer to her, giving her time to pull away, but she didn't.

Just before their lips connected, the sound of footsteps sounded down the hall. Maura gasped and pulled back, blinking as if awakening from a trance.

Anatolius gave her hand a squeeze and let it go. "Thank you for your company, Maura. I'll see you tonight."

She nodded, still surprised, and he winked at her before he turned to go.