The Goblets Immortal by Beth Overmyer (highly recommended books txt) 📗

thirst, yes.” He gave her a wry look. “You wouldn’t happen to be harboring anything else from me?”

Her eyes narrowed.

“A bucket down your trousers? Or perhaps behind a tree.”

“That sword,” she said, her color rising, “was just where I said I found it.”

Aidan regarded her. “I’m sure it was.”

She did not seem to think that he believed her. Her stare was heated, but she veered away from the argument only to start another. “I’ve not seen no buckets around. No strange jugs, neither.” Parry, riposte, lunge.

So, she wasn’t going to let that one go. He knew full well what she meant, and it was his turn to give her a heated stare. Before he could retort and say something he might regret, Slaíne held up her hands.

“Let’s let it be, sir. You’ve your secrets, I’ve mine. You have your, er…faults, and I’ve me own. Fair?” She held out her hand for him to shake.

Aidan regarded her for a moment, a bit of the devil rising up in him. He grasped her hand from where he sat, shook it firmly…then threw her off-balance and into the stagnant water. Laughing from the banks, he expected her to spit and swear at him. What Aidan did not expect was for her to sink below, her arms churning the surface in panic. What had he done? Not bothering to throw off his boots, Aidan leapt into the water, which he found indeed much deeper than he’d suspected.

Something grabbed him from behind, and he almost struck out at it in the dimness, but he knew that Pull. She released him, and they both kicked for the surface.

“What did you do that for?” Aidan shouted at Slaíne, once he’d caught his breath.

She was treading water and laughing at him.

“I thought you were drowning.” He splashed her, and she splashed back.

“Should nay have thrown me in,” she shot back, her voice rising as well.

She swam out of reach. “Don’t ever do that again,” he snarled. He splashed at her again for good measure, but she was too far away, so he swam after her.

Screaming, she swam toward the other end of the swampy pond. But she didn’t make it before he overtook her.

Aidan grabbed her and dunked her under once, then pulled her back up.

Slaíne struggled against him, thrashing like a prize fish on the line, but Aidan didn’t let go. He was behaving absurdly. He knew his behavior was reprehensible. And yet…. It was too tempting. Only this time, there was no strange brew to blame.

“What’s the matter?” she said, laughter in her voice.

Aidan answered by touching her face. It was shallower water on this end, and he was able to stand with his head above water. Slaíne was not so able, thus making her vulnerable to his attack. His hands steadied her, held her above the surface and he stared at her, into her.

Her breathing had grown as ragged as his own. Aidan took that as all the permission he needed. For the second time in the span of a day, he leaned in and was prepared to kiss her, but remembered her words from before.

You’ll ruin it, she’d said. What had she meant by that? Perhaps he would be wise to find out before he attempted anything again.

Willing his blood to cool, Aidan planted a kiss on her cheek. He met her eyes, and of course could read no betrayal of what she might be feeling. Typical, he thought, chiding himself for again overstepping his bounds. “How do we—”

“Transport the water?” Slaíne said.

He released her, and they both swam back to the other side of the pond, Aidan allowing her to reach the bank before he did. When she got out, her clothes clung to her small frame and showed more beneath than was modest. Aidan looked away and gave her privacy.

A thought occurred to Aidan. It was almost too good to hope for, yet the nymphs would have had to dispose of his belongings somewhere. It stood to reason that that somewhere was near at hand. “Slaíne,” he said after clearing his throat. He didn’t look at her, but took to scanning the woods surrounding. “Where did you find the sword?”

For whatever reason, her tone turned brittle yet again. “I found it by a tree. Why?”

Aidan rolled his eyes but did not pursue the cause of the tone. “Perhaps they hid my belongings nearby.”

There was a pause. She sighed, and he felt her moving away from him a ways. When she spoke, her voice was farther away. “It was over here somewhere, though I can nay remember exactly.”

He frowned. “The general direction is good enough. I should be able to find anything if I have that.”

“You can’t feel nothin’ now?”

Aidan nodded. “That doesn’t mean it’s not there. There might be iron involved.” He traipsed past Slaíne, ignoring her sharp intake of breath, and stood with his back to her in the gathering of trees. Her Pull, though, was proving as problematic to his concentration as usual. Aidan shook his head. “Slaíne, would you mind moving off a little ways? Your Pull is throwing my perception off.”

He felt rather than heard her move back ten paces. Not perfect, but it would have to do. Aidan closed his eyes and concentrated. Again he felt for familiar Pulls but found none. Next, he felt for the absence of Pulls, for a presence that should be there but was not. He stretched himself a little, ignoring everything that was, and— “Yes. There’s something here.”

His eyes flew open and he followed that repulsion he felt toward that particular metal. It was repelling him as he fought his way toward it, its presence clearer than it would normally have been, since he had been looking for it. The pulsing spot was in the ground, so Aidan looked for disturbed dirt. Sure enough, there was a patch of fresh soil that radiated a ‘stay away’ feeling. He got on his hands and knees and dug, all the while the force