"You reek of sex," the mage said loudly so Eli could hear from the distance between them.
Eli raised her brow. That was not what she expected him to say.
"Are you a fucking prude?" Eli snapped back, not taking a single step forward.
"I can smell at least three people on you." He wrinkled his nose.
That was shockingly accurate. Eli was more surprised than offended.
"Smell some more, you pervert hound; maybe you'll sniff your mother," Eli said with a fake smile.
The mage retorted Eli with a fake smile as he descended the stairs. "It's not my mother, but I can plainly scent someone familiar on you."
He looked genuinely curious.
"Is that one of your quirks? People have sex, and you sniff them?"
"No, people have actions, and I sense them," The mage corrected Eli as he sauntered toward her. "And right now, more than those three people, that cheap bottle of wine, the oily dust of a filthy tavern, even more than your rage towards me, I can sense your despair, deep and vast, like a dark ocean."
He stopped a few feet away from her. He was studying her. "Sadly, it doesn't even take to be a mage to see that."
Eli didn't answer right away. His observations were brutally honest and precise, and she was drunk. Her head was empty of witty responses, and her cheeks were hot. The only thing the wine didn't wash away was the heavy knot in her chest. Eli sighed.
"Malkan should've known the tub water wouldn't cleanse me," She murmured, dropping the bottle beside her, staring distantly.
"Please dive into the fountain."
"What?" Eli turned to him.
"You heard me. The fountain, now." He looked calm, yet his voice had a hint of threat in it.
"Why in seven hells would I do that?"
"The fish will take care of you."
Eli glanced at the goldfish inside the pool around the fountain, swimming, ignoring their conversation. Was he planning to feed her to the fish?
"If you don't get in, you'll burn to ashes for disobeying me before Takana can push you into the water. You know, because of...," he gestured to her ankle.
Eli gaped at him with her mouth open. He wasn't joking.
He narrowed his eyes, and her blistered flesh was set on fire again.
She screamed, jolting in pain.
She kicked off her feet from her boot and looked at her burnt mark, throbbing in ache and swollen red. "You sadist bastard!"
He remained calm. Apparently, nothing could insult him.
"What do you want from me?" She was yelling. The sky was getting darker.
"To dive into the water."
Eli looked at the pool again. It wasn't deep to drown her. And Eli could manage to punch some goldfish. Although, nothing was as it seemed it was with the mage. Everything was a fucking surprise and not a pleasant one.
Eli wanted to debate more, but she knew if there were one thing that the mage and Malkan had in common, it was that arguing was pointless.
She pressed her lips and raised her hand to her throat, unbuckling her cape. Soon everything was on the gravel pavement: her belt, blades, jacket, pants, leather vest, boots, and underwear.
The weather was chilly, and the breeze pebbled her nipples. Eli hugged herself, but it was ineffective. The thin hair on her arms and peck of her neck rose.
She didn't mind being naked. Gone was her shame when Malkan tried to exhibit her to potential buyers when she was fourteen.
She did her best to suppress the strong chain of shivers running down her entire body and took a few steps to stand before the fountain and its pool. The water was clear enough to see the creamy marble floor. There was no sign of algae or any seaweed that usually coated the open reservoirs.
Eli peeked at the mage over her bare shoulder.
Apart from a slight frown on his brows, there was no other sign to read what was on his mind. He seemed lost in his thoughts, staring blankly at Eli. As if he didn't even see her. He noticed Eli's stare and pointed at the pool with his chin, "Go on."
Eli's gaze darted back to the blue water.
Here goes nothing.
She dived in.
The water immediately filled her ears, shutting down all voices and creating hundreds of little bubbles. It was surprisingly warm and coated Eli like a soft silken blanket.
Eli's plunge was enough to take her to the bottom of the pool, reaching the marble floor. Eli skimmed around. Except for the fountain stone column in the middle of the pool, and a few goldfish no bigger than Eli's fist, she found nothing scary or terrorizing.
At first, the fish wriggled away, horrified by her sudden presence. Then, they curiously examined her from afar when the water settled down.
The small and big bubbles found their way to the surface, creating a white foam. She must have splashed the water around with her dip.
Eli grabbed the stone wall and pulled herself to the water's surface.
The cold air hit her like a hard slap, and she immediately regretted sticking her head out of the water. But she needed to breathe.
The mage was towering over her, his robe wet with water splashes. He was still frowning down, staring at her body.
Eli narrowed his eyes, "Perve."
Eli's taunt was mainly to distract him; the mage didn't seem even to notice her presence. To Eli's amazement, the mage blinked a few times and turned his face.
Eli lifted one brow.
"Such a gentleman, aren't you? First, strip a woman bare with force and make her jump into the open cold water, then pretend you're not looking."
Eli crossed her hands on the pool's edge, her feet pedaling calmly to remain on the surface. She was just messing around with him. The water was so relaxing that she barely cared about the mage.
Eli was in a good mood already. She smiled even.
"The water's not cold," was all that the mage responded, still looking away, "I thought Takana gave you the salve for your wounds."
"She did."
"Then what are those hideous scars on your back?"
Eli's faint smile was short-lived. She swam back to the fountain pillar, suddenly self-conscious about her body.
"Naive of you to think you're the first to whip me. And I don't the luxury to carry a Takana with me around to tub a salve on my back, every time I'm getting tortured."
The mage turned to her. They locked eyes. There was no movement in the yard for a long moment, but the wind rustled the mage's robe.
"You have new bruises around your neck and even more nasty ones on your backside."
"Is that a question?"
"If I ask, will you answer?"
"No."
Eli swam back to the edge. It was none of the mage's business, and she wouldn't allow him to judge or, worse, pity her.
"Fair enough."
The mage said a few words in another language and looked down at Eli. Eli frowned.
She didn't realize what was happening until she yelped and felt the fish on her skin. She looked around frantically. They were all around her, on her neck, thigh, chest, and ass, nibbling at her skin. Eli first tried to shoo them away, but then she discovered what they were doing.
They healed her from the inside with every touch, curing her of the wounds under her skin. With the help of the salve that Takana put on her skin, most of her injuries were not visible.
Eli's gaze turned to the mage, questioning, looking for an explanation.
"Last time, we didn't have much time to heal you. You had to rush back before they got suspicious."
"So thoughtful of you," Eli said quietly. Her tone wasn't as sarcastic as she meant.
Eli swam away again from the pool's edge, floating in the water, lingering for the fish to heal her. She was feeling better already, apart from the nasty burn mark the mage gave him, throbbing in pain.
"The bounding spell is not a wound, well, technically, so there is no curing. The pain should go away in a few days. You just have to be patient," the mage said in response to her thoughts.
Eli didn't reply. The fish's touch was so soothing that she was already falling asleep. They were healing the wounds she didn't even know existed. As if the fish could detect her pain, from every knot in her muscles to her aching bones.
The setting sun painted the yard orange, coloring Eli with it. The mage was a dark pilar gazing down at her in silence.
Eli peeked at him through her lashes. The mage looked her back blankly, but she swore he was dying to know about the faint of his ruby.
"C'mon, ask away," she said nicely.
"I can wait after the healing ends."
"As if you care," Eli smirked. The mage opened his mouth to answer but gave up. "Did they buy it?"
"What? The ruby or the lies?"
"Both."
"They did," Eli was sure.
"Did you get to see who came after it?"
"Vividly and vaguely. Depends which part of her do you mean?"
The mage raised a brow.
Eli toyed with one of the fish's tails. It was soft and slippery. She enjoyed confusing the mage a bit too much.
She looked at him sideways. "Well... I couldn't see her face, but I get to eat her out."
The mage's brows lifted higher, "So you do provide services aside from burglary."
Eli's joy was short-lived. "I'm not a thief."
"A whore then."
Eli would have crossed her arms if the fish weren't on her neck and chest. "What? do you envy her?"
"Describe her," the mage rolled his eyes.
"She smelled like cherry blossoms, and her skin was so soft..."
"Her face!" He huffed. Eli laughed.
"She had long red hair, her face was mostly covered with a leather mask, but her eyes..."
Eli trailed off. The mage was so focused on every word Eli was saying.
"Go on," He snapped.
"She had green eyes."
The mage froze.
Eli swam toward the pool's edge again. The fish were nibbling at her backside, healing what Malkan had done to her. "Do you know her?"
The mage took a few steps back, thinking, calculating. He clearly was putting pieces of a puzzle together and Eli couldn't guess what was the picture. He stared blankly at the oak tree on Eli's right with his brows tangled in a deep knot.
"Who is she?" Eli pressed.
"Her name is Lea."
He turned around, lost in his thought. He was breathing calmly, and his expression didn't change much, but Eli could sense his unease. Maybe she was gifted, too, like him.
"So that's why you sniffed a familiar scent on me."
His neck darted back to Eli, "You really did eat her out, didn't you?"
He looked disgusted.
"Who is she?"
"She's Oxyn's ambassador."
"In where?" Eli was feeling sick in her stomach.
"In Towj."