Oath of Rings

Chapter 8

"I suppose if I have to be imprisoned," Sasha declared, sinking down to her shoulders in the steaming castle bath, "this is one of the best possible places. Was this supposed to be a punishment? Because it seems like it's way more vexing to her than it is for us."

Bayley lingered by the wall of the bath, elbows propped up on its edge. After spending so much time at sea, she had seen quite enough of water to last her for a while. "Don't you miss the ocean, though?"

Nodding, Sasha submerged herself, trying to get a better feel for the castle's water. There were more minerals in it, so it would likely turn her hair more green than blue. "I do," she said when she resurfaced.

"But this is also . . . solid. This castle isn't going anywhere, not without a lot of work. With my mom and brother, we had to move so often. They've always been home to me, not the places where we stayed, but. . . ." She sighed and floated on her back for a while, staring up at the ceiling. "It made me learn to appreciate stability. Staying power. I'd go to local villages to work and get supplies, and travelling was always fun—but there was nothing quite like seeing my brother waiting for me when I got home, you know? What about for you, Bex?" She would have thought the fire-forger would have been even more averse to water than Bayley was, but Bex seemed to enjoy the lounging baths almost as much as Sasha did.

"Do I mind the castle, you mean?" Bex's vibrant red hair looked like a current of blood creeping across the water. "No. I've known Paige for a while now. I did some of my training with her and her mother, so it's a bit like home. I'm not one for all the fancy things, but she knows that and mostly leaves me be. The baths are always nice and warm, though, which I appreciate."

Charlotte shot her a strange look. "You can literally conjure flames. Why don't you just . . . warm yourself up? If you can hold a boat together with fire, why can't you just raise your body temperature?"

Bex laughed. "That's my shadow, or at least that's what my dad called it: the darkness that follows the power. It's my . . . consequence. I can make fire, but the fires I make can't warm me up. I imagine if I sat in front of it all day long, I'd feel something, but it takes far too long to be useful." The fire-forger glanced down at the water warily. "Don't any of you have something like that?"

Sasha's gaze slid over to Bayley, wondering if the earth-etcher would share. She had heard Bayley's story several times—not that she was complaining—but she knew it was a sensitive point for her. Maybe if Bex's story had a tragic note to it, like burning down her childhood home before she gained control over her powers, Bayley would have felt more comfortable. Hoping to give her friend some time to decide what, if anything, to share, Sasha cleared her throat, flipping around so she could face the other women. "I'm always thirsty. Always. It's worse after I've used my powers a lot, but it never really goes away. It can dry out my skin too. What about you, Princess?"

Charlotte glared at the water-weaver. While Bayley and Bex seemed to get along with all of their fellow elementals, Charlotte and Sasha had started off badly and were continuing on in the same vein. She tried to shrug off the question, but it was clear that she was uncomfortable. "It's minor. It's nothing. You'll just laugh at it. Bayley, what's yours?"

"No." Sasha flicked a bit of water Charlotte's way, which she deflected easily with a wave of air. "You first. You don't get to listen to the rest of us lay our hearts bare and get to go last so you can pick and choose what you want us to know. You'll probably say something My hair is always tangled anyway." Sasha floated over to Bayley and murmured something into her ear.

Still glaring, Charlotte swam a bit closer. "It affects my hearing, okay? Not only what I can hear, but what I do hear."

Bex looked confused. "But you did that voice bubble when we were off the coast," she said, pointing the farthest castle wall. "I thought you could amplify sounds. . . ."