The Prophecy (The Goddess Game Book 1)

Chapter 13

Amelia stepped into the water without hesitation. From far away, the pond looked silver-blue, but up close, it was clear to the bottom. The floor of the pond was made up of silky-smooth sand; Amelia relished the feeling of it beneath her feet as the water rose past her ankles and up to her calves. She continued walking until the water was slightly above her chest.

Deciding this was a good place to stop, she turned around to look for Osric. He was nowhere to be seen. Her heart rate picked up as she looked along the bank; there was no sign of him. Frantically, she looked in the meadow beyond the beach. Nothing. She was about to call out for him when she felt something brush against her ankle. Squealing in surprise, she jumped up and away from whatever had just touched her, nearly losing her balance and falling butt first into the water.

Osric popped up beside her then, looking like Poseidon himself. The god-like effect of his beauty was quickly ruined by his uncontrollable laughter. "How did—" he started to say before laughter overtook him once again. She waited, glaring at him.

"You're not as funny as you think you are."

This only caused him to laugh harder. She wanted to be mad at him. To scold him for scaring her so badly, but his laugh was infectious and the calming effects of the water were taking over. She found herself laughing with him and splashing him in revenge. He let her do it, not even trying to splash back.

"Your face," he finally said when he calmed down, "Was priceless."

"I'm sure it was...jerk." Despite her name calling, there no heat behind her words. Picking up her feet, she used her arms to float in place.

He grinned at her, a little too pleased with himself, and copied her movements. He looked around the clearing, as if taking it in from this new angle. "This was worth almost being murdered by a bush," he said, smiling.

She couldn't help but return the smile. She hadn't seen this expression on his face very much these last few days. Because of stress, she now realized. It was nice to see the smile return in full force. Nodding to his hand, she asked, "How are your battle wounds?"

He held up his hand for them both to see and his eyebrows rose slightly, "Almost completely healed. That's incredible," he said, in awe. His face took on a slightly more serious expression as he dropped his hand back into the water and regarded her. She cocked her head to the side, wondering what had shifted his mood so suddenly.

"Thank you," he said, tone serious and full of emotion.

"For what?" she asked. Some part of her mourned the loss of his smile, but another part of her was dying to know what he was thinking about. Surely it wasn't bringing him to the water to be healed. She was part of the reason he had been wounded in the first place.

"For bringing me here, for listening to me whine about my problems, and for...not not caring." He looked so vulnerable in that moment. His green eyes were somehow simultaneously open and guarded as if he expected her to lash out, to declare that she didn't care about him or his problems and she never would. But she didn't feel like doing that anymore. She didn't want to lie to him or to herself in this moment.

So, she said, "You're welcome." Simple. Straight forward. It was all she could bring herself to say. But it was enough.

He gave a small smile and nod then disappeared back under the healing waters.

***

"Alright, Mrs. Dunhurst, I need you to sit up just a bit for me so that I can examine your lungs." Amelia held on to her patient's hand with one of her own, while her other hand slid to the older woman's back in support. To her amazement, Mrs. Dunhurst was able to sit up without too much trouble. Once she was fully sat up, Amelia moved her hand from woman's lower back to the place just behind her ribs. She closed her eyes and imagined being able to see through skin and bone, right to the lungs that were expanding as Mrs. Dunhurst took in a shallow breath and deflating as she let it out again.