Page 103 of Sands of Atonement

Damn. I was a celebrity.

Her eyes slid to mine, and she positioned her hands on her hips. “I speak for all the girls in that classroom when I say: we still choose Casimir.”

I barked out a laugh. “Well, good news is I am going to marry him if I don’t make it out of both my brother's and Ezra’s hands.”

“Your brother? Ezra? Wait, you’re going to be marrying Casimir?”

I frowned and glanced back in the mirror before fixing some strands. I explained the latest events with my brother and the twins. I contemplated telling her why I was really here, but she didn’t ask. I had a feeling Ezra knew something, and I intended to find out what it was. As far as we were all concerned, this marriage was happening in the far future, and I had time.

After organizing my things in the room, I waved goodbye to her. “I’m going to take a bath. I’ll be back.”

“See you at dinner!”

After finding Yven, the woman who showed us the room, she brought me to the baths.

I was strangely relieved that Casimir had found a woman to warm his bed, but maybe this was typical for him, and she didn’t mean anything special. I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t going to question it. I wanted him far away from me.

The place was large and quiet, almost like a small version of a palace. There weren’t many people here, and I felt comforted by the idea.

Once we arrived at the baths, there was a large division in the tall ceiling creating light through the cracks but enough shade that it wasn’t scorching. I craned my neck. I had never seen anything like it before. There were numerous palm trees and shrubs, creating a wall of privacy between the two large baths. I had full-body tingles thinking of washing every inch of my skin. Yven set a soft sage-green dress on a low ottoman for me to wear after I’d washed myself.

“Enjoy,” Yven said quietly and left, slowly shutting the large double doors behind me.

I was alone.

Finally.

But there was only one problem.

There were no stairs.

Chapter 26

Eshe

My heart rose to my throat, and I attempted to swallow the lump threatening to choke me.

There were always stairs in the baths.

Why weren’t there any?

My trembling fingers found my throat, telling me it was okay to breathe.

I hadn’t had this strong a reaction in… years. Not since that night I almost drowned in the baths.

A shudder ran down my spine. I could do this. I’d jump in, wash myself and get out.

I swallowed. I had always stuck to the side of the baths, dipping my toes or legs in, or if I needed a full-body scrub, I’d do so on the stairs. I was never completely in a place without something to crawl out of, just in case…

Because of what happened, I never went into the water like that again. There were no teachers to learn how to swim. People just stood where they were comfortable, and well, because—this was the desert—you didn’t really need to learn how. I’d just stay around the shallow areas, anyway. But now, it wasn’t just the fact I didn’t know how to swim quite well. It was… so much deeper than that, now.

I looked at the lime-green water that seemed to mock me. It looked shallow. It was shallow. Of course it was—I was just overthinking it.

After removing the heavy robe from my shoulders, I grabbed a bar of soap on the nearby table and crouched low, beginning my descent into the threatening waters.

Once one of my legs was in, that was it. I had to go all in.

I took a deep breath. I would just keep my hands on the edge so I could pull myself up if I needed to.