Page 86 of Duke of the Sun

Michael glared, though he couldn’t come up with a logical argument for it. He leaned over the water slightly as Cordelia waded further into the lake. “Have you felt those fish yet, darling?”

“Not quite,” she called out. “Perhaps I should go under and look for one!”

“Have you gone mad, Cordelia?”

She giggled. “Heavens, no, Michael.” Wading her arms through the water, she swam closer to where he stood. “There is no need to go under the water. I was only teasing.”

Michael crossed his arms, trying to look defiant though the relief was rather obvious in his expression. “You seem to insinuate that I am afraid of the water.”

“Aren’t you?”

“Of course not!” He shrugged his shoulders. “I only think of what has happened due to its presence, and I see no point in treading closer to it.”

“Why?”

“Well,” he replied, “I wouldn’t want to be harmed by it also, would I?”

Cordelia smiled. “So youareafraid of it.”

“What?” He shook his head rapidly, the frustration mounting as he pressed in closer, not even noticing how his feet were already within the lake. “Devils, Cordelia, why must you insist on putting your words in my mouth?”

“Is that not what you just said?” She shrugged, slowly and discreetly sinking further into the lake. “If you believe the lake itself to be a dangerous thing, one that might cause you harm or pain, that would drive you to be afraid of it. Wouldn’t that be the very definition of fear?”

Michael stared at her blankly. “Well, I-I would -”

“And,” Cordelia watched him wade into the water, his gaze fixated on her entirely, “You have seen things and experienced things that were brought along from the lake. Is that right?”

He nodded.

“But would you agree that it would have happened either way?” She shrugged again. “With or without the lake?”

Michael sighed. “I seem to have been beaten by you, darling.”

“It seems so.”

“Well,” he said, “Perhaps I am afraid of it.”

Cordelia shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Was that not what you were just trying to prove?”

She dragged her arms through the water, slowly coming back closer to him. The water was nearing his waist, and he still didn’t realize he waded into the lake all on his own. The pride and relief she felt was immense, far more powerful than any emotion she had ever experienced before. Cordelia peered up at him, a broadening smile on her face.

“I believe there was something else I was seeking to prove,” she murmured.

Michael’s eyes narrowed apprehensively. “I haven’t the foggiest clue what you’re trying to get at.”

“Look around you, Michael,” Cordelia said, standing where he stood to press a short kiss to his cheek. “You have gone into the lake all on your own. Someone who is afraid wouldn’t do such a thing like that, would they?”

He raised his arms, looking down at the lake beneath him. The water swayed gently around him, rising up to his stomach slowly. For a moment, he only stared, and Cordelia frowned, growing worried about his mental composure. Perhaps he was frightened on the inside, moments away from having a breakdown she wouldn’t be able to bring him back from. She was about to reach for him, to whisper how sorry she was for not telling him sooner, when Michael did the strangest thing.

Michael crouched, dipping himself within the water. He slunk forward, dragging his arms through and pulling the gentle waves all around him. For someone that hadn’t ventured into the late for over ten years, Michael seemed to remember how to swim quite well. He looked as if he had been waiting to do it all his life, to feel the water collapse all around him. Michael swam a little ways away before coming back towards Cordelia, and facing her. He was breathless and wide eyed, his brown curls sticking up in all sorts of directions.

“How do you feel?” Cordelia whispered.

Michael reached and pressed a salty kiss on her lips. “I am not afraid,” he murmured to her. “I am not afraid.”

“Oh, Michael,” she breathed, the smile beaming across her face. “You don’t know how proud I am of you. I do not believe you were ever afraid at all!”

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