Page 25 of Ozma

“Killing the undine.” Because it washislake, so where better to try?

Ozma said nothing as he turned toward the water and focused his power on the plant life swaying at the bottom of the lake. He didn’t ask any of it to grow—not until he found a patch of grass near the center that felt trampled upon.The undine’s nest.While he couldn’t see it, he knew the undine was lying there. Sleeping or, perhaps, just waiting patiently for prey to enter the water, but the weight of her body was suffocating the plant life.

Now, he would turn the tables.

Grow,he thought at the swaying grass along the edge of the nest.Grow and hold her.

The grass lengthened, knitting together into a net around the undine. He felt the creature as if the grass was his own skin.

Tighten. As tight as you can. Cover her gills. Immobilize her hands.

And the grass did. Phantom movements echoed against his palm. Air bubbles rose to the surface in what Jack imagined were the undine’s dying screams. The last bits of air squeezed from her lungs, her gills unable to bring in any more. He held the power in place until the strain of the undine’s struggles ceased. Then he held it some more just to be safe.

“There,” he said after a handful of moments, and released the magic. “She’s dead.”

His body shook slightly, the aches worse than before, but he hadn’t blacked out.A damn improvement. He knew that so much more would be possible once he learned to better hone the power. Mombi, he assumed, used the siphoned magic for the pumpkins, but he would put it to much better use.

Probably to grow some shitty pumpkins too, though.

Whatever.

“I’m going to take a bath,” he told Ozma.

She flicked a look at him before eying the water as if she expected something terrible to surface. “Okay...”

He quickly shed his clothes and stepped into the water, completely unfazed by his nudity. The thought of Ozma seeing him bare didn’t cross his mind until after the cool water lapped over his skin. It sent a shiver up his spine, goosebumps rising, and he dipped beneath the surface, eyes closed.My lake. He scrubbed himself, removing the layers of sweat and dirt, while his body got used to the temperature.

A pair of hands grabbed his arm and for a brief moment, horror filled Jack. Had he not really killed the undine? But then wisps of blonde hair caught his attention, floating around Ozma like a halo. Jack let out a relieved breath and followed the bubbles to the surface.

“What?” he gasped, wiping the water from his eyes.

“You were down there for a long time,” Ozma said. “I thought maybe you were in trouble.”

Jack’s eyes caught on her bare arms skimming the water’s surface and he smirked. “So concerned that you took off your dress first?”

She scowled. “I got in to bathe since I was interrupted last time,thenthought you needed help.”

“Right.”

Ozma splashed at him. “You’re welcome.”

Jack laughed—a real laugh. His first in two years. He flicked water back at her. She gasped and flung an even bigger splash at him. Again and again, until the entire surface of the lake rippled around them and they were both winded, their chests heaving. The swells at the tops of her breasts drew his attention. Ozma stopped first, ducking beneath the water—cheater!—and waited for Jack to cease before reemerging. Grateful for her quiet surrender, he took only seconds to stop.

“You know,” Jack started once the lake had calmed again, “I used to come here with Tip frequently.” He cast an unsure glance at Ozma, worried she wouldn’t want to hear about his relationship with her brother.

Ozma’s eyes flashed with interest, but she quickly lowered her gaze. The hair that had come loose from her braids clung to the sides of her face, making her appear younger. “Since you both needed to bathe, I’m not surprised.”

“We didn’t just come here for that.”

Ozma blushed. It was a good color on her—he wanted to see more of it.

“We also came,” Jack continued, “to give ourselves a moment to breathe.” She stared at him wordlessly as a crease formed between her brows. “It was too far for Mombi to walk, so we had to fill a tub for her instead. Which was fucking backbreaking work, but it was worth it because we could really be ourselves here. Talk about anything, dream about escaping, kiss…”Fuck each other senseless. He paused to see if the information made her uncomfortable, but she simply watched him as if waiting for him to continue.

“Tell me about him,” Ozma said when he remained silent, lowering herself so the water skimmed her bottom lip.

Jack ran a hand through his hair. It twisted his insides to think of Tip in detail, but it also hurt not to. “As I’m sure you know from your time in the mirror, we grew up here together. He was all I had, and I was all he had, too. Except, I could sometimes leave under Mombi’s control, so I suppose he had it worse than me.

“Still, he didn’t let it bring him down much. Tip always had a smile for me, always told me not to worry. His laugh was like the sun and his eyes were even brighter. Tip was the purest soul I’ve ever met—not that I’ve met many—and I didn’t deserve him.”

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