The shock makes me jerk backward, sputtering and snorting, eyes watering as I try desperately to clear my nasal passages without looking like a complete disaster. Water streams down my face, soaking into my collar, plastering my hair to my forehead.
There’s no way Selene will be impressed with me. And if she doesn’t respect me, how can I expect her to grant me an audience with Rist?
Someone to my left laughs—not cruel, just amused—but it still makes my skin burn hotter.
“You okay?” Selene’s hand touches my arm—warm and steady.
That gentle contact sends pleasant warmth through me that has nothing to do with embarrassment. Hope. It’s hope I feel. That she’s not laughing at me. That she’s actually concerned about me. That she likes me.
“Fine,” I manage, though my voice sounds strained. “Just… miscalculated the breathing part.”
“The water can be tricky,” she says, no mockery in her tone. Just genuine encouragement. “Try again. You’ve got this.”
Her hand squeezes my arm once before falling away, and I immediately miss the contact.
You’ve got this.
When was the last time someone said that to me and actually meant it?
I shake water from my hair—undignified, yes, but dignity abandoned me the moment my horns clanged against the barrel—and lean back over.
I will do this. I’ll catch her the fruit and win her affection.
This time I’m more careful. I tilt my head at the correct angle, hold my breath properly, and submerge my face slowly into the cold water.
An emerald fruit bobs within reach.
I open my mouth, trying to trap it.
It slips away.
I shift, following. Corner it against the barrel’s side. My teeth finally sink into the giving flesh beneath those soft spikes.
Got it!
I lift my head, the krivva fruit clenched between my jaws. Water cascades everywhere, probably ruining my clothes entirely, but I don’t care because?—
I caught one!
“You did it!” Selene cheers.
She throws herself against me, her small body pressing against mine. She doesn’t seem to care that water still drips from my clothes, immediately soaking her front. She hugs me. Me.
Her warmth immediately sinks into me, a burn branding itself across my chest. She’s so soft, so delicate, so…
My arms start to come up, to move to wrap around her as well. I could hold her close, press her against my side until our skin touches and I can feel her heart beat. I glance down at her upturned face and the way she beams up at me with small, flat teeth.
So perfect. I could hold her like this every day. Just to see her smile like this…
My tail starts wagging before I can stop it, pure joy taking over?—
CRASH.
My tail sweeps sideways, connecting with something behind me. I spin around, fruit still in my mouth, just in time to see a collection basket tip over spectacularly. Krivva fruit—at least ten of them—roll across the courtyard stones in every direction.
The Drakoon who’d been standing beside me stares at his scattered collection, then at my still-wagging tail, then directly at me.
No. No, no, no.
