New eyes.

For the first time, something about immortal life made her smile.

“What do you think so far?” Lucien was floating a little way from her. He’d been silent for hours, ever since their fight in the lab, but he moved toward her as he spoke.

“About what?”

“Being back in Ethiopia.”

“I don’t know.” She kicked her legs out and listened to the splash of water in the still night. “I don’t remember much about this area besides visiting the monasteries when I was a child. Most of my memories of Ethiopia revolve around our house in Addis or my grandmother’s village.”

“Where is that?”

“Near Yirgalem.”

“Sidamo region,” he mused. “Very beautiful.”

“And the cave where the princess hid,” Makeda said.

She heard Lucien swim closer. “What was that?”

Makeda smiled. “It was a story my grandmother told us. I don’t know if it’s true or not. There was a cave on the mountain where the village was. My grandmother said that a princess once hid there when armies came to attack her father’s palace. She hid in the cave and hyenas guarded her.”

“They didn’t eat her?”

“Of course not. She was a princess.”

“Ah.” He drifted closer. “I had no idea scavengers held royalty in such high regard.”

She couldn’t stop her smile. “It’s just a story. We were so curious about that cave. I’m sure my grandmother wanted us to stay away from it. There was a family of hyenas that lived there, and we might have been bitten.”

They swam until Makeda could hardly feel her legs, but it seemed to make no difference to her body. She never once ached or grew tired. And though the water didn’t feel as heady as the ocean, it still embraced her, soothing her nerves and feeding her soul until she felt as comfortable as a child nestled in her mother’s arms. Lucien stayed behind her, letting her lead.

When Makeda spotted a rocky outcropping jutting out of the water to her right, she headed toward it. It sloped sharply, with weeds and algae making the base of the rocks too slick to climb. Makeda treaded water next to it, considering how she might be able to get on top.

“Use your amnis,” Lucien said behind her.

“What?”

“Your amnis,” he repeated. “You’re a water vampire, remember?”

“I’m aware of that, but…” She frowned, considering the rock. She lifted her hands from the water and let it dance in her palm. It came instinctually, but she didn’t know how to lift herself onto the rock with it. “How?”

Lucien was at her side, treading water. “This could be an issue.”

“You don’t know how?” An unexpected laugh burst from her throat. “Of course you don’t. You’re an earth vampire.”

“Correct.” He swam closer to the rock. “So until we find a better teacher than me…”

She felt his amnis fill the air. The punch of energy was as potent as when he kissed her. Makeda watched Lucien place his hand on the rock, and it reformed under his power. Like a giant stretching its shoulders, the rocky outcropping shrugged up and out. Before her eyes, natural steps formed in the rock, leading to a smooth platform flat as an open palm.

He walked up the steps and held out a hand. “Yene Nigist Makeda, I have made you a throne.”

Fighting back a smile at his playful words, Makeda took his hand and he lifted her out of the water.

“That was very impressive,” she said as she settled on the rock. The linen shift that had felt so light and flowing around her in the lake flopped on the ground and clung to her skin.

“That was nothing,” Lucien said. “I’m not being modest. I’ve raised—and demolished—city walls with nothing more than my hands.”

“How?” It wasn’t wonder—though there was that—she honestly wanted to know. Her education with Baojia had been rudimentary at best, because their time had been cut short. Getting a handle on her amnis was a top priority.

“I don’t think I could explain it to you in any way that makes sense.” He paused. “The land here is familiar to me. I recognize it, and it recognizes me. It’s a huge advantage earth vampires have that other elements do not.”

“Because all the other elements are mobile.”

“Yes.” He leaned back, propping his lean, muscled arms behind him. “Even freshwater like this is constantly moving. Streams feed lakes which feed other rivers. Water evaporates, condenses. It’s constantly in motion and everything leads back to the sea.”

She couldn’t escape her awareness of his body. She grew hungry for him but forced herself to concentrate on what he was saying.

“There are ocean currents that are constant, but the sea itself, the element, is continuously shifting and changing. The earth shifts and changes, but on a massively slower scale.”

He cocked his head looking over the water, and Makeda’s eyes went to the hardened trapezius muscle at the back of his shoulder. Just in front of it was a curving dip she wanted to sink her teeth into.

“…need to find you a teacher who can— Makeda.”

She blinked and pulled away from his neck. She’d been leaning in, drawn to the sound of his voice and his scent, inches from his skin. She sat straight and repeated the periodic table in her head. If she started in on the bones and muscles, she would only picture Lucien.