“Pool time,” Riley announced. “Sawyer and Doyle are already down there.”

“Oh! Can I see?”

Riley shrugged, gestured to the terrace doors. “Go ahead.”

She dashed over, saw Sawyer and Doyle sitting by the pool, facing each other in talk. On the lawn, Bran stood with Sasha as she set up her easel.

Simple joy radiated in her voice as she called out. “Hello!”

Sawyer looked up, smiled—she loved his smile, so quick, so bright—and waved at her.

Leading with that joy, she leaped onto the rail, dived.

She heard Sawyer shout something, did an easy, happy roll, and slid blissfully into the pool.

“Merda!” He jumped in, ready to drag out her unconscious body when she surfaced, laughing. “Christ, Anni, you could’ve broken your neck.”

After slicking back her hair, she blinked in curiosity. “How?”

“It’s not that deep, and from that height, you could’ve hit your head on the bottom.”

“Why would I do that? My head knows where the bottom is.”

“Looked like fun.” Riley leaned on the rail above.

“It is fun.”

“Humans might know where the bottom is,” Sawyer told her, “but they can’t slow their descent or pull up when they hit the water the way you can.”

Annika looked up at Riley. “You shouldn’t dive from there.”

“Got it.”

Annika took Sawyer’s hand, tugged him in a little deeper. “We can have a race. Racing is fun.”

“Yeah, like any of us has a shot against you.”

“I would swim backward.”

“And still,” Sawyer said as Doyle let out a snort. “But okay, challenge accepted.”

He went back to the end, waited for her to roll onto her back. “Ready? Go!”

He gave it some power, counting off seconds in his head. And when he slapped the other end, she was already sitting on the side of the pool, casually squeezing water out of her braid.

“Show-off.”

“Showing off is fun.”

He thrilled her by pulling her back into the pool.

Mmmm, bare skin. His hands, for just a brush, on her hips. His eyes laughing into hers, then not. Like the brush of hands, only a moment, not laughing, but looking deep.

And his face close, close enough for lips to meet.

Then he let her go, let the water separate them.

“Leg race next time—on land.”

“My legs are very strong, and very fast.”

“Yeah, we’ll check that out, Aqua-Girl.”

When he sank below the surface, she swam over him, then down to skim along the bottom until she could quiet the longing. When she surfaced, she stretched out to float.

She heard the voices, the splash of Riley diving in.

It was like her dream, she thought. All her friends together with the sun and the water. And that was enough for the day.

Even the work was like the dream. All her friends together with Bran’s magick. His magick was so pretty, so bright and strong. They swept away all the dark, laid light with the powdered crystals and bespelled water. Then, with a shield from human eyes beyond the wall of trees, he rose up to spread the protection from the top of the house to the ground below.

“I didn’t know it would be beautiful,” Sasha murmured, gazing up at him.

“Irish has style.” Riley draped an arm around her shoulders. “We did all this in Corfu, but I’ve got to say, it doesn’t get old. Okay, inside or out for war council?”

“We’re as protected out here as in there, and it’s too nice to sit inside, even for war.”

“Agreed.”

“I need to finish the new chart—for chores. I’ll do that tonight. But I’ll take dinner. It would be nice to have war talk over, as much as it ever is, before we eat.”

“I’ve got some maps upstairs.”

“I can fold the laundry now,” Annika said. “Should there be wine?”

“Baby.” Riley swung her arm away from Sasha, over Annika. “There should always be wine. Let’s get started.”

Annika sat while the others pored over the maps. Riley pointed out caves she knew, or had researched. Doyle showed them others he remembered from long ago.

“Do you know any underwater caves, Annika?” Sawyer asked. “Any we don’t have marked?”

“We only came here.” She reached out to touch a spot on the north of the island. “The Grotta Azzurra. It’s tradition to bathe in the blue light. But we didn’t stay or seek other places. So many people, you see. There are other places not so . . . inhabited?”

“Did you hear the sighs or the songs when you came with your family?” Sasha wondered.

“No, but I didn’t listen. I was young, and it was beautiful and exciting. I had no purpose. I could look, from the sea.”

“Not alone.” Reaching over, Bran touched her hand. “No one ventures alone. We know she’ll come, and send her dogs. The attacks will come on land, from the air, in the water, as they did before. We have to prepare for that. No one ventures alone.”

“We’re more closed in here than we were at the villa.” Doyle looked around, scanning trees, rooflines. “Advantage and disadvantage. We have less area to defend, but less room to maneuver. The light bombs took out swarms of the dogs. Actually, calling them dogs is an insult to dogs.”