They floated in the lake as if the world had forgotten to look for them.
For once, Lara let it.
The water of Veyr's Hollow held them gently, warmer now that they had been in it for a while, glowing faintly around their bodies in slow silver-blue ripples.
The waterfall roared at the far end of the valley, filling the hidden sanctuary with a constant, soothing thunder.
Mist drifted over the lake in pale veils, catching in Sarisa's loose hair and making the strands shine like moonlight even beneath the late morning sun.
Lara floated on her back, arms spread, eyes half closed.
She should have been preparing for the next move, the next danger, the next stupid political disaster waiting in white silk and royal poison.
Instead, Sarisa splashed her in the face.
Lara jerked upright with a gasp. "Excuse me?"
Sarisa, floating a few feet away, looked entirely too pleased with herself.
Her silver hair clung to her shoulders, her cheeks flushed from the water and laughter, her mating mark glowing faintly at her neck like a secret the lake had decided to admire.
"I did nothing," Sarisa said.
Water dripped from Lara's nose.
"You attacked me."
"I moved the water. If you were in the way, that is not my fault."
Lara narrowed her eyes. "You are a terrible liar."
"I am an excellent liar. You are simply biased."
"I am about to become vengeful."
Sarisa's smile widened. "That sounds dramatic."
Lara lunged.
Sarisa shrieked and tried to swim away, but the lake was not large enough to save her, and Lara had spent enough of her life chasing monsters through rivers to know how to move in water.
She caught Sarisa around the waist, pulling her back against her chest, both of them laughing as Sarisa tried to twist free.
"No," Sarisa said, breathless with laughter. "Lara, no."
"Yes."
"Don't you dare."
Lara splashed her.
Just enough to send water over Sarisa's shoulder and into her hair.
Sarisa gasped like a betrayed queen. "You beast."
"You started it."
"You always say that when you escalate things."
"That is because you always start it."
Sarisa twisted in her arms, cheeks bright, eyes shining, and gods, Lara nearly forgot how to breathe again. It was becoming a problem.
Sarisa happy. Sarisa laughing. Sarisa alive in the water of an old demon sanctuary, unguarded and sharp and soft all at once
. Lara had known she loved her in grief, anger, lust, and fear. This was different. This was loving her in play. Loving her with water on her lashes and laughter in her throat.
It hurt more, somehow.
In the best way.
Sarisa saw something shift in Lara's face, because of course she did. Her smile softened, though the mischief stayed alive around the edges.
"What?" she asked.
Lara shook her head. "Nothing."
"Liar."
Lara kissed her instead of answering.
It was slow, tasting of lake water and happiness, and Sarisa went quiet in her arms. The water moved around them with soft lapping sounds.
Far above, something birdlike cried once over the valley. Lara felt the mating bond pulse, gentle and warm, answering the old magic beneath the lake.
When they pulled apart, Sarisa rested her forehead against Lara's shoulder.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Sarisa's stomach growled.
Loudly.
Lara froze.
Sarisa froze too.
The sound echoed between them with completely undignified honesty.
Lara looked down at her. "Was that the sacred lake?"
Sarisa closed her eyes. "Do not."
"Did the ancient sanctuary just demand lunch?"
"Lara."
"It sounded very powerful."
Sarisa pushed away from her, cheeks going pink. "I hate you."
Lara laughed, bright and helpless. "No, you don't."
"I am hungry and wet and armed with nothing but my dignity. Do not test me."
"Your dignity drowned ten minutes ago when you lost the splash war."
"I did not lose."
"You were captured."
"I was strategically embraced."
Lara grinned. "Come on, my strategically embraced mate. I brought lunch."
That got Sarisa's attention immediately.
They swam back toward the shore, and Lara stepped out first, water streaming from her body in silver trails.
She grabbed the folded towels she had left on a smooth black rock and wrapped one around Sarisa the moment she emerged, because the air near the lake was cooler than it looked and because taking care of Sarisa had become a reflex so natural Lara no longer knew where it began.
Sarisa accepted the towel without complaint, which meant she really was hungry.
Lara dried quickly, then tugged on her trousers and loose shirt, leaving her hair damp and wild.
Sarisa dressed more slowly, wrapped in her cloak over the simple clothes Lara had packed, looking slightly drowsy from the swim and annoyingly beautiful in that effortless way that made Lara question whether she had ever had a functioning brain.
Then Lara retrieved the picnic.
She had hidden the basket under a heat-charm and a shadow-cloth near the ruins, safe from insects, weather, and whatever small creatures inhabited the valley and might have ambitions involving bread.
When she brought it back to the grass by the lake, Sarisa looked at her with deep suspicion.
"You prepared a picnic too?"
"Yes."
Sarisa sat on the soft grass, tucking her legs beneath her. "You planned an entire romantic hike, sacred lake, private vow, and lunch?"
Lara opened the basket. "I am very organized when motivated."
Sarisa's eyes warmed. "And what motivated you?"
Lara looked up at her. "You."
That shut Sarisa up beautifully.
Lara counted it as a victory and began unpacking the basket before she became too emotional to function. There was bread from Orvena's bakery, wrapped in cloth. Soft cheese. Smoked fish. Sliced fruit. Spiced nuts.
Little pastries from the restaurant that had somehow survived the night. A jar of plum preserve. Fresh water.
One bottle of chilled moonfruit juice. She had even brought small plates.
Sarisa looked at the spread and sighed. "You are going to make it impossible for me to ever return to normal food."
"Good."
"That was not a complaint."
"Even better."
They ate quietly at first.
The kind of quiet that did not need filling. Sarisa tore pieces of bread and spread them with cheese and plum preserve.
Lara sliced fruit with a small knife and placed the best pieces near Sarisa's hand without commenting on it. The lake shimmered beside them.
Mist curled over the grass. The ruins watched from the edge of the valley, old stones covered in flowers and moss, silent witnesses to another vow, another pair of lovers trying to build something against the weight of the world.
Lara leaned back on one hand and watched Sarisa eat.
Sarisa noticed after a while and lifted a brow. "Are you studying me?"
"Yes."
"For what purpose?"
"Making sure you're eating enough."
Sarisa rolled her eyes. "You and Elysia are forming a conspiracy."
"Elysia is wise."
"Elysia also asked if you planned to only feed and fuck me."
Lara coughed into her drink.
Sarisa smiled serenely. "Careful."
"You are evil."
"You mated me anyway."
"That keeps coming back to bite me."
Sarisa's gaze dropped to Lara's mouth. "Does it?"
Lara pointed a piece of fruit at her. "No. We are having a peaceful picnic."
"I said nothing."
"You thought something."
"I cannot be blamed for your imagination."
"My imagination has evidence."
Sarisa laughed softly, but the sound faded into something quieter as she looked back across the lake.
Lara felt the change before she saw it. The bond gave a small tug, not pain, not fear, just a dimming.
Sarisa's eyes had gone distant, fixed on the waterfall and the shining water, but Lara knew she was not truly seeing any of it now.
There it was.
The world returning.
Lara set down the fruit and shifted closer. "What is it?"
Sarisa did not answer at once.
The wind moved through the valley, stirring the silver flowers near their knees. The lake rippled toward them, soft and luminous, carrying reflections of the cliffs above.
"I'm happy right now," Sarisa said finally.
Lara's chest tightened. "That sounds like a bad thing."
"It isn't." Sarisa looked down at her hands, at the crumbs on her fingers, at the mating mark faintly visible beneath the edge of her collar. "That's what scares me."
Lara said nothing.
Sarisa smiled, but it was fragile.
"Every time I feel happy, I remember everything waiting outside this place. My mother. The realm. Aliyah. Neris. Vaelen. The lies. The fact that I was taken from my own wedding and half the Celestian court probably thinks I'm dead or worse."
"Not dead," Lara muttered. "I was very careful."
Sarisa glanced at her.
Lara gave her a small, crooked smile.
It worked. A little. Sarisa's mouth softened before the worry returned.
"I don't regret it," Sarisa said. "Any of it. You. The bond. Leaving. But I know this cannot stay hidden forever."
"No," Lara said quietly. "It can't."
"And when it comes back…"
"I'll be there."
Sarisa looked at her then.
Lara moved closer and took her hand, thumb brushing over the place where crumbs and preserve had made a tiny mess of her fingers.
She cleaned it with the edge of a napkin because apparently love had turned her into a woman who carried napkins into sacred valleys.
"I don't know how clean this will be," Lara admitted. "I don't know what your mother will do, or what the court will say, or how bad things will get before they get better."
Sarisa's fingers tightened around hers.
"But I know you're not alone anymore," Lara said. "Not for one second. Not politically. Not magically. Not emotionally. Not in any other ridiculous category people invent to make pain sound organized."
Sarisa laughed weakly. "That was almost a speech."
They sat there, hand in hand, beside the glowing water.
The food lay half-finished between them.
The valley held its breath around them.
Sarisa leaned into Lara's shoulder.
Lara turned her head and kissed her damp hair.
Then Sarisa whispered, almost to the lake more than to Lara, "I hope everything will get better."