Durza sensed something was wrong, though he didn't say anything for a long time. He watched her angrily raid the shelves for no reason at all before digging the silver coin from a pocket in her skirt. She murmured under her breath, catching the piece as she let it soar into the air and drop back to earth. Her creased brow eased as she leaned back against a chair, drumming her free hand against the wood. The silver piece continued to move up and back into her palm.
"You're using all your energy," said the Shade over the yellowed pages of his book. "That's why you're so tired all the time."
"Hmph."
Her eyes were still squeezed shut. The piece rose again and flipped halfway through its journey, spinning a circle around her open palm.
This caught his eye. "I didn't teach you that."
There was a hint of admiration in his voice, but she disregarded it. It was too subtle to be genuine. Still he pressed on. "You've been practicing."
"It takes a load off my mind," she answered flatly. "I've been busy lately, and it helps me relax."
It had been several days since the incident with Galbatorix, but she wasn't anywhere near letting it slip her mind. Her workload had doubled, and what she thought was exhausting before was now the bare minimum. There seemed to be nothing in the castle that didn't need her attention: the windows needed to be cleaned, the dining room floor needed to be scrubbed, there were several suits of armor that required hours of polishing. Meals prepared for no other reason than to keep her busy were left untouched by the king, who called upon her repeatedly throughout the day. He sent her down into the dungeons where she was ordered to sing to the prisoners—some of them were more pleasant than others—and then to the soldiers' wing where she was to accommodate their every whim.
She hardly had any time to work on the Sleeping Draught with the Shade, or talk with Mira—now that she thought of it, she hadn't even seen the tiny maid around in a few days. Between running up three flights of stairs to retrieve a fallen jewel from a scabbard, submerging her hands in lime scented water until her skin was chafed and red, and tolerating the nasty things some of the soldiers said to her, she barely had time to take a breath. It was when the Shade had insisted she come to the storehouse that afternoon that she had been able to find a moment's respite.
And to top it all off, a tiny, almost unnoticeable thrill had leapt inside of her when she saw the Shade again for the first time in what felt like an eternity. She didn't think much of the shiver of happiness—it had been days since they had seen one another, so she was rightly justified in feeling something. Clover found herself missing their brewing sessions amidst her feverish searches for cleaning supplies and nonexistent leather boots. The pendant was hidden beneath his robes today, and his eyes were a deep burgundy. Not quite red, not quite brown.
"While you were away, the potion finished settling," said the Shade. Across the room, a sigh of hope filled Clover's chest and she straightened up, her eyes alight.
While she was away? What about while he was away? But she didn't say any of that. Instead, she asked:
"Where is it? Can…may I see it?"
The corner of the Shade's lips twitched at her sudden interest. "Come with me."
He led her out of the storehouse and into a grove of trees just past one of the sunny hills where she knew clusters of sage colored flowers bloomed. A clay cauldron, much smaller than the one Clover had mixed countless ingredients in, lay between two intertwined oak trees that cast a shade that was nearly ice cold and dark as night.
The Shade noticed her shivering as they approached the two trees. "During its final hours of preparation, the potion needs to be somewhere that gives off natural cold," he explained. "These trees are enchanted to maintain a temperature close to freezing."
The potion itself was clear, and the consistency was the same as water. Had she not known what she was looking at, Clover would have mistaken the contents of the cauldron as boiled well water, which she had gathered on more than one occasion.
"I just realized," she said, stepping back. "How are we going to convince Galbatorix to drink this?"
Durza's lips pulled into a thin line. "I've been thinking about that. You remember the king's special mead that he allows only me to make? I can prepare a batch fairly quickly and slip it into his goblet…you would serve it to him, of course."
"Me?"
"Certainly you didn't think that I would take any part of this? I've brought you this far, and now it's your turn. Besides, I thought that you of all people deserved the honor of doing it yourself."
"Mm. I…well, thank you. I suppose I had always intended on doing this alone, anyway."
He nodded. Clover moved to heave the iron cauldron from the ground, but Durza held up a hand and stopped her. Without saying word, he bent over and lifted the cauldron with surprising ease, turning back toward the path they came down.
She lingered behind for a moment, speechless, her arms tingling with gooseflesh from the chill of the two entwined trees. A smile cracked the corners of her mouth, and she hurried to catch up. When she finally found her tongue, she met his burgundy eyes and said, "Thank you, Shade. Perhaps there is some good in you, after all."
She waited until nightfall before entering the bathing pool, glad to finally have it all to herself. The pool reflected wavy ripples on the ceiling, a tangle of hazy blue dancing across the walls. It was so peaceful here, almost as if it were in another world. Certainly it couldn't belong to Galbatorix, not with how beautiful and tranquil it was. But there were many beautiful things that the king owned that should not have been in his possession...
Clover folded her towel and set it near the pool before she stripped. It was an ethereal experience, to be naked in a place like this. With each piece of clothing she slipped out of, she felt a piece of her soul glow. The shoes were first. Then her dress. Then she peered at her reflection as she stood in her slip. Now for her underclothes.
The water was heaven against her bare skin. She waded in to her shoulders before kicking off the wall and swimming across the pool. Over 20 feet across, the pool was large enough to do laps in. And so she did.
Eager to stretch her aching muscles, Clover swam all over the pool: diving, treading water...she finally settled on floating on her back. Her hair fanned out all around her like a sea plant. Here she could forget, here she could be her. She could be Clover. She didn't have to worry. She didn't have to think.
The Shade walked in silently, just as she finished washing her hair and had gone on to the rest of her body. He himself had begun stripping when he heard a splash. His eyes darted toward the pool, where a very naked Clover was standing in a very illuminated pool, scrubbing dirt from her arms. He could see everything, could trace every curve, could see her body outlined in glowing blue. His throat tightened, and he swallowed hard.
He didn't know what to do.
He stood there barechested, eyes fixed, slacks halfway to the floor.
She didn't even notice him. She continued to soap up her body, leaning back to let her hair fan out around her like some exotic mermaid.
Oh my...
And then his little apprentice did something unexpected. She held out her hand beneath the water, palm up, and muttered something to herself. Within seconds, the spot of water above her hand began to boil. This seemed to excite her, for she let out a cry and tried it again with two hands.
What else can she do with those hands?
Durza shook his head. No. No, he wasn't thinking these things. He never thought about these things. Never. His voices never let him.
But the voices were gone, now...they wouldn't be back for some time...he would be good...
Had he still been wearing his slacks, they would have been extraordinarily tight by now.
He found himself pleading with the spirits, the voices that were no longer speaking to him for the moment, to let him do something. Anything.
I'll be good, I promise. I swear I'll be good-just give me this one thing...just let me have this...
Clover boiled a larger area of water and Durza held in a whistle. She's been reading my books, he thought with a smile.
Somehow he found the strength to begin redressing. He was turning around to leave, tunic around his shoulders, when something stopped him.
"Shade?" It was Clover. Shit. "What are...you doing here?"
He didn't dare turn around. Not with her nakedness and his...situation down south. "I...was coming to use the pool, but it seems that it is currently occupied."
"Oh." There was a long pause. He took a slow step forward.
"Sorry."
"That's okay...you can..." she couldn't believe she was saying this, but it felt so good to say it, "join me."
He could what?
"Uh-if you want, that is. I mean, I'm just about finished, I can leave." She bit her lip. Had she totally gone out of her mind? Not that she hadn't been a little more than curious to see the Shade up close and personal, totally without armor or silly velvet capes, but it wasn't something...she needed to say out loud. Right? It was a silly notion, really. She didn't feel anything toward him, not this monster. She couldn't...it was...crazy. It was...
"Really?" he said, a little to brightly. I'll be good, I'll be good. "I mean, are you sure? If you don't..I mean, if you aren't comfortable..."
"It's fine." She smiled. "I-I'll turn around when you get in."
And she did. Durza peeled off his clothes and all but leaped into the bathing pool.
They strayed into separate halves of the pool. Durza continued on as if she wasn't there, dipping his long red hair into the water. It was long enough that it flowed behind him like a tail even when he was standing. Clover allowed herself to steal glances of his incredibly toned chest, the palest white with symbols in the Ancient Language tattooed in a pale pink across his paper flesh. His arms were even more muscular than she had imagined, and she felt her face get very hot as her eyes wandered down to the parts of his body submerged in water.
Was he-was that? She blushed and looked away.
It was very quiet between them in the cave, tiny splashes and movements of water filling the silence. She felt the increasing urge to touch him, to reach out and caress his bicep, his muscular arm, his chest...she wanted to rest her head against it.
No. No, she couldn't. Were these thoughts even hers? She recognized these urges as the ones she had felt around Galbatorix, very similar and yet very different. Those feelings were altered, created by another person. But these...these were hers. Nobody was making her feel this way but herself.
And him. The Shade had her under some sort of spell that had nothing to do with magic.
Oh no...
As silently as she could, she turned around and swam toward him. Her face and chest felt hot as she watched her hand extend forward...inches away from his skin...
He whirled around, eyes wide and accusing. Her face flushed. Her hand was still out, but she couldn't seem to pull it back. His eyes instantly softened at her expression.
"Oh. I thought-sorry, that was an instinct. I..." his eyes wandered down her body. He couldn't help himself. She was so beautiful. Her skin was marked with welts and burns and cuts from his own hand. It pained him to recognize them.
She shook her head. "I should go. I'm finished anyway."
She made to leave when he seized her wrist. She trembled in his grip. And then the Shade slowly pulled her back in and pressed a gentle kiss on her hand. Her heart thudded wildly in her chest. Couldn't he hear it? It was so loud.
"Now go."
