Galileo was an old man, blind and sick, when I saw him.
I stopped dead in my tracks as I stared up at him. You actually met Galileo? You saw him in person?
Yes. For some reason, I felt him emotionally withdraw from me. His body still moved in time to the music, but the joy had gone out of the moment.
But you must have been a very young man, I said cautiously, wondering why suddenly his mental barriers were in place again, excluding me from some of his thoughts.
Yes.
He said nothing else, and I debated pressing him for details, but I hesitated to do that. Neither of us had wanted this relationship, but he was clearly trying to make the best of it. I didn’t want to aggravate a situation that was starting to become more and more painful, at least for me, by pressing him when he wished to withhold himself.
The music ended. I stood watching him for a moment, suddenly sad at the situation. How on earth was I going to get through a lifetime of being held emotionally at arm’s length when just a couple of days had me wanting to shake him?
Behind me, women squealed and called out excitedly as a bride was helped onto a table in preparation for throwing her bouquet.
“Bah. Competition is nothing,” Magda said, fanning her face as she and Raymond returned. “I could blow those skinny Icelandic women down with one breath, but I don’t need a bouquet that bad. What’s wrong?”
She had addressed the last comment to me.
I shook my head. “Nothing. Let’s go before someone of the fanged variety spots us. Our plane leaves in ten and a half hours, so that ought to give us enough time to visit the hot springs.”
“Amen,” she said, taking Raymond’s arm.
Kristoff held out his hand for me, his eyes bright with passion, but it was not his sexual interest I doubted.
That thought remained, even two hours later when I found myself in heaven.
“I don’t care how you ended up with this money. I don’t care if you get to keep it. I don’t care about anything right now, to be honest.” I heaved a blissful sigh and sank up to my neck in the warm, milky blue, algae- and mineral-laden water of the famed Blue Lagoon hot springs. “Other than the fact that we have three whole hours of this. Who needs sleep when we can soak here?”
“This is not a replacement for proper rest, but it is the best I can do, since you refuse to sleep. You will do so on the plane, however.” Kristoff’s voice drifted out of the private lounge he’d reserved for us. Although the Blue Lagoon covered a large area shaped by the surrounding volcanic rocks, the main section did not offer privacy. The spa offered a couple of areas (for a hefty fee) that not only included personal changing rooms and a lounge where one could relax on some very modern-looking furniture, but also a tiny private lagoon.
“You said I was immortal now that I’m officially your Beloved.” I wriggled my toes into the soft mud, allowing myself to bob gently in the water. I had read in the spa brochure that the water was famed for its therapeutic qualities, and that the white silica mud was much sought after for its antiaging properties. I reached down and scooped up a handful of the mud, letting it slip through my fingers. It was chalky white, but smooth, like very fine sand.
“That doesn’t mean you don’t need sleep.” Kristoff emerged from the lounge behind us. He was still fully clothed. I frowned.
“Why am I here, naked, in our very own private watery paradise, and you’re not molesting me as is my due?” I asked.
“We’re here because I thought you would enjoy it. Also because it is likely that the Dark Ones will be canvassing hotels in the area. But mostly because you need somewhere to rest and are too stubborn to do so elsewhere.”
“Boo.”
“What?”
“You know full well what I mean. Why aren’t you here in the water with me, naked, so I can ply my womanly wiles upon your fabulous, if still slightly too skinny, male body?”
“There are things that must be done, Pia. I have a few friends remaining upon whom I can call, and I have done so.”
That got my attention. I bobbed my way over to the wooden planking that edged one side of our pool. “Call for what?”
Kristoff squatted and ran his fingers across the top of the water. “Information regarding reaper movements in California. And to track Alec’s last known movements.”
“Oh, excellent. What did you find out? Where did he go?” I asked.
He was silent for a moment. “Nothing has been discovered yet.”
I frowned. “Damn. What about the Brotherhood people? Is anything going on besides the fact that they’re hunkering down for a fight?”