Maren watched as Cora slowly fled into the cover of the pool. She blinked, her gaze shifting as she attempted to gather herself. Her instincts, and the rising heat in her chest told her to use the last of her strength and run.
But then, Cora turned her face back toward Maren.
"You can come in…"
Maren blinked, confusion consuming every last sensible thought in her mind.
But who was she to refuse?
She lifted from the ground and made her way toward Cora. She could feel the warmth emanating from the water through the fabric of her gown. Cora faced the other way, not looking at her. Maren knew she had to pull the fabric from her body, but it all felt so…vulnerable.
She stripped the first layer of the gown from her body, watching Cora, ensuring she didn't turn around.
Maren didn't want to face her.
Didn't want to talk about what happened.
She was angry with Cora, but her rage was cotton candy when it came to Cora — gone before she could fully grasp it. She stripped the second layer, letting the heavy fabric fall to the ground, leaving her in just the white of her undergarments.
Maren held her body, wrapping her marked arms around herself. She wasn't sure what Cora was up to, but knowing her, it couldn't be anything good. She dipped her toe in the water, its heat nearly unbearable.
Maren recoiled at the violent contrast of hot on her cold skin.
"Are you insane!?" Maren cried out. "It's so hot!"
Then, faster than her own breath, Cora lunged at her, dragging a fully clothed Maren into the water. The contrast from freezing cold to blazing hot was too much. Maren couldn't gather herself enough to fully grasp what had happened.
Maren let out a cough, water spilling from her mouth. She inhaled deeply, and when she opened her eyes, she didn't know what to make of the scene. Cora had her pinned by her wrists to a mossy boulder that rested half in the water, half out. Maren could hardly see her through the steam, but she knew that nobody could find them here, in this bare, intimate scene.
The social consequences if anybody saw this, not to Maren but to Cora would be insurmountable.
Cora pressed closer, pinning Maren more firmly with her body, her face slipping into the soft curve of Maren's throat. Her breath came in fast and uneven, and Maren hated that it drew her own into the same frantic rhythm. She despised herself for the way it made her feel. Only the thinnest layer separated them — the light fabric of Maren's camisole and undergarments, now practically sheer and soaking wet from being snatched into the water.
She damned terror now. Cora excited her, and she knew it was wrong. She should be angry with her. She should summon her magic and push Cora away. Not just for the prying eyes of others but for her own safety. The heat emanating from Cora's body alone was enough to steal Maren's breath straight from her lungs. The volcanic press of Cora's forehead on her bare neck would surely brand her with its own mark. But Maren kept her senses, forcing herself to even her shallow breaths, clinging desperately to what she had left of control.
"Cora…" she whispered breathlessly. "If anybody finds us like this…"
"I don't understand…" Cora interrupted, her tone low.
"Wha-" Maren started, but instead, Cora lifted her head.
Her eyes glowed bright ruby and flushed a pinker shade than Maren had ever seen. They burned with a raw vulnerability also vacant from Cora's usual demeanor. There was a fierce, vulnerable heat in her expression, when suddenly, moisture pooled around the corners of her eyes as she searched Maren's shocked, gleaming sapphire gaze. It was as if Cora was both damning Maren and daring her to look away from the vulnerability she'd mustered.
"Tell me…" Cora released her wrists, letting Maren's arms fall around her shoulders as she whispered desperately. "Tell me why I feel this way. Tell me why when I'm supposed to hate you…"
Maren swallowed hard, blood pulsing throughout her body.
"...that instead, I want to touch you…"
She wanted to focus on Cora, but the heat engulfing their space was becoming too strong.
"All those hours in the carriage wondering what you were thinking." Cora murmured. "All those nights, listening to your breathing through nothing but a sheet…"
Cora pressed her forehead to Maren's, their noses tenderly brushing. One hand slipped around Maren's delicate throat, anchoring her there, while the other travelled lower to the dip of Maren's fleshy waist, guiding her further into the stone, their bodies pressing closer.
Maren gasped as Cora's grip tightened.
"Tell me, Princess," Cora whispered, her breath dancing like fire on Maren's lips, the red of her eyes gleaming in the dark. "Tell me what you've cursed me with that makes me want to know you so…"
Whether the dizziness came from the steam in the air or from Cora's arcane touch, she couldn't tell. All she knew was that the heat radiating from Cora was overwhelming and stole the breath from her lungs. The air was too warm, and the space between them far too small for Maren to catch her breath.
The air around them was simply too hot for Maren.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Maren caught something shining an odd color at the base of the waterfall. She tried to fix her gaze on it through the steam, but at this point, she couldn't focus her gaze, and all she saw was a hazy, violet glow.
"Maren," Cora whispered again, her thigh slipping between Maren's. "Admit it. Admit what you've done to me."
Maren's body ached with a need she couldn't satisfy. She knew she had to get away, but she didn't know how. Cora was consuming her. She wanted an answer, but Maren couldn't give her one.
However, there was something that had been bothering her. Cora wasn't the vulnerable type. She was the kind of person who retreated when they were upset, not the type who corners someone when they're naked and vulnerable.
This was Cora, but there was something wrong with her.
"Cora, I can't breathe," Maren whispered. "It's too hot."
Cora's grip moved to Maren's jaw, her expression desperate, confused and vulnerable. "I can't take this anymore, Maren. This pressure hurts too much."
Maren's breath was short, and she blinked through the suffocation. She had to get out of here. Something was wrong with Cora.
Maren remembered a time when Thirteen had told both girls not to reveal their powers to anybody— not even each other. It was well known that the Ruby Princess would always have some form of physical power, often having to do with fire or heat. However, seldom was known about the Sapphire Princess. Historically, there had been so few of them during times of such prosperity that they kept their powers close. Hidden.
Only once had Maren ever used her own power, and now, just like then, was Cora the catalyst.
With the last of her strength, Maren gritted her teeth, brought both hands to Cora's head, and reached within herself, feeling the place where her magic coiled deep within her core. She sensed it, and it reacted to her call. It wasn't dormant or asleep. It was merely waiting for her. She reached for the magic, and instantly, the chains she had wrapped around it in her mind, shattered. With what little breath she had left, she spoke the command.
"Medere!"
A cool blaze of cerulean light erupted from the markings in her flesh. The tattoos along her arms flared in a brilliant light, illuminating the world around them through the fog. Maren's eyes were alight with power as she held Cora there. Maren could feel Cora's temperature lowering, the heat that radiated off her began to cool.
Cora blinked, and Maren could see her senses begin to return to her.
"Maren?" Cora asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
But Maren could no longer focus. The world began to fade into the black spots that covered her vision. She tried to breathe but the air was still thick with steam. That's when Maren saw the violet glow from beneath the waterfall. And with one last impulsive, instinctual attempt at survival, Maren lunged out of the boiling pool, after the mysterious glow that called to her.