sometimes locked in embraces so tight Atreus could not tell where his body ended and Seema's began, sometimes merely resting in each other's arms, exhausted and content, their bodies drained and their hearts full. They lost themselves in each other, forgot the morning bloodshed and Tarch's evil and the Sannyasi's verdict, and they became one. If only for a few hours, Atreus learned what it was to be beautiful.
At last, the afternoon light began to fade, and their strength with it. Seema curled into the crook of Atreus's arm and started to breathe in a deep, steady rhythm. He pulled her cloak over her and lay holding her until his arm fell asleep and his back ached from lying so still. Using his free hand, he folded her clothes into a pillow and gently slipped them under her head and withdrew his numb arm. She curled into a tighter ball and continued to sleep but otherwise did not stir.
Atreus stood and pulled on his own cloak, then looked out over Langdarma. Long curtains of afternoon drizzle were beginning to fall from the icy sky, cloaking most of the valley in haze as gray as the canyon walls. Through the mist, Atreus could see little more than a sweeping swath of mottled green with the outline of a broad river snaking down its center. With Seema sleeping behind him, it seemed the most beautiful landscape he had ever seen.
Atreus stood breathing in Langdarma's peace and serenity for a long time. Then he closed his eyes and kneeled beside the reflecting pool. At that moment, he was strong enough to accept whatever he saw, but he had to see it alone. If the image in the water was ugly, he wanted some time to swallow his disappointment, to put on a happy face so Seema would not think him ungrateful. Atreus leaned forward until he saw the water's radiance twinkling inside his eyelids and opened his eyes.
The reflection was as handsome as before.
Atreus breathed a sigh of relief, then glanced over his shoulder. Seema was still sleeping, her lips curled into a dreamy smile. Atreus reached into his cloak pocket and found the vial Rishi had slipped him earlier. He began to feel guilty and disloyal, though he could not understand why. Seema had told him he could drink as much as he liked, and the whole flask would not amount to a single gulp. Whatever Sune wanted with the twinkling water, he did not see how taking such a small amount could harm Langdarma.
Atreus plunged the vial into the icy water and watched the air bubble rise to the surface of the pool, then inserted the cork while it was still underwater. When he lifted the flask from the basin, it was gleaming and twinkling just like the one Kumara had used to calm Timin's delirious father. He checked his reflection one more time, just to be certain he had not broken the pond's magic, then slipped the flask into his cloak pocket.
A low hissing sounded from the alabaster palace. Atreus glanced toward the sound and saw-or thought he saw-a trio of dark eyes peering out from within the second-floor gallery. A ring of black tentacles seemed to be writhing around the three eyes, and between the eyes was something that looked vaguely like an ebony beak. Atreus gasped and rose.
'There is nothing to fear,' said Seema.
Atreus glanced back to see her slipping her cloak over her shoulders. She pulled her silky black hair out of the collar and let it cascade down her back, then came to his side.
'It cannot escape the palace,' she said.
'What is it?'
Seema shrugged. 'Only the Sannyasi knows,' she replied, 'and perhaps not even him.'
'Every beauty hides a greater ugliness,' Atreus said, recalling what Seema had said to him not so long ago.
Seema nodded.
'Every adage has its source.'
Atreus gave an involuntary shiver and asked, 'How long has it been watching?'
Seema blushed. 'Not that long, I am sure,' she said. 'It has no interest in Devotions.' Despite her assurance, she glanced up at the sky and grasped Atreus's hand. 'Come along, now. It would not do for us to be on the ledge after dark.'
They returned to Seema's house to find their friends fast asleep downstairs. Yago woke up long enough to mumble something about staying up half the night worrying, then rolled over and began to shake the entire hut with his snores. Seema giggled, then took Atreus's hand and led the way upstairs, where he discovered he was not quite as tired as he thought.
The next morning, Atreus awoke at the crack of dawn, roused from a sound sleep by an alarming hollow in the pit of his stomach. At first, he credited his anxiety to the loss of waking from a blissful dream, but when he felt Seema's warm body curled against his and looked over to find her smiling in her sleep, he knew this particular dream was not yet over.
Atreus lay there without moving for several minutes, trying to recover the peace he had experienced at the Fountain of Infinite Grace. Finally he realized that what he felt was guilt As of yet, he had said nothing to Seema about the vial in his cloak, and he did not see how he could. To admit filling it was to admit that he had planned to deceive her all along. Even more than he wanted to be handsome, he did not want to lose her love. He slipped out from beneath the heavy blanket, collected his clothes, and crept downstairs to dress. Part of him wanted to empty the vial and return it to the cabinet, but another part whispered that Seema need never know what he had done, that if he could keep the vial hidden for just two days, he would have both Seema's love and Sune's gratitude.
On the bottom floor of the hut, his friends were already up, brewing a pot of the greasy buttered tea that Yago loved more than anything in Langdarma. Atreus stopped on the stairs to pull on his tunic, drawing a sly grin from Rishi.
'Yago, look at our master. Does he not look content this morning?'
Atreus could not help beaming, but his joy was quickly spoiled by the thought of what he had done to win the compliment. The smile vanished from his lips, and he said, 'I wish I felt as content as I look.'
Rishi frowned. 'She did not take you to the Fountain of Infinite Grace?' the Mar asked.
'She took me.' Atreus tied his trousers, then added, 'I filled the vial.'
'Then what's your grumbling about?' Yago continued to stir his tea. 'That's what Sune sent you for.'
'I didn't tell Seema about it'
Rishi's eyes widened in alarm. 'And why would you want to do such a foolish thing?' he asked. 'If she knew-'
'Seema would only object if it endangered Langdarma,' Atreus said. He hung his cloak on a wall peg. 'And if it endangers Langdarma, then I shouldn't do it. That would be the worst kind of betrayal.'
Yago looked up from his stirring and said, 'So you'd betray your goddess instead and go home empty- handed? After coming all this way, you expect me to believe that?'
Atreus hesitated, unsure of his answer and hating himself for it 'Maybe it won't come to that,' he said.
'I do not think that is a chance you wish to take,' said Rishi. 'You saw the Sannyasi's power. Now, are you going to let us look at this marvelous water? I did not see it when Kumara used it on Timin's father, and I am most curious about its glow.'
Atreus withdrew the vial from his cloak pocket, then scowled. The only thing sparkling in the flask was the reflection of the flames under Yago's tea pot
The ogre squinted at the glass. 'Sure,' he said, 'I can see something sparkling in there.'
'But not the way it should, I fear,' said Rishi. He eyed Atreus nervously. This is not how it looked when you filled it?'
Atreus shook his head. 'No.' He stared at the vial for several moments, then noticed his knuckles turning white from squeezing it so hard. He placed it on the table and said, 'The sparkle is gone.'
Yago frowned. 'Did Sune say it-'
'The water must be sparkling,' Atreus said. 'She even reminded me.'
Rishi picked up the vial and held it to his eye.
'Then there is clearly more to the task than we thought'
'Why doesn't that surprise me? This whole trip…' A terrible thought occurred to Atreus, and he turned to Yago. 'What do I look like?'
'Same as usual. Like the loser of a bad fight,' Yago said. He used his bare hands to lift the tea pot off the fire, then placed it in on the table to cool. 'Why?'
Atreus turned to Rishi and asked, 'What do you think? Am I handsome?'
