Page 164 of The Amber Sunburst

“Thank you,” she whispers.

“Always,” he responds.

She pulls away and retrieves the laser pointer from her pocket. “We have to go after Arete. Damn the plan.”

Zeno doesn’t hesitate. “Of course.”

52

ALEXANDER

“How many times are you going to drown?” Kallias shouts over the running water.

Alexander laughs. “I doubt this will be the last time. It’s definitely not the first.”

“You should hate water by now.”

They were just one foot away from their last mirror when this stupid glass box rose from the floor and trapped them both in a rapidly filling tank.

Alexander splashes Kallias so that he’ll make that scrunchy face Alexander loves so much. He’s not disappointed.

“Every near drowning, I love the sea even more.”

Kallias rolls his eyes. “You would.”

“What does that mean?”

Kallias smirks and leans against the glass. “It means you like things that aren’t good for you.”

“But I like you,” he replies, feigning innocence, “and you’re so good for me. Or, would you be bad? We haven’t quite reached the point where I would know that yet.” He walks forward until they’re nose to nose, and Kallias’ face is impassive but bright pink.

“I wouldn’t be good,” Kallias responds, head tilted and eyes dangerous. “Especially not if you’d like me to be.”

It’s a damn shame he can’t drop to his knees right here, but he doesn’t think Kallias would appreciate that on live television.

“I guess we’ll see,” Alexander says.

Kallias’ expression flickers into something indecipherable. “I guess we will.”

Half a second later, the glass walls disappear into the floor and the water splashes harmlessly to the ground.

“That’s strange,” Alexander says.

“No.” Kallias wrings out his shirt. “It’s Ophelia. She must be in the control room. She’d have overrides for the booby traps there,” he explains, already jogging to set up the final mirror. Once he’s done, he pulls the large, curved one out of his cargo pants pocket.

“Alexander,” he urges with a nod. “We have to put this thing up before⁠—”

He cuts off. Shining bright, bouncing off every other mirror, is a red laser. Eudoxia and Zeno.

“Everyone is ready,” Alexander exhales in awe. Not that he didn’t expect it to work, but… well, yeah, he definitely didn’t expect it to work.

“So we need to be too. Come on.”

Kallias hands him the mirror, kneeling so Alexander can climb on his back.

“You know, I always thought you’d be the one riding me,” he jokes, wrapping his legs around Kallias’ waist.

Kallias scoffs. “Next time,” he says, and Alexander almost falls off at the sheer prospect.