(R-18 Mature Scenes)
(Almera POV)
The Festival of Flow began at sunset.
Not with drums or horns, but with the sound of water.
All across Aqaris, sluice gates were opened at once. Channels that had run quietly through the city swelled, sending clear streams gliding along white stone paths. The sound echoed softly—lapping, murmuring, alive—until it filled every street and courtyard like a shared breath.
Lanterns followed.
Hundreds of them were lit one by one and set afloat upon the water, their flames steady despite the movement beneath them. Children ran along the edges of the channels, laughing as they guided the lanterns forward with small wooden poles.
The city glowed.
I stood beside Romulus at the edge of the main thoroughfare, watching as the people emerged from their homes dressed in pale fabrics dyed with blues and golds. Their faces were relaxed, open—relieved.
