They appeared laughing at the bend in the path, one tall and dripping, the other small and dripping too, but beaming as if he'd just uncovered treasure. Adam trudged with weary steps, his coat dragging water into the dust, while Rufus skipped at his side, barefoot, splashing mud at every stalk of grass he could find.
— "For all the saints…" Adam growled, arms thrown up. "We were supposed to come back quietly, kid. Qui-et-ly."
— "But you're smiling," Rufus shot back, bold, laughter bubbling in his throat.
Adam pretended to scowl, but his lips betrayed a twitch.
— "I'm smiling because I barely escaped drowning," he muttered. "And because it was you who pushed me in—admit it."
Rufus shrugged, eyes shining with mischief.
— "You tried first. I just got revenge."
Victor and Emma, still by the campfire, watched them approach. The flame threw warm, flickering light across the scene, cutting their drenched silhouettes like revenants from another world.
— "Aren't you ashamed?" Emma called, a smile tugging at her lips. "Soaked like that, you'll catch your death."
Adam groaned, shaking his shirt uselessly.
— "Tell that to the brat. It's all his fault."
Rufus lifted his chin proudly.
— "It was beautiful. The water, the sky… And Adam's whining now, but he was laughing."
— "Lie," Adam protested. "I never laugh. I never smile. You must've imagined it."
Emma broke into laughter. Victor, meanwhile, watched the bond between the two with a strange warmth tightening in his chest. When Adam and Rufus disappeared toward the tent to change, Emma leaned closer.
— "Did you see?" she whispered.
— "See what?"
— "Their faces. The place must be beautiful. A lake, hidden in the woods."
Her eyes held that spark, that fire that always unraveled Victor. He understood at once.
— "You mean… the two of us?"
— "Why not?" she said, her smile light, almost shy. "Just us."
Victor didn't answer, but his heart already had.
---
They waited until the camp had quieted. The fire was down to embers, the steady breaths of sleepers filled the night. Adam had thrown them one last suspicious glance as Victor and Emma slipped away, but Victor only murmured:
— "We're getting some air."
Adam arched a brow, then gave that half-smile of his that meant: I know, and I won't say a word.
The forest closed around them at once. Their steps cracked over dead branches, their hands brushed. Emma moved quick, eager. Victor followed, torn between desire and hesitation, already drunk on her before they'd even touched.
Then the trees opened, and the lake revealed itself.
A silver sheet stretched before them, still, edged with tall grass. The moon lay whole upon its surface, immense, and every star seemed to plunge into its black depths.
Emma stopped dead.
— "It's… beautiful."
She slipped off her cloak and let it fall onto the grass. Then, without waiting, her fingers slid into the laces of her bodice. She undid each layer one by one, with calm mischief, until nothing was left but pale skin under moonlight. She threw Victor a teasing look before stepping into the water, her gasp muffled by the cold.
Victor stood frozen. She was no longer just Emma, the girl of the woods, his companion of every day. She was an apparition, a goddess reborn. A childhood engraving flashed back—Artemis, naked beneath the moon. The same grace, the same force. Except Artemis would never have held out her hand with that smile.
He stripped like a man intoxicated, clumsy, trembling. The icy water bit into him, tore the air from his chest. But Emma was already pulling him close, her arms wrapping him.
— "Come," she whispered.
They kissed in the water, softly at first, then deeper, fiercer. Their bodies brushed and sought each other, Emma's laughter ringing like a promise. When at last they stumbled out, drenched, they collapsed onto the grass.
The moon etched their outlines, and Victor's heart nearly burst. He saw only her. His trembling hand traced her hair, her waist, her lips.
— "You're… a wonder," he breathed, ragged.
She held his gaze, fingers caressing his cheek.
— "And you—you're beautiful, Victor. You doubt it far too much."
The words undid him. He kissed her harder, deeper. Their embrace turned to passion, their bodies joined, slow and fervent, like a first vow. Emma laughed sometimes, a clear, loving laugh that drove him higher. Victor burned, every movement a silent cry: I love you, I love you.
They made love long, with tenderness and fever entwined, until breathless, clinging with skin slick from water and sweat.
---
Afterwards, they lay naked in the grass. Victor's head rested on Emma's stomach, her fingers combing his hair absentmindedly. The sky enfolded them.
— "I wish it wouldn't end," Emma whispered.
Victor lifted his gaze.
— "Then it won't. So long as I live, you'll never have to doubt."
She smiled, moved, and kissed him again. They laughed, fumbling for their clothes in the dark, tripping through the grass.
— "Adam's going to mock us," Emma said, tugging at her laces.
— "Undoubtedly," Victor admitted.
---
They slipped back into camp at midnight. The fire had flared up again, Adam feeding it branches. He looked up at them, taking them in with a single glance, then smirked.
— "So. That spiritual walk of yours?"
Victor only shrugged, unable to hide his grin. Emma, flushed, dropped her gaze.
Rufus, clueless, burst out laughing anyway—because Adam was laughing too.
Victor slid an arm around Emma's waist. They shared a quiet, complicit glance. For the first time in a long time, they'd had a moment that was truly theirs. And amid the road of ashes, threats, and shadows, there was this light.
They had chosen each other.