Agnes took a sip of wine—it was strong and rich with a fruity aftertaste. She found she quite liked it.

“Ah! There is the smile I was hoping for,” Vada said. “Tonight, we drink, we laugh, we enjoy ourselves. At dawn, we leave for Culinnon.” She shook her head. “Never in my life did I think I would be setting my sails in the direction of that island.”

By the time they finished the carafe, Agnes was feeling much better. Her shoulders were relaxed, her pulse not so rapid, a hazy calm settling over her.

“What is that look?” Vada asked slyly, and Agnes realized a dreamy expression had spread across her face.

“I’m going to be a scientist,” she said.

Vada’s smile was like a flash of sunlight on still water. “Yes,” she said, leaning in close. “You are.” She ran her fingers through a lock of Agnes’s hair and Agnes shuddered with want, the muscles in her thighs tightening. “I am liking this mane. You are a lion on the outside as well as the inside now.”

When Agnes spoke her voice was rough as sandpaper. “Thank you,” she said, “for sticking with me.”

Vada’s feline eyes held Agnes’s with an intensity they never had before. They were so close, Agnes could count every freckle on the bridge of her nose, see each individual eyelash. She felt her breath stop in her chest. Very slowly, as if not wanting to frighten her, Vada took Agnes’s face in her hands, her fingers calloused and sure. Agnes stayed as still as she could as Vada leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.

Agnes had never dreamed she would be kissed by a sailor in a smoky bar in Ithilia. She never dreamed she would really be kissed at all. Vada leaned in again and this time their kiss deepened; she melted into the feel of Vada’s mouth on hers, the taste of plum and salt on her tongue. Without stopping to think if she should, she wound one arm around Vada’s waist, her other hand sinking into the girl’s thick auburn hair. By the time they broke apart, she was breathless.

“We are needing more wine, I think,” Vada said with a grin. Agnes barely managed a nod. Vada laughed and kissed her again, then got up to head to the bar. Agnes sat back, her head swimming. She had been kissed. She touched her lips gently, feeling dizzy, and bemused, and so very happy.

Vada returned and refilled their glasses. She laughed when she saw Agnes’s expression. “You are looking at me like I am some kind of treat.”

“You are to me,” Agnes said. Vada’s expression softened and she pulled Agnes toward her for another kiss.