He stood and walked to the chamber’s window, looking out at the city lights spreading across the mountainside terraces. His hands were moving slightly, the controlled violence that usually characterized his stillness finding a different outlet in small, precise gestures.

"What I want," Kunther said, "is to make a mockery of him. Publicly. Before the Trial of Domain even begins, I want to damage his image with the city."

"How?" Valis asked.

Kunther turned back from the window.

"You will see."

*

The hot springs occupied a chamber built into the lower levels of Raaya Villa, a space that felt older than the villa itself. The room was a natural cavern enhanced by careful masonry over centuries—walls of pale stone veined with faint mineral deposits, the ceiling arched and supported by thick columns carved with subtle patterns of waves and roots.

Steam rose in thick, fragrant curls from the large central pool, the water heated by some deep, ancient source beneath the mountain. The minerals dissolved in it gave the steam a faint, clean taste when it touched the lips, and the constant temperature created a perpetual haze that softened the edges of everything inside the chamber.

Lanterns burned low along the walls, their golden light mixing with the steam to create a warm, dreamlike glow.

The air was thick and humid, carrying the scent of wet stone and something deeper, something earthy and restorative that seemed to seep into the skin after only a few minutes.

Maudlina was the first to enter the water. She had already shed her military-styled garments in the small antechamber, leaving them neatly folded on a stone bench.

Naked, she descended the carved steps with unhurried grace. Her body was voluptuous in the way of a woman who had lived and fought—full, heavy breasts that swayed softly with each step, their nipples already tightening from the contrast of cool air against warm water. Her waist curved inward before flaring into wide, generous hips, and her thighs were strong and thick, the kind that spoke of both power and softness.

The water rose over her calves, then her knees, then lapped at the soft curve of her belly as she sank deeper. When the hot water finally reached her shoulders, a long, unrestrained sound of pure satisfaction escaped her throat.

"This is what I needed," she said to no one in particular, her voice low and husky with relief. She leaned back against the smooth stone edge, letting the water cradle her.

Steam rose from the surface of her skin in delicate wisps, catching the lantern light and making her body appear to glow from within.

Droplets clung to the full curves of her breasts, sliding slowly down the slopes before disappearing back into the pool.

The minerals in the water left a faint, pearlescent sheen across her skin, turning every inch of her into something luminous and alive.

"Dungeons and revelations. All solved by hot water."

Ankerita followed more carefully.

She removed her own clothing with the same precise, efficient movements she used for everything else. Naked, her body was a study in elegant restraint—slim and trim, with long, graceful lines and subtle muscle definition earned from years of command and combat. Her breasts were small and high, her waist narrow, her hips gently curved rather than full.

There was a refined, almost aristocratic elegance to her form, the kind that made her movements look like a dance even when she was simply lowering herself into the pool. She tested the water with one foot first, then stepped in fully.

The steam rose around her slender frame, making her skin take on a soft, golden radiance where the light touched the fine sheen of moisture.

She settled near Maudlina but not too close, her posture still carrying a trace of the leader she had been only minutes earlier.

Maureen entered last.

The swordswoman’s caution showed even here—she scanned the chamber’s corners and exits with professional thoroughness before committing to the water.

Once satisfied, she stripped without ceremony. Her body was voluptuous in a different way from Maudlina’s—strong, powerful curves shaped by a lifetime of fighting. Her breasts were large and full, resting heavily against her chest as she moved, their weight evident even in the supportive cradle of the water. Her hips were wide and strong, her thighs thick and powerful, and her stomach carried the soft, womanly roundness of someone who had lived hard and survived it. The hot water rose over her body slowly, and when it finally covered her to the shoulders, steam lifted from the surface of her skin in visible tendrils, making her glow like something carved from warm marble.

She exhaled through her nose, the sound almost a growl of reluctant pleasure, and leaned back against the pool’s edge.

Elise was already there when the others arrived.

She had come ahead, as she often did, knowing the villa’s rhythms better than anyone.

She sat submerged to her chest on the far side of the pool, her own voluptuous body half-hidden by the steam and the gentle ripples of the water. Her breasts were large and soft, resting just at the waterline so that the tops of them gleamed wetly in the lantern light. Her body was full-figured and inviting, the kind of mature softness that spoke of comfort and experience.

The water made her skin luminous, turning every curve into something that seemed to catch and hold the light. Steam rose continuously from her shoulders and the upper slopes of her breasts, creating a soft, glowing halo around her.

They soaked in silence for a while.

There was no need for conversation.

In the water, they simply existed, bodies relaxing, muscles unwinding, the heat drawing out the lingering aches of battle and the deeper weariness of what they had learned about the world and about Jake.

Maudlina broke the silence eventually, because silence never held her for very long.

"That general," she said.

"The one in the fortress memories. He was content at the end, wasn’t he?"