Page 17

Archer

“Oh my god, look at all the fish!” Mia says ecstatically. “You can just see them…”

I look over the side of the boat that Midas has rented. The midday sun is intense and it reflects off the calm, glass-like surface like shards of a mirror. Through the insanely clear water that reminds me of a pale jade, you can see directly to the bottom, even though the depth finder is showing a reading of ten meters. And sure as shit, there are schools of fish swimming amongst the jagged sea floor.

My eyes don’t linger long on them. I find myself watching Mia as she studies the saturated Mediterranean scenery. I’ve joined her at the bow where a soft spray kisses our skin whenever Midas steers us over the wakes from nearby jet skiers. It’s a refreshing reprieve; it’s nowhere near as hot as it can be mid-summer, but the fact that we’re less than four hundred miles from Africa is a reminder that the climate here is constantly warm.

Mia’s tied her hair back, but pieces of it around her face fall out as we cruise out of Limassol Bay. The sun glints off a delicate gold chain that hugs the base of her throat, and the dip in the middle evokes memories of just how much I like licking her there. And the shallow areas just above her collar bone. And the column of her throat.

“Woah,” I say out of concern as she leans a little too far over the deck railing. I snake my arm around her middle, pulling her back against me. “First time on a boat, I take it?” There’s no judgement in my voice, but rather an amusement due to her giddiness.

“Unless you count a moored yacht in Chelsea Piers Marina…?”

“How’s your stomach? Think you’ll get sick?” I ask. Virgin mariners usually can’t gauge their reaction to the sea until they’re on it.

She turns to face me, lowering her glasses. In this setting, her eyes are a perfect match to the brilliance of the water behind her. “No, but if I do, it’ll give Blaze something to do, won’t it?” She laughs at her joke, but she’s not wrong.

“I’d tell you to keep your eyes on the horizon, but it doesn’t work for everyone.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she says, leaning back against me further.

Midas calls to us, slowing the boat to be better heard. “You’re the boss, Mia. Where are we going?”

We’re a click out from the marina at this point. The coastline is littered with tour boats, snorkelers, and cliff divers. She makes her way toward him, gripping the railing as she goes. Doing a three-sixty, Mia gathers her bearings.

Shielding her eyes with a raised hand, she says, “This is what the English saw when they were shipwrecked. Could’ve been worse, right?” She says it almost absentmindedly, and I can tell the wheels are turning by the way she’s grown quiet immediately after voicing her thought. It’s a moment before she says anything else. “You know,” she says, pointing at the shore that has morphed from Instagram-worthy beaches into spectacularly craggy cliffs with recesses scattered throughout, “it wasn’t uncommon for pirates to frequent the caves here, so it wouldn’t be out of line to assume the knights could’ve done the same.”

“Makes sense to me,” I say.

“But maybe we go up the coast a little ways, out of sight from so many tourists?” Mia suggests, reading my mind.

Midas hits the throttle, steering us just east of Limassol. When we’ve got enough space between us and everyone else, Midas idles. “It’s too rocky to get any closer,” he says, glancing at the water, then the instruments in front of him. “I could anchor further out, but I’d rather stay with the boat.”

Keeping a man with our mode of escape crossed my mind as well.

Phantom, Legion and Blaze stand from the small settee at the stern. They shed their shirts in a timely manner. Boots, pistols, and other tools on their persons are placed on the seat. I do the same until I’m in nothing but my shorts.

I look over at Blaze who is a multicolored crayon amongst a box of black ones. “Couldn’t have opted for the neutral trunks like us?” I ask him.

He looks down at the pair of shorts that are not only offensive in their pattern that resembles blocky 80’s shapes—and in neon, no less—but they’re also too short.

“It’s called a European cut,” he says defensively, sticking a leg out. He flexes his quad then pulls the fabric away from his thigh just enough to snap it for effect. “What? You don’t think this screams James Bond?”

Legion about chokes on the water he’s sipping. “Uh, that’s a definite negative. It screams ‘more suit is needed to cover my junk.’ Jesus, I can even see your snake bite from here,” he says cynically. Blaze pirouettes his toe out, trying to see if his brother’s accusation is correct. “This isn’t the eighties and you’re not Tom Selleck. None of us need to be subjected to one of your nuts popping out at any given moment.” There’s a visible shudder as Legion turns around.

“Just because that little boutique carried shorts that are that short ,” Midas says over his shoulder, “doesn’t mean it was a great fashion choice.” When he was securing the boat rental, there was a swim shop connected to the rental office. We each chose black board shorts, Mia purchased a practical looking one-piece (which I was dying to see her in), and that left Blaze to get his suit that is more on par with bikini bottoms. He looks fucking stupid. But the never-ending jokes will be worth it.

The shop also boasted a few essentials, so we grabbed diving knives and flashlights. And as awkward as it may prove to be, I’m not going anywhere without my Glock. I’m not thrilled with the idea of swimming in saltwater with it, but it’s not the first time it’s been in water. And the damn thing is made to fire true after it’s been submerged, and it hasn’t failed me yet.

“Oh,” Mia squeaks. “Ar-are we swimming ? I thought we just wanted to blend in with our attire…”

Phantom nods his head toward an opening in the cliff where water is lapping against rock. “No other way. Look at the head clearance, it’s high tide.”

Mia does a fantastic job of feigning to adjust her necklace, but I see the way her throat bobs in an obvious swallow. I don’t feel the expected punch in the gut from her apparent fear, but the sting of it is real.

She looks down at her skinny cargo pants and tank. On a heavy sigh, she removes her clothes. I see the way each of the guys steals a glance at her stripped down, their gazes darting to anywhere but her body when they notice me fuming like a dragon.

I openly look at her, and could stare at her toned legs all damn day, but when the boat rocks and there’s an audible splash, there’s no excuse.

As the other two enter the water, I ask Mia if she can swim.

“Yes, I’m just claustrophobic is all…”

Whether she always has been or it’s a newfound trepidation because of the crypt, I don’t know. What I do know is that I won’t be leaving her side.

“Jump together?” I ask, taking her hand.

Relief is in her eyes and it makes my heart swell.

The water is as warm as a bath and I feel the cooling contrast in all the areas of my body that are overheated. I shake the water from my hair, wiping the sting of the salt from my eyes. Mia emerges like a mermaid, her hair slicked back against her head. Droplets hang on her lashes and the tip of her nose, and the way the water buoys her in its gentle ebb and flow makes me want to take her in my arms. Pull her against me and wrap her legs around my waist. Feel the press of her breasts against my bare chest.

“Yo, you two coming?” Blaze says, whistling to get our attention.

“Yes, doctor!” Mia smiles at me, then side by side, we follow.

The swim isn’t long. Rocky shelves protrude from the cave’s entrances, submerged in shallow water. It barely comes to our knees when we reach it, standing.

“Which one do we go in?” I ask. There are a handful of openings in front of us, perhaps leading to the same cavernous spaces.

“We split up,” Legion says. “You and Mia take the first, and we’ll cover the rest.”

Mia, who is hugging her middle, agrees. Back in the water, I go through first. “You’ll just have to go under for a few feet, and then you’re through,” I tell her. “I’ll be right here.”

To her credit, she passes through the opening that has less than six inches between itself and the sea. Around us, the space resembles more of a grotto. The ceiling appears to be weeping, as if the rocks were flash frozen as they dripped in a downward direction. The paleness of the limestone helps keep the area light enough to see. The walls are uneven, though smoothed from the millennia of repetitive water erosion. The back of the cave grows smaller and the ceiling disappears into darkness.

“Are we looking for a treasure chest?” I ask, feeling childish, but not seeing what else could be plausible.

“I’m not sure. Maybe there’s a recess somewhere where it could be stashed.” Mia is walking around, the water lapping at her shins. “I mean, it could be anywhere.” She blows out a deep breath.

Together we search the walls, the roughness underhand crumbling from time to time. The air in here is cooler, albeit quite still. There’s very little air movement from the mouth of the cave, but I can still smell the jasmine that seems to be imprinted on Mia’s skin.

“I don’t see anything that would indicate a hidden treasure,” she says finally. “Let’s check in with the guys and then continue on.”

Before we can get back in the water, Legion pops his head up through the opening, looking much like a frog with how he’s treading water. “We got jack shit,” he says, spitting a stream of water out of his mouth.

Mia’s mouth forms a tight line. “Well, let’s keep looking.”

Legion disappears like some sort of hybrid aquatic animal and we don’t see him or the others until we emerge under the cliffs once more. We separate again, slowly moving our way east down the coast. The caves are all alike: wet, only accessible by swimming, and empty .

Midas pulls ahead of us, allowing the boat to drift down to us every so often. We’ve been at this for several hours, and though she hasn’t said anything, I know Mia is getting tired. The guys and I could go for another half a day if we had to, but when we come upon the largest cave so far, we decide to go in all together.

Blaze whistles loudly, once he’s made it inside. It echoes around us like surround sound. “Ha. Never gets old,” he says to anyone that will acknowledge him.

Once Mia and I have made it to solid ground, she sits on the edge of an uneven outcropping, taking a much-needed breath. I come to stand beside her, asking, “You alright?”

She offers me a false smile. “I’m good,” she says catatonically. I can see the hopelessness in her blank stare and the exhaustion in her arms as they tremble, braced on her knees.

I squeeze her shoulder, rubbing my thumb across the bare skin. Goosebumps break out down her arms and legs. I pull her up until she’s in front of me, wrapping my arms around her. She buries her face against my chest while I run my hand in soothing lines up and down her back.

I’m thankful for this cave’s sizeable footprint. I do my best to shield Mia from the guys if she breaks down. Her breath hitches and a small hiccup escapes.

“Hey,” I say quietly. “We’ll find it, okay?”

She looks up at me, dampness in her eyes. “How can you be so sure?”

I kiss the tip of her nose. “Because you’re brilliant.” Then I kiss her forehead. “And you’re the smartest person I know.” I place a chaste kiss on her lips. “And I’m never wrong.”

She laughs wearily, but there’s a tinge of belief in her eyes. “Well, if you’re never wrong, then what else is there?”

“Nothing,” says Phantom. He and the guys have wandered over and Phantom’s jaw has a barely perceptible tic. They haven’t found anything.

Mia steps out of my embrace and faces the team. “What if we’re not looking in the right place? I bet these caves have been combed for treasure for centuries,” she says reproachfully.

“Maybe,” Legion says, crossing his arms, “but that doesn’t mean that everything has been found.”

He has a point, but it does little to placate Mia.

Blaze takes a seat where Mia had earlier. And it crumbles under his weight. “Jesus,” he yelps, trying to grab something as he falls. “Anyone gonna help me—”

But he’s cut off as we all rush to the outcropping and spot what Blaze can’t see from his position. Behind the chunk of broken rock is a naturally formed narrow cavity, no wider than six inches. Whatever is resting just inside it, catches the light, shining .

“What is that ?” Mia asks, bending down to get a better look. She reaches forward to extract the object, Blaze having joined her at the ground.

As Mia begins to pull it out, Phantom mutters, “I love how no one is concerned with booby traps…”

Not taking my eyes off Mia, I say, “This isn’t The Goonies and you’re not Data. Chill.”

There’s a scraping of metal against stone as Mia finally removes the object. It’s long and made of iron, sturdily built.

“A sword?”

“In the stone, to boot!” Blaze says, laughing.

“Enough with the movie references,” Legion says sternly. “Jesus Christ…”

Mia hasn’t spoken a word. She holds the sword in front of her, getting a better look at it. Her fingers run over the handle where the top is decorated with a humble engraving in its circular pommel.

Her voice is an almost whisper when she says, “It’s the Templar cross.”