The water continued its frantic hiss. Jets of steam began rushing upward from where Uberto had disappeared as bubbles erupted, until a circle within the water was fizzing and hissing frantically.
Mina watched the churning water, her thoughts twisting. Uberto had not tried to kill her. Onstage at the palace he had not taken the form of a bat to try to suffocate her. It had been someone else. And until now he had not known the pain of those whose golden threads were broken, even if he had known there were lasting consequences. He had seemed truly horrified.
Straining to see beneath the churning surface, Mina remembered how Uberto had welcomed her into the playing, and given her a role befitting her gifts. Despite her suspicions, part of her had always felt affection for him. When he became
