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“I want to give her a chance to speak for herself. I want her to personally tell me that she doesn’t want me so that I don’t fool myself with empty hope.”
“It’s not that I don’t want you, I—”
I stopped at the sight of Aias's wide eyes and Ayen’s hanging jaw, both directed my way. I frowned, then paled, abruptly looking down to see my upper body out of the water.
39
I did it without thinking. Hearing the sincerity in Aias's voice and remembering his kindness were enough to force me out of hiding.
“I–I—”
“After everything I’ve done! Everything I’ve gone through!” Ayen yelled, stomping his feet on the ground before stopping with a huff when the ground rumbled in retaliation. He was constantly with his element, so there were some disadvantages. One of them being that he had to be careful with his emotions and how he allowed them out.
“I-I’m sorry! He was just so sincere and—”
Aias's laugh stopped us both, forced us both to face him. His laugh was a welcomed rush of cold wind on a scorching day, and maybe Ayen thought the same because his features softened.
“I look for you everywhere but find you hiding in your element,” Aias mused, seemingly to himself, a smile blooming on his lips as his warm gaze fell on me. “Clever.”
I bit the inside of my cheeks and lowered my gaze, lacing my fingers together behind me. “My deepest apologies for avoiding you.” I should’ve also apologised for avoiding his gaze. “I was incredibly startled, and I didn’t know how to reject you without hurting your feelings.”
“Was I the first to ever impress you?” Shock and doubt laced his voice.
I wrung my fingers behind me. “Uh… no… but you’re different.”
“Your apology’s accepted and forgotten, little lady.”
My gaze snapped up, and I stared at him, blinking a few times. It was so simple with Aias; apologise and be forgiven, forgotten as if you’d never wronged him. Blessed with such a blinding smile as if you were one of his closest friends.
“You’re staring with your heart,” Ayen muttered. “Close your mouth as well, it’s embarrassing.”
“I-I wasn’t!” I defended, sending him a sour look.
“You were, with no manners at all. If you want to stare at someone, do it quietly and use some subtlety as well.”
I rolled my eyes. “Were you showing manners when you were pushing him away?”
He scoffed and crossed his arms, glaring at me. “I was defending myself, not drooling over him.”
“Are you two mates?”
Whatever remark I’d prepared or whatever jab Ayen was anticipating vanished at Aias's question. My face warmed, and Ayen’s eyes widened comically. Aias looked between us, raising a brow.
“What makes you think that?!”
Ayen and I raised our voices at the same time, then we froze. Facing each other, we both pointed fingers at the other and yelled, “You!”
How dare he speak over me?
“Of course, what could have possibly given me that thought?”
“Aias, you’re not helping,” Ayen snapped, his glare on me broken. “Didn’t your friend tell you to go to your assigned home?”
The smirk returned to Aias's face. “You wish to join me?”
Ayen’s hand shot out in a blur before a tree was wrapping one of its arms around Aias. As if expecting the action, Aias had a hand out before the tree completely caged him, his fingers twisting in mesmerising motions to trap Ayen’s legs by thick vines crawling up from the ground.
“Untie me,” Ayen demanded, his eyes hard and his jaw set tight. I still could not accept that someone could trouble happy, carefree Ayen.
