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Ithadto be a warning.
It was that understanding that made me leave my home, when it was later than midnight, bringing only my two companions along.
I couldn’t risk going into my brother’s room to have one last look at him before I left. If he didn’t wake up, his companion would.
As much as it stung me and brought tears to my eyes, I had to let them go.
Walking on the ground along the river was my safest option if I wanted to leave undetected. Walking in the water would have been better, but that would have left my companions to fly on their own and risk being seen.
I’d taken a few more steps away from where most of the homes were before I was shoved into the river, my startled scream turning to air as I fell. I tried to push myself to the surface, but a hand gripped my head and pinned me down with alarming strength.
“Ah, Aias. You’re still awake?”
I froze, then slowly looked up, careful to not cause too much movement around me as I was still in my physical form. Too late did I realise that Ayen was holding me down.
Hidingme.
I sank deeper, carefully brushing my hand against Ayen’s wrist in silent thanks.
“What are you doing?” Aias asked, amused.
Ayen made a sound of surprise, then he laughed. “Right. I think I was playing a little too rough with Yen because he bit me. Either that or I annoyed him with my antics.”
“Your companion bit you?”
Below the surface, I could see and hear them clearly. However, Ayen constantly shaking the water with his other hand—the one notstillholding me down—made the view unclear.
“Like I said, I probably annoyed him. Why are you still awake?”
“Sleep isn’t my friend at the moment,” Aias answered, his voice quiet. “If I close my eyes, a certain blue-haired lady Elf visits me in my dreams.”
Ayen was silent for a moment, his hand on my head sending me even lower into the water. “Isn’t that… a good thing?”
Aias sighed. “It can’t be helped that you don’t understand. You’re still so naive.”
Ayen sputtered. I brought my palms up and covered my mouth to silence my laugh.
“How is that naive?! Wouldn’t you want your female to visit you in your dreams?”
Aias glared lightly and moved to smack Ayen on the back of his head. “Insolent brat. Who taught you such things?”
“I’m not wrong, am I?” Ayen challenged.
“You’re definitely wrong. What is the meaning of your female visiting you in your dreams but not in reality?”
“Sounds the same,” Ayen mumbled, finally letting go of my head when he realised I wouldn’t move. He resumed shaking his hands, pretending to wash them.
“As I said, still a brat.” Aias shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, messing the brown perfection.
Ayen didn’t respond to the teasing remark. They seemed close, perhaps closer than Ayen and my brother were, which surprised me. Maybe because they were from the same element.
Silence stretched between the two, accentuating the swooshing of water and the gentle rustling of leaves. To me, the silence seemed comfortable, but one sneaky look at Ayen’s face said otherwise.
“Aias,” he called, glancing down at me with an expression I couldn’t name. He was still disturbing the river, but it seemed he was now doing it to prevent me from seeing his face. “I’ve known Kenia from when we were both little idiots. She’s still an idiot. Hasn’t grown much.”
I glared up at him.
“That’s why, she’s bound to do something stupid eventually.” He glanced away from the water, but I caught the sudden change in his tone and his face, how his expression had melted into something vulnerable. “I hope you forgive her actions.”
