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“You haven’t told Neva about any of that?”
“I haven’t told anyone.”
Guilt stings. “Why me?”
He holds my gaze for a moment. “You’re different from everyone else.”
I frown. “I’m just as displaced as you are. I miss my old life.”
“True, we have that in common.”
“Plus, I’ve also experienced loss.”
“You have?” His eyes soften.
I squeeze his hand without meaning to. “I never talk about it. I try not to think about it, even. I think I picked that up from my parents.”
“Who’d you lose?”
“My sister.” My voice cracks and tears threaten. It’s hard to breathe. This is why I don’t like thinking about her death.
“What happened?”
“It’s really complicated.”
“You don’t have to tell me.”
Silence rests between us, the only sounds being of the fish swimming by the flowers. “I’m sorry you lost your parents. I can’t imagine how hard that was, especially being young.”
“I’m sure it’s not easy at any age.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” I ask, glad to stop thinking about my sister.
He shakes his head. “That made everything all the harder. I always thought it’d have been easier if I’d had someone to go through it all with. Instead, I was left to deal with it all on my own.”
“It probably felt like nobody wanted you. I’m sorry.”
“Hades, yeah, it felt that way. Because nobody did.”
I squeeze his hand again. “I’m sure your parents did. They couldn’t have wanted to die and leave you. If I have kids, I want to be there for them until their kids have kids.”
Bash’s mouth curves up slightly. “I guess.”
I take a deep breath. “I’m probably not going to the surface, after all.”
He gives me a double-take. “Why not?”
“My parents have some issues, and I can’t just up and disappear when they’re dealing with those.”
“Even though they yanked you from your life and friends?”
“They’re still my parents. The only family I have left. I can’t abandon them.”
He nods. “How long are you staying?”
I shrug. “It might be interesting to stick around and see what I can do. There weren’t any enchantments up there—at least that I knew about. But down here, magic is the basis for everything. We couldn’t even see without it under water.”
He scratches his chin. “If there isn't magic, how do people see?”
