Page 51 of Whispers of the Water

“An unstoppable duo,” I agreed. I reached into the beach bag to pull out my sketchbook and pencil, eager to draw the scene before me. The sand, the rolling waves, the smiling faces of my family. Nothing could be more perfect.

“Here comes another unstoppable duo.”

I followed Akira’s attention a little way down the beach. Carlos raced across the sand toward Bassel, who met him halfway. Bassel caught the lean boy in his strong arms and twirled him in the air before claiming Carols’ mouth with his own. It seemed the two were doing great now, and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever seen Bassel smile that brightly.

“I’m happy they made up,” I said, matching the reunited couple’s warm expressions.

I turned back to Akira, and my grin faltered. Akira stared at the two, but he had a far-off, wistful look, as though he wasn’t really seeing them. As seconds ticked by, his smile grew fainter, and pain began to creep its way into the corners of his eyes. Just as I’d never seen Bassel smile so fully, never had I seen Akira look so … lost. He always wore a smile and looked at the bright side. To see him so distraught made my heart twist with concern.

“Hey,” I said, leaning toward him, my art forgotten. “Are you okay?”

He took a deep breath before turning his brown eyes on me. A smile was plastered back on, but now I saw it for what it was.

A mask.

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t,” I said firmly. “Don’t pretend around me. You can talk to me. About anything.”

He held my unwavering stare, and I knew what he’d find as he searched my gaze. A promise. My words were a promise that I’d always be there for him, good or bad, just as I would any of our friends. They were my family now, and each of them occupied a place within my heart. If they hurt, I hurt. If they were happy, I was happy. If they needed to talk, I’d be there to listen. Always.

Which made my secret hanging between us even more gut-wrenching.

Finally, he ducked his head. “I was remembering things of old. Things that shouldn’t matter anymore.”

Going out on a limb, I asked, “Is it about the guy? The Water Fae you told me about before?”

The night I’d first been attacked by Jonah, I’d discovered the truth about who Dax and Dallas were. At the time, I’d heard nothing but bad things about Water Fae, so when I realized that Dallas, one of the most important people in my life, was Water Fae, it felt like my world had imploded on itself. Akira had opened up to me briefly about his views on that kind of Fae, and in doing so, he’d mentioned that someone incredibly special to him was Water Fae. I hadn’t pried then as it wasn’t a good time, but I’d always thought the person he’d referenced must have been his lover.

Akira gave a silent, humorless chuckle and faced the sea. “Jesiah. Yeah. Jesiah is the Water Fae I told you about before. He’s who I was thinking about, even though I shouldn’t be.”

“Why shouldn’t you? You’ve made it clear that you being Land Fae and him being Water Fae mean nothing to you.”

“It doesn’t. At least, not anymore.” Akira gave me a half-hearted smile. “Jesiah and I were together for decades. He was—” he paused, searching the waves for words. Finally, he looked up at the clouds and smiled. “He was my sky. My wind. What made me soar. Water Fae and Land Fae were on good terms back when we found each other, so it wasn’t an issue for us to be together. But when talk of war began and our kinds started feuding, we’d started disagreeing. He was advisor to the King and Queen. He sided with his people, and out of anger, I sided with mine. When war broke out, we parted ways. Stupidly.”

I swallowed hard. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what that felt like—to have other people’s issues keep you from being with the person you loved most. I glanced over to where Rune was now on his knees, head thrown back in a laugh as he buried Newt in the sand.

Well, maybe I did know what that felt like, in my own way.

Looking at Akira again, I asked, “So what happened then? Did you reach out to him once you realized that letting the war keep you apart was stupid?”

He closed his eyes and hung his head. “I haven’t been able to find him. I—” His voice caught, and he had to swallow down the emotion before he finished, “I don’t even know if he’s still alive.”

“Do you have any evidence to suggest that he isn’t?”

“No more than I do to suggest he still is.”

“Then don’t think that way. You have to hope. Hope that he’s still out there somewhere, missing you just as much as you miss him.”

Akira met my eyes. After a few moments, he nodded. “You’re right. I shouldn’t think so negatively. I guess it got so much harder to picture where he was over time that I eventually assumed the worst. I was in a really dark place back then. I lost sight of who I was, what I wanted, and I even forgot what it felt like to laugh.”

My eyes widened, and it took me a moment to recover from my shock. “You?”

Akira chuckled and nodded. “Crazy, right? It’s true, though. I was so broken and alone. I never smiled anymore. Didn’t like to talk or be around people.” His attention suddenly turned to Rune across the sand, and the corners of his mouth lifted as warmth flooded his eyes. “Not until I met Rune.”

Pulling my knees close, I waited with eager ears. “How did you guys meet? What happened?”

Akira tilted his head as he watched Rune decorate his little brother’s buried torso with sea shells. “I came to the human realm in search of Jesiah. When I couldn’t find him, despite years of searching, I fell into a downward spiral. One day, I went out to drown myself in alcohol, as one does. While I was sulking alone at the bar, Rune walked in. It wasn’t long before a woman came up and slapped him right across the cheek. He didn’t even look fazed as she left, almost like that was a normal, daily occurrence. He sat down next to me and said, ‘You look like you’ve seen better days.’ I’d obviously just watched him get smacked, so I told him so had he. And you know what he said?”

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