Ride the Wave

24

As night fell across the quiet town, I wandered through the small harbor, eyeing the various boats docked there. I spotted Reven sitting on the end of the pier, his legs hanging over the water, the breeze teasing at his black hair. He was so handsome it took my breath away, even after all this time, and I couldn’t help but be drawn to him.

He didn't look up as I sat beside him. We sat in silence for a few minutes, simply enjoying the sound of the waves, the feel of the wind, and the way the stars appeared as night crept over the ocean.

His voice finally broke the silence. “The Water Realm brings back old memories.”

“Good or bad?” I asked.

“Both.”

I nodded, understanding what he meant. “This village reminds me of the place where I grew up. A tiny fishing village like this one. Until Sark came and destroyed it all.” I turned toward him, watching the profile of his face. “Where did you grow up in the Water Realm? A town like this?”

He shrugged. “All over.”

“You moved around a lot?”

He fell silent, and I worried he wouldn't answer. Reven hated talking about his past. I knew almost nothing about it, and every time I’d tried to ask him, he’d ended the conversation and made it clear he wouldn’t say anything more. When he did give me some tidbit about his past, I hoarded it like treasure and pored over it for days. He’d gotten his twin swords from his father. He knew how to sail a boat. His parents were members of the Resistance and had been killed by Sark. But the rest? It was still a mystery.

“I grew up on a ship,” Reven said, surprising me.

“Were you a pirate like Doran?” I asked. It would explain the swords and how his father had trained him to use them so expertly.

An amused smirk made Reven even more gorgeous. “No. I was in a traveling carnival, actually.”

I blinked at him. Of all the things I'd expected to learn about Reven's past, that was not one of them. “You what?”

“My family’s ship was part of a performing troupe that sailed from one island to another, putting on a show in each one.”

I had a hard time imagining Reven growing up in such a life. “What kind of performers?”

He shrugged. “Jugglers, acrobats, magicians, animal tamers... We had it all.”

“Your family did all that?”

“My parents were known as the Twirling Blades, and they had an act where they danced with their swords, threw knives, and performed other stunts that few could believe.” He ran a hand over one of his swords at the memory. “They raised me to be one of them. I never knew any other life. Until Sark took it all away.”

“I thought your family was killed because they were in the Resistance.”

“They were. Our role as traveling performers made it easy for us to carry messages and to transport or hide people. The carnival was the perfect front for what they were truly doing. I had no idea at the time.” His face turned grim. “One day I got into a fight with my parents over something stupid and ran off. I left the boat and went into the city to try to get into trouble. When I got back, all our ships were destroyed. Every single one of them. My parents. My sister. My aunts, uncles, cousins... In one blow, Sark had taken everything I had ever known.”

I took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “I'm so sorry.”

He kept going, as if he hadn’t heard me. “I didn't know what to do. I blamed myself. I told myself if I’d stayed behind, I could have stopped him, or helped some of them escape, or something.”

“How old were you?”

“Ten.”

“Oh, Reven. There was nothing you could have done. If you were there, Sark would have killed you too.”

His hand tightened around mine. “Yes, I know. But the guilt of surviving is hard to get rid of, even if logic tells me there was nothing I could do to save them.”

“I understand. I have the same guilt.” I leaned my head against his shoulder. “What did you do after that?”

“I fled back into the city, but I knew no one there and had nothing but the clothes on my back and my father’s swords, which I’d managed to save from the wreckage. I ended up living on the streets, trying to use my skills to make money, but no one wanted to pay a kid to play with swords. I became a thief in order to survive.” He tilted his head back and stared up at the stars. “Turns out those same skills that made my family a good group of performers also made me a good criminal.”

“Is that when you become an assassin?”

“No.” He scowled and pushed himself to his feet. I could tell by the shuttered look on his face that he was done talking, and probably regretted revealing so much to me. “I think that’s enough reminiscing for one night. We have another long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

He began to turn away, but I was tired of him always pushing me away. We would be at the Water Temple soon. Something had to change.

I jumped up and caught his arm. “It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about your past. I know it can be painful. But don’t shut me out, please. In a few days we’ll be pledging our lives to each other and I have to know that you’re serious about this.”