“And steal boy clothes,” he cut in.
“Yes, I do that too.” Her eyes glimmered as she continued. “I really love food. Like really love it. I would lick my plate clean at every meal if it was acceptable.”
“What else?” he asked, treading water.
“Ummm.” Her head tilted back and forth as she thought. “I speak before thinking. My mom hates it. In fact, she hates a lot of the things I do. I think I embarrass her.” She shrugged her shoulders as if admitting guilt. “I don’t do anything with weapons even though my father tried tirelessly to teach me skills. I’m not the type of girl who is going to save somebody or save the day.”
“Do you find yourself in a lot of situations where you need to save the day?” he asked.
She smiled. “Not really, but you never know.”
“I see.”
“What do I need to know about you, just Trev?” she asked.
His answers came easily. “I love the color blue because of my blue eyes. I hate carrots. My best friend is named Drake. He lets me win whenever we fight, and it drives me crazy. For once, I want it to be real. I like being a leader in the army. It’s what I’m good at. At least I hope I’m good at it.”
“Are you one of King Carver’s soldiers?”
“Yes.” He hesitated. “I’m an officer in the king’s guard.”
“The king must really trust you,” Renna said, kicking her feet against the water below.
Trev laughed at this. “Actually, the king doesn’t trust me at all.”
“How are you an officer in the king’s guard if he doesn’t trust you?”
“The prince trusts me explicitly.” Trev grinned like he found something humorous about their conversation.
“What’s so funny?” she asked, eyeing him.
“Nothing.” Then he dove under the water and out of sight.
Renna let out a squeal as his hands tugged at her calves, nearly pulling her under the surface.
He came up for air, water droplets rolling down his forehead and eyes. “Did you think I was a shark?” he asked sarcastically.
“You are worse than a shark. You’re like a little boy in a man’s body.”
He splashed her with water, confirming what she had just said.
Renna dipped her chin into the water, scooping up a mouthful of the cold liquid. As her head came up, she spat it into Trev’s face. He immediately turned his head and squeezed his eyes shut, dodging the spray.
“Thank you for that,” he said dryly, turning to face her again.
“You’re welcome.”
Trev suddenly sprang into motion, sending a froth of water into her face as he spun and swam away. “Race you back to the dock!”
Renna barked one surprised laugh, then dove after him. With his generous head start, Trev beat her handily and reached the dock before her, climbing up the ladder to sit on the edge. She followed suit and sat beside him, their feet dangling over the side like they had yesterday. She pulled his wet shirt away from her chest, hoping to retain some shred of modesty, and tugged the hem, so it covered her thighs. But there was nothing she could do about his bare chest.
It was just bare and so very . . . there.
“Okay,” he said, pushing his wet hair back from his face. It was amazing how his curls dangled perfectly, even when wet. “Ask me any question.”
“All right.” She thought for a moment, wanting to challenge him. “What’s your biggest fear?”
His expression changed, and she wondered if he thought her question was dumb. Then, he responded simply. “Disappointing everyone.”
Renna was taken aback. She hadn’t expected such an honest answer. She thought he’d say something silly, like spiders or vampires. “What do you mean?”
“There’s this job that my father wants me to have—actually, a lot of people want me to have it—and I guess my biggest fear is that I’ll fail them all. I might be terrible and mess everything up.”
“It sounds like a pretty important job.”
“It is,” he said, his voice weighted with worry.
“Do you even want this job, or are you just doing it to please everyone else?”
Trev hesitated like he was really thinking about her question. “I want it. I’ve wanted it ever since I was a little boy, and I think I could make a difference. It’s just a lot of pressure.”
Despite feeling a little jealousy, Renna admired him. It was clear he had a plan for his life. Her own life was in constant limbo. She spent her days escorting Seran to events, attending social lunches or political meetings, and entertaining wealthy women at the Government Center with her mother. But things were already changing. Soon, Seran would be gone, married to the prince of Albion, and her mother would expect Renna to marry some prestigious man so that she could have a prestigious life as if that mattered to Renna. Her life was not her own. Everyone just told her who to be and how to act.
Trev spoke again, scattering her thoughts. “What about you? What’s your biggest fear?”
Renna bit her bottom lip. “Ending up like my mom.”
“Is your mother so bad?” He raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“No. She’s a good person, but she has a hard time with life.” Renna tried to find the right words. Her mother had been depressed for years, well before her father had died. Since marrying King Bryant and moving to the Government Center, she seemed happier, so Renna wouldn’t describe her as depressed anymore. “She spins everything negatively, and that leads to a lot of worry in her life. She always worries about what other people think about her. About us. I don’t want to be like that.”
“I don’t think you’re like that,” Trev said, his blue eyes sincere.
She rolled her eyes. “You don’t even know me.”
“I’ve seen enough of you to know that you radiate happiness. It’s one of the things that makes you so attractive.”
“You think I’m attractive?” She raised a questioning brow.
“What?” His face colored. “No, I just meant that . . .” He scrunched his nose as he bumped his shoulder into hers. “You’re all right, I guess.”
She thought the same thing about him, but she didn’t dare say it out loud. Since her father’s death, Renna had watched her life become an endless procession of people she didn’t care about and appointments that didn’t matter. She was stuck in a gray, dull life, despite all the colors surrounding her. But Trev had opened her eyes again. Nothing seemed muted anymore. Everything was bright and colorful, just the way it should be.
A summer breeze floated around them, and Renna’s entire body shivered.
“We better get you dressed.” Trev hopped to his feet, offering his hand to help pull her up. Her fingers touched his and her body shivered with chills. But this time, they didn’t have anything to do with the breeze.
Trev
Trev didn’t think that Renna could have gotten any more interesting than the girl he’d met yesterday, but as he fastened the belt to his pants, he realized how wrong he was. Today she was adorable. At first, she’d been a nervous, self-conscious wreck. It was a completely new side of her, and he’d liked watching her squirm. Then in the pond, he found himself liking the realness of their conversation and the honest way they were able to talk to each other. She was fun and witty, bringing out the best in him.