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It evoked a soft laugh from him. “Ironic for someone who passes out at the sight of blood.”
She sent him a dull look.
Though he did not know the extent of how right he was to poke fun at her. In all of Naia’s years, no other deity had hemophobia—or any phobia, much less.
“Well…” She hoisted up onto her feet and held her hand out for him. “Come on. Let us make today a memory that adds to the joy you used to feel with your parents.”
The last thing he needed was to replace all those fond memories with one of sorrow, grieving for his father.
Grief would devour a person if they allowed it, and for some reason, Naia did not want to see such tragedy happen to Ronin.
He took her hand, and she helped him to his feet.
The bright red lanterns strung over the pathway flickered on, casting a colorful glow across the festival.
Naia happily licked away at the ice cream cone Ronin bought for her—chocolate-chip flavor mixed in a creamy swirl of vanilla.
They passed the goldfish stall Yuki had told her about. Children huddled around a glass tank, gripping small nets, and striking the water in excitement.
Naia peeked over at Ronin beside her, secretly admiring the hue from the lights glowing across the side of his profile as he tossed back pine nuts. His jaw muscles flexed as he chewed. Pieces of dark hair brushed over the light skin of his temples.
Ronin glanced at her and smirked. “Like what you see?”
His arrogance made her lack of consideration easily obtainable. “I was hoping if I manifested you choking on one of those nuts long enough, it would come to pass.”
He chuckled, leading them to a bench beneath a canopy of palms.
Clearly, based on his choice of pine nuts out of the more tempting choices around them, he had exceptional self-control, or terrible taste when it came to food.
“Tired already?” Naia sat beside him. “Or do you hate the lantern lighting ceremony as well?”
With everyone gathering at the port in preparation to light their lanterns and send them across the sea, the festival grounds were quieter, with less traffic.
Ronin extended his arms on the back of the bench and looked over at her. “Do you want to see it?”
“Is that where Akane and Yuki are?” Naia continued to eat her ice cream before it melted down her hand, giving him a sidelong glance. His eyebrows drooped and his eyes were slightly glazed. Was he tired?
“Yeah.” He put the bag of pine nuts to his lips and dipped back his head.
“And you don’t want to go?”
Swallowing, he stuffed the bag in his pocket and shook his head. “Not really, but we can if you want to.”
“I don’t.” It wasn’t a lie. She’d seen those lanterns drift across the sea sky of Kaimana for well over eight centuries.
“This is the first time I’ve been to the festival in a while. Since I moved away from the island,” he said.
The cone of the ice cream crunched in between Naia’s teeth as she asked, “Which was?”
“When I turned eighteen. So, about ten years ago.”
Twenty-eight was an unseasoned age compared to her centuries. A mortal’s lifespan was as evanescent as a mayfly’s.
Finishing the last bite of her ice cream cone, she rubbed the stickiness caking over her thumb. “Did you enjoy the festival when you were younger?”
“My family only took part in it for the island traditions.” He rolled his neck from side to side, stretching his muscles. “The locals here have a kinship, and my mom’s side of the family has been a part of it for generations.”
“I thought her ancestors were from the northeast?” she asked.
