Still, he couldn’t help but wonder at Bo’s intent. It was as if he were one of the few that were not content simply to live in the tropical paradise that was Callibra, always needing something extra, something more exciting. Few of those lucky enough to visit the village wished to leave afterward; enchanted by the beauty of the lush greens and dark rocks exclusive to the area. There was not a more perfect place on Earth, and yet when Jaden just wanted to enjoy the surroundings, Bo was always distracted. The mountains that cradled their home to create the Callibrian valley meaning nothing to him, the waterfalls crashing down over rocks into small swimming pools of little appeal, and the people apparently quite boring.
That explained why he spent most of his time teasing them, Jaden mused, but the rest remained an enigma Bo would refuse to ever shed any light on.
‘You’re going to miss your chance if you wait any longer,’ said one of the others.
Jaden opened his eyes to see Dion leaning against a stone on his right. At seventeen, Dion was the oldest by one year and tallest of the group, but also the quietest. It had startled Jaden to hear him speak, expecting a stranger to be standing next to him. But there was no mistaking the dignified confidence that Dion brought to conversations, no matter how minor his role might have been.
‘That’s what he’s timing for,’ Bo smirked.
Following the direction of Dion’s eyes and ignoring Bo, Jaden looked to the stables and saw that Dion was right. Jaden was about to miss his chance. Alyssa, the only girl in the village who had been able to really capture his attention, was getting ready for her daily ride. He had to hurry.
He took a breath.
Finally, after months of hoping for a chance to speak with her, this was it. This was his moment to shine; his moment to really show what he was about. The other boys had often spoken of how they had suddenly become nervous around the girls they liked, or how they would say things they would later regret. Jaden had always boasted that he never felt nervous or lost his rhythm, laughing at them for being wimps. Now he was starting to wish he had just kept his mouth shut.
The sight of Alyssa was changing something in him. They shared some similar features; shadowed blonde hair, green eyes and still child-like, rounded features, but there was something extra about her, something indefinable. There was a sense of fate. Although Jaden's father had taught him that nothing was predestined, he somehow felt there was a connection between them in the future. And that future made him very nervous.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts.
‘Maybe he doesn’t like her anymore,’ Bo announced, noticing the gesture.
Jaden gave a faint smile. ‘If it were between the world and her, you know whom I’d choose,’ he said, and quickly leapt from the rock toward her.
Bo and the others all laughed as Jaden comically slowed his pace to a careless walk before Alyssa saw him racing toward her like a dog just let outside.
‘He has confidence, I’ll give him that,’ said Bo, ‘but that girl would be harder to crack than a whip made of iron.’
‘Try telling him that,’ said Konnor.
‘Many have,’ Dion’s brother, Corey, interjected, his concentration set firmly on a piece of bandage he was wrapping around his hand on the stone next to Dion. ‘But he is not the kind that will listen, despite how wise the given words might be.’
The boys sat in silence, as was often the case after Corey had spoken. Unlike his brother, Corey had a knack for saying too much rather than not enough, offering his opinion even when it wasn’t necessary. If it wasn’t for the fact he was nearly always right, they probably would have ignored him or cut him short more often. But he had proven his worth in their childhood, and now they had become accustomed to allowing him a few moments extra for anything more he might have to say.
‘That’s our Jaden,’ said Bo, deciding the silence had lasted long enough.
‘Here’s trouble,’ said Konnor, pointing with a nod of his head.
The three others turned to look where Jaden was standing. Alyssa had mounted her chestnut brown horse and was readying to ride away, but Jaden was still twenty yards from her. In his path stood an adolescent almost twice his width in shoulder and not far from a full head taller. Hair already lined his jaw at age eighteen, while thick brows dominated a fierce glare, wide flattened nose and cracked lips. There were small scars where blemishes had come and gone from his cheeks, still visible even with his darkened skin. He resembled a bull more than a man and had been a vicious rival for Jaden ever since they had first set eyes on each other a decade earlier.
‘What’s Ardim doing here?’ asked Bo. ‘I thought we told him to keep to his side.’