Join Iah, Lei, Nyima, Adela and their friends as they embark on a treasure hunt to uncover the secrets of the map found in the ancient ruins of Rios. But what they discover in Mina may lead them to regret ever finding the ancient tablet in the first...
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I jumped back, and stared at the piles of cracked leaves on the floor. Another makeshift punching bag had been decimated.
I had to make them stronger.
My eyes shifted toward the door. Lei had come by earlier with Yen. To think that guy would use my crush on him to try to lure him out. It almost worked too...
I sighed. Why was I such a simp for him?
"Adela!" Lei called out.
He returned? Why?
I spun on my heels, turning my back to the door. "What is it?"
"Won't you please open the door? You don't have to come with us to snowboard, nor even to watch Eri train Sarah and the others. I just want to talk."
Talk? About what? Could it be about Iah?
I walked over to the door and pressed my head against it. "I don't wish to talk right now," I whispered.
"That's alright. This is fine."
I looked up and stared at the door. Did he know what I was doing? Maybe he figured it out by my voice being so close.
"All I'm after is for you to cheer up. I know it's hard for you. You had a longer history with Iah than with anyone else here except your brothers."
I turned around and hugged my shoulders. When we were kids, but I betrayed him. My words hurt him. Even years later, they continued to haunt him. Contributing to his downfall.
"Leave," I said.
"Alright. I won't force you to show me your tears, though I hope to be able to wipe them away. I promised that I would protect you. When I made that vow, I didn't just mean from physical harm but also emotional harm. Especially the self inflicted kind."
"Is that the only reason you're here? Because of a promise you made years ago?"
He chuckled. "Nope. You're my buddy. Friends are to be there for one another."
A friend. There he went again. I didn't want to only be his friend. Not that him saying he loved me would've changed how I felt. Was someone like me even worthy of it? The last person who loved me got hurt by me. I didn't know how to properly react to it. Then there was Ren too.
"Adela, I... I'm sorry. It's my fault that he left," Lei said after I failed to respond.
I turned around. "What? How?"
"I shouldn't have challenged him to that second rematch. If I hadn't he wouldn't have lost the self-esteem he was building back up. Maybe he would have regained his powers on his own." He tapped the door. "I'm a blind fool for not having noticed his struggles."
"Lei... don't feel guilty," I said, opening the door.
Lei stood with his head leaning toward where the door was. Tears trickled to the wooden floor.
