The water felt amazing as it flowed over Elianna's slender ivory thighs. She had a jovial smile as she brushed her fingers through the ocean water. She felt the surfboard she was straddling moving beneath her as she looked up, admiring the beautiful blue sky above her.

  "Yeah! Go Celine!"

  Elianna looked to her left, and her smile grew as her beautiful, celestial blue eyes landed on Nicholas, who was straddling his surfboard beside her. He had a grin on his face and was cupping his hands around his mouth as he cheered. Elianna's eyes slowly looked him up and down, seeing how his wet blonde hair clung to his face, and the beads of water along his sun-kissed skin made him look like he was shining. When her eyes lingered on his chiseled chest and moved to his well-defined eight-pack, her face began to feel warm. But it wasn't until her eyes lingered on his muscular arms, thinking about how they felt whenever he hugged her, that her face turned molten.

  Nicholas raised his hands and cheered, "Nice one!!" He looked at Elianna with a broad smile, "Did you see that! She owned that wave!"

  Elianna's eyes snapped to Nicholas, meeting his deep sea-green gaze. She immediately smiled and nodded, "Y-Yeah! She did amazing!"

  Nicholas frowned slightly. "Are you okay? You look a little red."

  Elianna's eyes widened slightly in embarrassment, but she managed to keep her composure and nodded, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry."

  Nicholas looked her up and down for a moment before nodding, "Alright." He looked up, "We have been out here for a while, though." He looked back at Elianna, "Wanna do one more wave, then head back in?"

  Elianna thought for a moment, thinking she was having fun surfing, but she was also getting a little tired. She nodded, "Yeah, that sounds good."

  "Cool," Nicholas said, then looked behind him and smiled. "Another good wave coming in. You want it?"

  Elianna shook her head, "Nah, I can wait for the next one. Go ahead."

  Nicholas gave her a two-finger salute, "Cool, see you soon."

  Elianna smiled and nodded to him, watching as Nicholas lay down on his board and started to paddle out. Elianna leaned back, bracing her hands on her board behind her, as she stared at Nicholas' back muscles as he paddled off.

  But as Nicholas was paddling off, Elianna found herself looking down at herself. Her eyes glazed over her petite frame and medium-sized breasts. She unconsciously pinched her hourglass frame, wondering if Nicholas found her as attractive as she found him.

  Looking back up, she observed as Nicholas rose up on his surfboard, successfully catching his wave. She leaned forward, cupping her hands around her mouth, and yelled, "Yeah! Go Nick!"

  Tilting her head slightly, she watched as Nicholas surfed the wave gracefully, getting closer and closer to the beach. When the wave began to die down, he kicked himself over the wave before gracefully lowering himself to the board.

  "Nice job, Nick!" Elianna yelled.

  Elianna smiled, watching as Celine paddled over to him from the side. They seemed to say something to each other before they both laughed, then looked her way.

  In the distance, Nicholas yelled, "Your turn! Don't mess it up!"

  Elianna shot him a glare, even though she knew he couldn't see it.

  "Don't listen to him!" Celine yelled. "You've been doing great! You got this!"

  Elianna nodded and stretched her arms as she said to herself, "Yeah. I got this." It didn't matter that she had fallen off her board every time. She would make it this time.

  Looking over her shoulder, Elianna waited for a decent wave. Luckily, she didn't have to wait for long. A good-sized wave began to form behind her, so she quickly lay flat on her stomach and began to paddle forward.

  Elianna's eyes were locked on the beach in front of her, as she paddled quickly and efficiently. When her board started to pick up speed, and she felt the wave hitting her, she knew it was time to get up. She quickly placed her hands on the board, got to her feet, and then balanced herself, leaning forward. She wobbled a little bit, but smirked as she maintained her balance and rode the wave with grace. In the distance, she could see Nicholas and Celine raising their arms, and heard their faint cheers over the waves.

  As the wave drew closer to the beach and began to die down, Elianna knew it was time to get out of the wave. She steeled herself, preparing to kick over the wave, which she had yet to do successfully. She made her way down the wave, waiting for a good spot, and when she got to one, she didn't hesitate. Elianna maneuvered her body and board, and her eyes widened as she successfully kicked over the wave.

  "Oh my gosh!" Elianna yelled cheerfully as she carefully lowered herself back onto her surfboard. She looked toward Nicholas and Celine, who were now closer, and she raised her arms into the air. "I did it!!"

  "Nice one, Lia!" Nicholas yelled back as he and Celine began to paddle over to her.

  Elianna smiled happily as she lay on her board and began to paddle over to them as well. Once they met in the middle, they all sat up on their boards.

  "You did amazing that time!" Nicholas said, his eyes gleaming, as he stared at Elianna with a jovial smile.

  Elianna blushed slightly, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear, "Thanks."

  "That was so much better than your first run," Celine complimented. "Nice job, Elle."

  Elianna shrugged, "It was all trial and error."

  "I'll say," Nicholas chuckled, and Elianna raised a brow at him. "You were in the water more than you were on your board, from falling off so much."

  Elianna shot him a playful glare before she kicked some water at him.

  Nicholas flinched as the water hit him, and he sat there stunned for a moment, blinking. Elianna and Nicholas met each other's gaze before they both smiled and laughed.

  Celine's eyes darted between the two of them before she smiled and shook her head. "Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm feeling a little tired."

  Nicholas looked at Celine, "Yeah, Elianna and I were talking about going back in."

  "I am feeling a little tired as well," Elianna shrugged.

  "Cool, then let's head on in," Celine said, and Nicholas and Elianna nodded.

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  The three of them lay on their boards and began to paddle toward the beach. Once they were close enough, they got off their boards, stood up, and carried their boards out of the water.

  Celine tossed her wet red hair back with her hand before she looked over her shoulder at Nicholas and Elianna. "Let's put the surfboards back before we do anything else."

  "Good idea," Nicholas said, then looked up. "We should use the outside shower first."

  "We can just use a water spell to wash off," Celine pointed out.

  Nicholas' brows raised, "Oh yeah." He chuckled, "Force of habit of wanting to use the shower."

  Celine shrugged, "I get it. It's definitely different being here after you've awakened."

  "Wait, why do we need to wash off?" Elianna asked, confused.

  Celine looked at Elianna, "The salt water can irritate the skin and dry it out. So it's good to wash it off."

  Elianna's brows raised, and she nodded, "Oh, good to know."

  The three of them approached the beach house and placed the tail ends of their boards into the sand. A moment later, they each surrounded themselves with water magic, getting the salt water off of them before tossing the water to the side.

  Celine then snapped her fingers, and an emerald energy washed over the three of them, drying them off.

  "So much faster than using a towel," Elianna said, before she looked at Nicholas. "I don't know why you never used that spell when we went swimming."

  Nicholas shrugged, "Sometimes I like to do things in a mundane way."

  "Uh-huh," Celine said, giving Nicholas a knowing look.

  Nicholas shot her a subtle glare.

  "Anyway, let's take these inside," Celine said, picking up her surfboard.

  "I'll get yours," Nicholas said, picking up Elianna's boards. "Can you get the stands?"

  Elianna nodded, "Sure."

  The three of them picked up the items before slipping on their flip-flops and walking inside. They took the items back to the storage closet and put them all away.

  Walking out of the closet and into the main room, Celine asked, "Anything else you guys want to do?"

  Elianna shrugged, "I don't know." She looked at Nicholas, "Nick?"

  Nicholas hummed and pulled a white shirt out of his spatial ring. "We could play volleyball. We talked about that earlier."

  Elianna's brows raised, seeing the shirt in Nicholas' hands. She realized she had left all her clothes upstairs and was now wishing she had one, since it was getting a little chilly inside the beach house. She looked at Celine, watching as she also took a shirt out of her spatial ring, a black one.

  Celine shot Nicholas a look, "Really? Elle and I both said we're tired, and you want to play volleyball." Her eyes flicked to the pedestal. "How about we watch an illusionaire?"

  Nicholas nodded, "I'm good with that." He looked at Elianna, "What about you?" His brows raised as he saw that she was looking toward Celine with pursed lips. He followed her gaze, seeing that she was eyeing the shirt Celine was putting on. "Lia?"

  Elianna's brows raised, and she looked at Nicholas, "Huh?"

  Nicholas chuckled and smiled, "Did you not bring a shirt?"

  Elianna shrugged, "No. I didn't think about it."

  Nicholas held out his shirt, "Here."

  Elianna's brows raised, and her cheeks reddened.

  Celine raised a brow, and the corner of her lips rose.

  "I'll go get another one," Nicholas shrugged.

  While Elianna thought she could just offer to get one of her own, she also didn't want to miss out on this opportunity. She smiled, "Thanks."

  Taking the shirt, Elianna put it on, noticing how it was quite baggy on her.

  Nicholas' brows raised, and his smile faltered slightly, with his face becoming warm. He didn't think Elianna wearing his shirt would mean anything, but seeing her in his shirt made his stomach flutter.

  Nicholas cleared his throat. "Don't mention it." He scratched the back of his head, "Uh, Celine mentioned watching an illusionaire. Are you okay with that?"

  Elianna smiled and nodded, "Sure."

  "Cool," Nicholas said, and began to make his way toward the doors. "I'll ask Aunt Freya and Josephine if they want to join too."

  Celine nodded, "Alright." She grinned, "And don't forget a shirt."

  Elianna looked back at Nicholas, watching as he left the room and made his way toward the outside stairs. Her eyes flicked back to the shirt she was wearing. She pinched the front and brought it to her nose before she smiled, thinking it smelled like Nicholas.

  "Whatcha doing?"

  Elianna started before she looked at Celine, who was giving her a grin. Elianna quickly smiled, "Nothing. Should we pick an illusionaire to watch?"

  Celine chuckled and nodded, "Sure."

  Elianna and Celine walked over to the illusionaire's and looked around at the dozens on display. As she looked around, Elianna also fixed her ponytail, as her hair was a mess from surfing. Reading the titles of the illusionaire's on the placards beneath them, Elianna thought about which one would be nice to watch.

  "What about A Trial of Destiny?" Celine asked.

  "Oh," Elianna looked at her with raised brows. "That's a good one."

  Celine nodded as she took it off the shelf, "Yeah, Nicholas would like it too. It's an action romance."

  "I do like action."

  Celine and Elianna looked toward the entrance, seeing Nicholas enter with a bowl of snacks. Elianna felt slightly disappointed, though, since he was now wearing a shirt.

  Celine smiled, "Brought some snacks?"

  Nicholas nodded, "Yeah." He walked over to the couches and placed the bowl on the table. "Aunt Freya and Josephine said not to eat too much, though, since they're going to be starting dinner."

  "So they're not coming, then?" Celine asked, and Nicholas shook his head. "Cool, then let's start this thing."

  Nicholas sat on the couch while Celine placed the illusionaire on the pedestal. She activated it before she and Elianna walked over to the couches. They both sat down, with Ceine lying on one couch, while Elianna decided to sit beside Nicholas.

  As the illusionaire started, Nicholas unwrapped one of the snacks and offered it to Elianna.

  Elianna smiled and shook her head, "No thanks." She let out a yawn. "I'm good."

  Nicholas nodded and ate his snack.

  Elianna looked back at the illusionaire, watching as the images appeared. But slowly, she began to feel that strange pull again. Her eyes began to feel heavy, and she blinked once, twice, and they stayed closed on the third.

  ***

  The stormy wind brushed against their body as they stood there, staring up into the dark, cloudy sky. The sound of thunder, leaves rustling, and ocean waves filled the air. Looking around, they noticed how the full moon above illuminated the lush forest around them beautifully.

  They looked down, seeing the blanket of beautiful white sand beneath them, and they knelt down. They reached out, revealing the golden-plated gauntlet around their hand. They grabbed a handful of the sand before raising their hand palm up and opening their fingers, letting the sand slip away.

  "So peaceful," They said, their voice low and unmistakably male.

  A flash of lightning came from above, and the sound of heavy armor moving sounded from behind.

  "Is the area clear?"

  "Yes," The male stated, brushing his armored hands together.

  He stood up and turned around, their gaze falling on four more individuals. Three of them were wearing full golden-plated armor, with their pauldrons looking like mini suns, their helms had three horizontal slit vizors, and their chest was covered in a white tabard that had a gold trim. The third was wearing a set of golden robes that had a sheen, with golden gauntlets, boots, pauldrons, and a mask, while wielding a white staff.

  "Good," One of the knights said, his voice also male.

  Thunder sounded in the distance again, and there was another flash of lightning. A moment later, a light rain engulfed the area, and the five of them looked up.

  "We best not delay," The one dressed in the golden robes said, her voice being light and tranquil.

  "Agreed," He said, then looked down at the others. "Let's g—."

  Elianna's eyes flew open as she realized she was on the bottom floor of the beach house. Her brows furrowed as she thought she was having the strangest dream. Yet, it felt so real.

  Elianna looked around with her eyes, noticing the area was quiet. The illusionaire remained on the pedestal, seeming to be dormant. She looked to her right, seeing that Celine was asleep on the couch.

  A moment later, her brows raised as she felt the couch beneath her shift. But she knew couches didn't shift. She also knew they didn't breathe or feel warm and comfortable. She slowly looked up, and her cheeks reddened instantly, seeing that she was sleeping against Nicholas, who was lying back. Her head was on his chest, and she could feel his heartbeat as his chest rose and fell.

  Elianna swallowed hard, her stomach fluttering, wondering how they got like this. Not that she was complaining.

  Suddenly, the door behind them opened, "Dinner is ready!"

  The three of them woke up, with Elianna shooting upright in an instant. She looked at Nicholas, seeing him blink and rub his eyes, seeming not to notice she was lying on him a moment ago.

  "What?" Celine said, her voice tired as she sat up. She looked back toward the entrance, and Elianna followed her gaze.

  Josephine stood in the entrance and smiled, "Sorry to wake you up. But dinner is ready." She motioned for them, "Come on."

  Celine nodded, then stood up, "Alright." She stretched, then looked at Elianna and Nicholas, "You ready?"

  Nicholas cleared his throat and sat up, "Yeah."

  Elianna tensed as she felt the pull again and looked to the side. Her brows furrowed as images of the dream surfaced in her mind.

  "Lia?"

  Elianna looked at Nicholas, her brows raised, "Huh?"

  Nicholas tilted his head slightly. "You okay?"

  Elianna smiled and nodded, "Yeah. Let's go eat."