Brothers of Paradise Series

He points at one I’m still working on. “You’ve gotten a lot better at drawing scales.”

The giant dragon isn’t done yet, curled around a castle, but I nod nonetheless. “I’ve been practicing.”

“It shows.”

Henry and Parker are similar in many ways. Just as good as sports, although Henry is much better at games like Scrabble. Henry had been the one to teach Parker how to ride a bike, when Dad was away at work, even though he was still only a kid himself at the time.

But Rhys? Rhys is mine, and I grin at his pride.

“Thanks.”

He musses my hair in response and reaches for his book again.

“Do you really not know if it’s a girl or a boy?”

“That’s what I said, Lils.”

“But you might have just lied to annoy Parker.”

The corner of Rhys’s mouth curls. “I really don’t know.”

“Okay.” I pick up my pen and get back to work. The long wait for next week has begun, it seems, when we’ll find out who the new playmate is. I hope it’s a girl, and I hope we’ll become best friends.

I’m seriously outnumbered in this household.

Lily

Lily, 10

It was a boy, and he became my brothers’ best friend.

Hayden spent most of his time with them, playing volleyball under the summer sun or learning how to sail. In the evenings, they’d lie side by side on the couch in the basement, testing one another’s skill at Nintendo.

But I didn’t know that when he arrived. No, when he came to Paradise Shores, I was ecstatic. Hayden was the same age as Parker, but I was the only one home when he and his uncle showed up. A friend just for me, I thought. He wasn’t a girl-it would have been better if he was a girl-but I’d just have to make do.

I’ll never forget the way he’d looked that night, in the rain outside our house. Water dripped down his face, dropped from his thick hair. I could see that his eyes were amber, even in the darkness. I’d never seen that on a person before.

I’d have to try to draw it.

“What are you staring at?”

No one has ever asked me that before. “You.”

“Well, look somewhere else.”

“That’s silly.” I offer him my umbrella to share. “It’s raining. Come on, let’s go inside.”

He glances up at his uncle before a defiant spark comes into his eyes. “Okay.”

“Are you hungry? I can make you an omelet.” Well, I sort of could. Mom tried to teach us the week before and I remember all the steps. I haven’t actually done it on my own yet, though. But I feel very grown-up offering him that.

“I don’t like omelets.”

Well, that’s kind of a bummer. I don’t know how to make anything else. “Do you like cereal?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Come on, we have loads of different kinds. Parker likes to mix, but I don’t.” I find his hand in the darkness and pull him toward the house. “I’ll even show you where the Cocoa Puffs are.”

His hand is careful in mine. I glance back, but he’s following me dutifully. We’re the same height.

I smile up at Dad as we pass him and the new groundskeeper.

“Lily?”

“I’m going to make him some cereal.”

Dad nods. “That’s nice of you, sweetheart.”

The new groundskeeper shoots the boy a look, like he’s telling him something. I don’t know what it means.

The boy nods.

“Go on, then,” the man says.

I hang the raincoat on Mom’s peg and grin at the new boy. “What’s your name?”

“Hayden,” he says. He doesn’t look at me-he’s looking at the double-curved staircases that lead up to the second floor. Mom always keeps a vase of lilies on the table between them. It’s the flower I’m named after.

“It’s nice, right?”

“Sure.”

I look him over from top to toe. He seems pretty sullen, this dark-haired boy who doesn’t smile, but I’m sure he’ll cheer up with a bit of food in him. Henry’s the same, when he’s hungry.

“Kitchen is this way.”

He chooses Cocoa Puffs, and he doesn’t mix different kinds of cereal together. It’s a good start.

I pour a small bowl for myself as well and hop up on a kitchen stool opposite him. Hayden eats in silence, and if he notices me looking at him, he doesn’t mention it.

But my curiosity gets the better of me soon enough.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“Well, my name is Lily,” I say.

“Huh.” He continues to eat.

“So… You’re going to live with your dad in the beach house, right?”