Raven of Water

Chapter 17: Drowning in Him

"You're remembering."

It wasn't a question, but I nodded anyway, shivering and leaning more into his warmth. "Bits and pieces, yeah. I'm so, so sorry. I'm the reason for it. It's all my fault."

"No. It's my fault. Humans are evil, Lex. I should have tried harder to show you then. You're so kind and trusting, and you always see the good in everyone. It's why I love you. But I should have shown you the truth about those people instead of trying to see them the way you did, as good-hearted folks who only wanted the community to prosper."

I sniffed and shuddered again. "I don't understand half of what we're talking about, Kai. I feel like I've walked into a room but forgotten why I went in. It's so awful to not remember things that I know are in my mind somewhere."

He laughed, but it was a strained sound that made my heart ache, a sound borne from nerves rather than genuine amusement. "That's alright, darling. It'll make sense eventually."

"I got you wet." I smiled, pulling back just a little and wiping at the snot dripping from my nose before I laughed.

"You're right. This is not the kind of wet I want to be with you, but I'll take it." When he wiggled his brows, I smacked his shoulder and was rewarded with an amused chuckle as he placed his forehead against mine and breathed deeply.

"I missed you. But, I'll leave and let you have the bed. You're probably exhausted after all that."

"Do you know what I saw?"

My voice was soft, and my words prompted Kia to glare murderously at the pattern on the couch near the bed. "Yes, I know what you saw. I remember what they did like it was yesterday. I..." The man's voice cracked as he trailed off, and my heart pounded with an ache that stole my breath.

"Does what I saw have something to do with how you ended up so... demony?"

"Demony?" He questioned, smirking as he tore his eyes from the pattern to regard me with a once again quirked brow. The anger was still there in his expression, but it was simmering below the surface rather than written all over his face.

"Well," I said with a flush, "I know you weren't always a demon. Something happened to turn you demony, but that's never what you were supposed to be. You were—"

"An elemental." He nodded, a satisfied smile settling over his face as he realized that I really was remembering. Remembering things that were important, things from a past that I'd forgotten about.

"Yeah. That."

"Do you know what elementals are, Lex? Or do you remember?"

My mouth went dry as he leaned in close, holding out his arms as if to wrap me in an embrace. He didn't hug me immediately, though, and it was only when I nodded my approval that he sighed and squeezed me close to him, seeming to not care at all about the fact that I was soaked and getting his clothes wet.

"I, uhm, elementals are traditionally associated with alchemy. They're kinds of cryptids, and each is connected with one of the four elements: earth, fire, water, and air. They're not really good or bad. They just... are. They live in their natural domains and are tied to the land and the elements which comprise their being."

"Good. Did you remember that or did you learn that in this time?" His voice was a low rumble against my body, and it did a lot to chase the chill away.

"I don't know."

"That's alright, Lex." He pulled back and smiled at me, the look giving me chills that were prompted by more than the cold. When I sniffed again, he reached out with his thumb to wipe away some water from my face, his touch leaving a burning trail across my damp skin.