I turned the page of the book I was leafing through. “Nothing. I keep trying to figure out how I don’t know this, but there’s nothing.”
Dropping a kiss on my cheek, Elex climbed out of bed where we had finally made it hours earlier.
Sneaking around the temple grounds in a ripped tunic and my legs still trembling from the amazing fucking I’d just had was more excitement than I had needed.
Naturally, as soon as we got into my apartments, Elex pushed me against the wall and made me come again.
Then again in the shower.
And at least twice more in the bed.
I delighted in the feel of him, fully inside of me. And, thankfully, there would be no children until we’re ready.
With the way we were fucking, it was a very good thing.
The volume we were reading in the bed was one of the most concise, most recent books on the Breaking Times and the Breaker of the Spine.
I still didn’t remember reading this story. Ever.
Shortly, I lost interest in the book as Elex’s naked glory moved around the room. I was falling for him and his animalistic bedroom persona, hard.
And there was nothing wrong with the fine, tight ass he had either.
“Are you reading still or are you gazing at my dick?”
“I’m not reading, but I was more interested in your rear end at the moment.”
He angled himself to see his backside in the mirror. “Mm. Yes. I can see why you’re looking.”
Rolling my eyes, I turned back to the book.
“Put on some underclothes, please. I do want to read some of this. My poor girl bits need a break, too.”
Laughing, he trotted into the bathroom, and I was finally able to turn back to the book.
The Breaker of the Spine was a significant part of the legends. They were more than just a strong magic wielder. They were meant to command the spine as it fell and direct the power of the crumbling stone and keep the people of S’Kir safe.
I felt as though I had failed my students by not telling them the story.
Elex reappeared and sat on the edge of the bed, peering down at the pages in front of me.
“Was there anything ever in your life that would make you forget this legend?”
“You’ve known me how long?”
“Since you were in college. Not your whole life, but quite a bit of it.”
“Then you tell me if there was anything out of the ordinary.”
His eyes bore into mine. There was nothing suggestive or sexual about this stare. “You don’t think there was?”
“No. Why would I?”
He stood and folded his arms. “Your parents are gone.”
“There are a lot of us who have lost our parents.”
The bed dipped as he sat down next to me. “Not everyone loses their parents the way you did.”
“It was an accident.”
“But it’s not something that everyone experiences. Is there anything there that might have caused you to forget?”
My forehead wrinkled. “Forget just one thread of thousands of my life?”
“We live in a world of magic, Kimber. Isn’t it possible?”
I plopped my face into my pillow. “I can’t believe I would lose just that story.”
The pillow partly absorbed my words, but I knew Elex heard me when his hand stroked my hair.
“It happened out in the Great Western Bay, didn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go.”
I snapped my head up. “What?”
“Let’s go. Maybe being there will jog your memory for the story or something else that happened there to rob you of it.”
“It will take three days to get there by horse and carriage.”
Laughing, he stood. “We can take the train. We’ll be there in half a day.”
“The train? I’ve never…”
“We’re part of the temple now, my sweetness, and we can get the train in the morning.”
I rolled to my side and stared up at him. “The morning?”
I knew damn well I wasn’t wearing anything at that moment, and the sheet was down at my waist.
His eyes went straight to my now-bare breasts.
“Definitely in the morning.”
*
I hadn’t been to the Great Western Bay since the day my parents had died. I had nothing but good memories of the place destroyed by that awful day.
As the blue bay rolled into view, a terrible shiver ran up my spine. I didn’t want to be here.
No, it was more than just not wanting to be there. It was almost a push against me. As strong as when the mountain had pulled.
Elex’s fingers entwined with mine.
“Take a deep breath, Kimber.”
“I’m trying.”
He shook his head. “If I had known that you were going to react this badly, I might not have suggested this.”
“I had no idea I was going to react like this, Elex. I haven’t been here since they dragged their bodies out of the water.”
He sucked a breath in through his teeth.
My words were harsh, but it was how I dealt with the anger that remained from their deaths.
“You’ve never come back?”
“What reason would I have? I can swim in the river or in the southern sea.”
I saw the marina where my father hand launched our boat from as the train passed by it, pulling closer to the station.
I still had their boat docked somewhere in that marina.
My stomach roiled.
“Elex, I’m not getting off this train. I’m not. I don’t want to be here.”
“I’m sorry, my sweet. This was a bad idea.”
I shook my head. “This isn’t your fault. They were young when they died. Younger than we are now.”
“You were not a child.”
“No, but it wasn’t fair and it—”
The words got caught in my throat. I didn’t want to throw up, but I was getting close.
“Do you remember the accident?”
The train track turned, and the sun flashed in my eyes, making me cringe. I didn’t want to remember that day, not today, not ever.
“It’s just a stupid story. Take me home. I’ll read about it there.”
Clearly disappointed, Elex drooped into his seat. “As you wish, Kimber. I was just hoping…”
“I was on the boat when they died, Elex.”
He swiveled around in the seat. “What?”
“I was on the boat when they died. I was in the accident too.”
“I didn’t know that.”
I nodded slowly. “Most people assume that I was sitting on the beach with my nose in a book. But I wasn’t. I was on the boat with them. I loved sailing.”
I froze.
I had loved sailing. Why had I not remembered that until just now? Why was so angry at the boat? The boat did what it was supposed— Oh.
Gods.
I grabbed Elex’s forearm with my other arm.
“The boat did what it was supposed to, Elex. It kept me above the water. But my father died making sure I was on the boat, making sure I could get my hands on the topside.”
His eyes searched my face. “Go on.”
The blue ocean flashed in the corner of my vision, and again, it was like someone unlocking vaults deep in my brain.
“It was a good day for sailing. There was a substantial wind, but nothing outrageous. We weren’t all that far out but around a cove. I was on the boat because we had come out for the weekend. Mom insisted and said I spent too much time tucked in a book.
“Something rammed the boat. I remember the main mast shaking wildly and the sails losing their billow. Mom screamed and…disappeared over the side. Dad went after her.”