“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.”
