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“The water suppresses memories. It makes people forget,” the professor says slowly, like he’s reluctant to let the words leave him.
“Meaning what?”
“Meaning that when we left Aerwyna and agreed to give up our memories of home, we had blocks placed upon us to ensure that. The water keeps those magical blocks topped up.”
“So the headaches and the weird dreams I’ve been having the last few daysarebecause I stopped drinking the water?” Bhodi complains, groaning.
“You what?” The professor demands sharply.
“You heard me. Malia didn’t want to drink that shit, said it makes her feel funny. So Cove and I decided to stop drinking it too.”
“Christ.” The professor runs a hand over his face while I stare at Bhodi. I thought he was still drinking the water. I saw him swigging from the bottle. Unless he was emptying it down the drain and refilling it with tap water, like I did. “This is a clusterfuck.”
“Why did you steal my memories? Why insist on giving me the water on top?”
“Malia, I’m partly to blame for the memory thing,” Cove says quietly. I turn to him, hands on hips and raise an expectant brow.
“After our date, you looked at me like I was a monster. You were afraid of me, and I couldn’t bear it. When you got into that accident, I asked Reef to just take away the attack and the magic, so that—”
“So that you still looked good? Normal?Human?!” My voice has reached shouting and I wince and take a deep breath to dial it down a notch. “You were breathing underwater! How is that even possible?”
“We’re from Aerwyna, it’s a different realm to this,” Reef explains. “Our magic is fuelled by the ocean. Have you heard of Yemaya?”
I pause, considering. Have I? The name doesn’t ring a bell. I shake my head. “No.”
“Yemaya is the goddess of the ocean. Our queen. I guess we’re sort of…water spirits? I think that’s what you’d call it in your world.”
“Is that why you all love surfing and live by the beach?”
Reef nods. “We’re drawn to the ocean. All bodies of water really, but the ocean especially. Just like you.”
“But I’mnotone of you. I can’t breathe under water.”
“True,” the professor concedes. “But you’re not human either, and only Aerwynan people can activate our blades.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“You must have Aerwynan blood. Somewhere in your lineage. It’s the only explanation.”
“This is insane.” I cross to the kitchen, turn on the tap and grab a glass from the draining rack. Filling it, I take a long drink, buying myself time to let this information overload to sink in.
“It still doesn’t explain why you took my other memories,” I eventually point out. “The date thing, I guess I can understand. But the other times?”
It’s Reef who answers, calm and gentle and reassuring. “You weren’t ready to know the truth, Malia. You were in such a fragile state, we just wanted to protect you.”
“Would you do it again?” I demand, anger starting to bubble up within me.
“No. Too much has happened. We couldn’t take everything away without risking serious damage to your health. Besides, no matter how hard we try, your magic keeps returning your memories to you. I don’t think we could stop you from remembering anything at this point.”
“How about not doing it again because I’m fucking human and don’t deserve to be treated that way?” I hiss, clenching my fists and digging the nails into my palms.
“You’re strong, Mai-Tai. Powerful. When we figure all this out and help you access your magic, you could be unstoppable.”
I stare at Cove, not believing his words. The professor clears his throat gently and we all turn to him.
“What?” Bhodi demands.
“Nothing.” He doesn’t look at us.
