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With a pat on my back, my friend agreed. “Okay. Will do.”

The itch began to grow into an internal squirming, and the voice—Grim’s voice—grew more distinct in my mind, taunting me with things like,You thought you could get rid of me for good, did you? That’s cute. I’ve missed you; I’m so glad to be reunited again. I’m going to have so much fun with you.

Stepping back, I gave my dearest friend a final parting nod before leaving my bedroom suite altogether to rush through the lodge’s natural luxury to the back exit, slipping out into the dusk. I removed the glamoured wards long enough for me to exit the premises, and headed for the outside world once again—feeling the distance grow between Gray and me with every step.

Grim’s oily voice wouldn’t shut the fuck up. Since this affliction began, the darkness chose my abuser’s voice to haunt and torture me.

If he wasn’t laughing at my backslide, he was ratcheting up the craving to spill blood. Repeated words from all those years ago continued to echo in my mind like a loop, reminding me how helpless I’d been at his mercy. Some things could never fully heal; you just learned to live with the pain, but you also figured out how to move forward in your life without allowing that pain to dictate your path or choices. He threatened to unravel it all again.

Sitting in the nearest speakeasy, I downed another glass of moonshine. Its potency made me woozy, but I didn’t care. I needed to numb the craving. Withdrawal symptoms weren’t helping. Sweat beaded down the side of my face as I felt hot and stifled on the outside while I fought to stop my shivering teeth caused by the iciness within me.

I needed Gray. But I didn’twantto need her. She hated me anyway. I disgusted her, and rightfully so.

Who was I to think I could ever be redeemable?

Glad you finally came to your senses, boy. We’re gonna have so much fun together.

My stomach lurched, and I almost lost its contents.

“Holy shit.” A whispered voice filled with awe snatched me from my thoughts. I jerked my head to the side to find a dark-haired human woman. Her worn and holey clothes told me she was not militia.

I cocked an eyebrow, not in the mood to socialize.

“You’re…” she said with her brown eyes wide, dirt smudged on her cheeks and forehead. “You’re one of those Elemental creatures.”

I gave her an unimpressed stare. “And? What gave me away?”

“The skin,” she answered, not picking up on my sarcasm. She touched her cheek. “And the eyes.” The woman leaned an inch closer to me as if to inspect them.

I glanced down at my wrists, noticing the missing black bracelet that was supposed to adorn it. With a sigh, I remembered that I’d forgotten to put it back in place after my Kinetic run-in earlier. Thankfully, the black clothing covered the bloodstains.

“Well, it appears that would do it. Can I help you?” I drawled, uninterested.

Just kill her already.

I rolled my eyes at Grim’s bullshit.

“Is it true you’re an angel?” she asked, hope brimming in her eyes with unshed tears. “Here to save humanity?”

While most humans who weren’t part of the militia feared us, there were a few highly religious ones who theorized that Kinetics and Elementals were either angels or an alien race here to save humanity. “It depends on how you define angels.” I took another swig of ‘shine. My sanity wasn’t on the fringes like it had been when playing my game of cat and mouse with Gray. The memories of my time as a Kinetic were beginning to fade, but I had enough memories to remember the important shit.

“Can you heal others?” Desperation cracked her voice.

My expression softened, ignoring Grim in my mind. “No, I can’t heal others. I’m sorry.”

“Oh,” she conceded. Her head and shoulders dropped as the loss of hope deflated the light in her eyes.

“You have more questions,” I stated. I gestured to the seat at the table. “Sit. Let’s see if I can answer any.” If there was one thing I understood, it was the misery of living in the unknown. Of not being equipped with knowledge that could help me better defend myself against the world. As endearing as their beliefs toward us were, they were dangerous for them. Forest would have her and her entire family killed in an instant without a second thought.

The woman’s demeanor picked back up again, and she smiled. “Thank you.” She climbed onto the steel stool across from the wooden barrel that served as a table.

The hot and cold sweats were returning, as well as my heart rate, beating in uneven patterns. My skin began to itch, but I resisted the urge to scratch, knowing it wouldn’t do any good but drive me further insane. Hopefully, I could use this conversation as a nice distraction.

“So,” the woman started, “where did you come from? What are y’all able to do?” The rapid-fire questions were full of excitement, and I struggled to keep up with them. But I signed myself up for it.

“We’ve been here for many millennia. We don’t know our exact origins, but we suspect we came from another realm or world. However, we are not considered angels.”

“Why are there rumors that you are healers?” she asked, face pinched in confusion.