Knowing The End (SAA Book 2) ✔

15: Memories

"I saw her. When I was sleeping on the way home, we had a conversation. She was the voice in my head." Oren pointed to his temple, tapping it through thick white hair. Clayton raised his brow in return, urging for more information.

"She's... Well, she's a Greek Goddess. She's immortal." Oren paused, hand raising to scratch loosely at the back of his neck. The words seemed to be clogging his airway. He shook his head softly, taking shallow, quiet breaths. His fingers grazed over the nape of his neck as the soul finally returned to his body.

"She was the one who kept me in the glass chamber." The memories flooded his brain like water over a cliff. Shaking the gruesome and desolating thoughts away, he was vaguely aware of seeing Clayton's face boil with rage. The human seethed, clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned ivory.

"I'll kill her." Clayton rumbled, voice so considerably low that it was sinister. His eyes darkened and teeth bared. A scalding trail of fire channeled through his veins, pulsing violently as his heart ricocheted off of his ribcage, desperate to escape.

"No," Oren blurted, "you can't. She's can't die, she's a literal Goddess!" he placed a hand on Clayton's tensed forearm, eyes wide and lips parted in anticipation.

"She planned to leave you to rot; laying there thirsty and hungry. It would have been a tedious, painful death if I hadn't come to save you. No pure being of the Gods would do such an awful thing." Clayton muttered, hand flinching when Oren's fingers tightened around his arm. The soft pads dug into his wrist, feeling at the tactile pulse that rushed inside of him.

"I know. Something must have corrupted her though. I have a feeling that her current self isn't her fault. She was never like that before."

"You know what she was like before? What are you not telling me?"

"What do you mean by that? I'm not hiding anything from you. You know I always tell you the truth." Oren argued, his hand pulling away from Clayton's arm as his eyebrows drew in painfully. "No, I don't know what she was like before... But she told me this once..."

"She said to me; 'You are the reason for my lack of prosperity, or something. With your escape, I become more like my father, a pyromaniac; a crazed metalworker.'" Oren quoted, reciting the line she spoke while he was inside of the containment. He shuddered just thinking about the ropes around his frail wrists.

Clayton quickly noticed the elf's discomfort, placing a hand on his shoulder to quell his nerves.

"She told me some horrible things while I was hidden away." Oren muttered, lowering his head to look at his crossed feet. The room fell into a deafening silence, in which Clayton helplessly wallowed. His mind pressed on though, despite keeping his mouth shut. Questions circled about within his head, concealed behind locked lips.

The human opened his mouth, intending for the questions to come spilling out. Only a puff of breath released as he sighed. Oren glanced over to him, expectant.

"Again, I'm really sorry..." he started awkwardly, "every day I come back to the moment I found you, laying there. You were barely breathing. Eyes low, hazy. You were ravaged by dirt and blood." Clayton winced at the thought.

"I wish I could have come sooner." the human teared up quietly, no longer speaking. Oren leaned over and wiped away the upcoming droplets, which pooled up at the corners of his eyes. The elf scooted closer and kissed away the tears before they spilled over.

"I know. I... I have the potential to forgive you, but... I don't feel like the time is right. I still love you, though. I will forever love you, Clayton." Oren stated, the corners of his mouth raising into a shy smile.

"I love you too." he returned shakily, sniveling as he tried his damnedest to push back the tears. His efforts were to no avail as they leaked from his watery eyes. Oren wiped them away fondly, pressing his lips to Clayton's as their souls clung to one another. Their lips melded, and their hearts did too.

_

"So what exactly did she tell you?" Clayton asked an hour later, making Oren turn his head in confusion.

"Wh-"

"You told me that she spoke to you. What did she say in the dream?"

Oren went silent. He looked over to Xenia, who was nudging Chip with her nose, to which her eggtooth was no longer attached. She hopped and screeched as the dog pranced around and barked back.

"She asked me to stop Xenia from destroying her trinkets... Whatever that means." the elf returned his gaze to the human and shrugged. He decided not to tell of the ripped cloth, shredded jewels and scratched gems.

"Destroying? What is she ruining this time? She's already pulled the toilet paper off the wall." the blond rolled his eyes, to which Oren chuckled genuinely.

"Just a few things laying around the house; things we've gotten from the dimensions." Oren vaguely hinted. Their last portal transfer was a few months ago, and that was for an extra supply of food and water. They couldn't trust many stores around here, since they were all run down and littered with pests.

"What about another trip to the Tropicals?" Clayton asked, "Will she eat all of our food, too?" he jokingly commented, mentioning the dimension they gather resources from. They create their own leather by animal hide. Oren liked this lifestyle... it was more natural.

They used the handcrafted leather to create bandages, smoothing out the rough edges and soaking the fabric in tree sap gathered from the Tropicals. The sap was an ivory liquid that glimmered in the dimmest light. That dimension was rather fascinating, despite the burned image in Oren's head, picturing a scalding forest of dying animals and fallen trees.

He shook his head to rid of the horrible memory, looking back to Clayton as he took heed of the human's worried gaze. "What's wrong?" the elf asked.

"Euthenia, was it?" Clayton suddenly shot up from his seat by the bed, not bothering to prepare his legs for gravity as he staggered towards the door.

Oren stood hastily, rubbing his knees as his legs ached. He shook his feet and chased after his lover. "Yeah, why?"

"I think you'll want to see something."

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Thanks for reading!

Sorry if this chapter was kinda short