I picked my way through the puddles and stopped beside him. "You had no warning of any kind?"
"Not this time." His gaze came to mine. The fear and desperation in his warm brown eyes had my stomach flip-flopping. He wasn't only losing the battle, but very near giving up. "It's stronger than before. Stronger than —"
"Don't say it," I said fiercely. "Because it's not true. You're the strongest man I know, and the mere fact that you're still here, still fighting this thing, proves it."
He snorted. "You've known a lot of people who've consumed a fire spirit, have you?"
"No, and that's the fucking point." I glared at him. "If it has happened before, then those people obviously haven't survived the merger, because there's no record of it anywhere. But you've not only survived, you've retained control. Most of the time, anyway."
"Yeah, but it's the times I don't that worry me. They're starting to happen more and more, Ris." He waved a hand at the ruined kitchen. "I don't want to do this to either you or Ilianna, or anyone else for that matter."
"But even when the elemental has taken over, you've never hurt anyone —"
"I hurt you," he cut in. "And if not for Azriel, you'd have lost use of your damn hand."
"That happened because I grabbed you. My fault, not yours." I squeezed his arm gently. "And the minute I did touch you, you regained control." And I'd do it again in a heartbeat, even if Azriel wasn't around to heal me. What was a ruined hand when it came to saving a friend's life?
"Next time it may not make a difference." He took a deep breath, then blew it out. It was a heavy, frustrated sound. "I guess I'd better ring Ilianna and tell her what happened."
"Good idea." I glanced around the sodden living area. "There doesn't seem to be much in here worth salvaging."
"No. But hopefully the bedrooms will be relatively untouched."
Hopefully. The doors still being closed was a good sign, at least. "You planning to stay the night?"
"Yeah. The fire burned out the security system, so I'll keep watch until we can get it fixed." He studied me for a moment. "What about you?"
"I've got a key to hunt down, and a deadline to beat."