Stella
“No.” Eric adjusted the pack on his shoulders. “I won’t take you to where we entered this timeline.”
He held up an arm before I could argue. “But I will show you another vortex that’s in-between here and Damai. This way, we don’t lose an entire day’s journey.”
I clenched my jaw, but it did little to relieve the frustration. “How far is it?”
“About halfway there.”
“You won’t go back five miles because it will take too long? Instead, you want me to trust you for a week of grueling travel?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“For someone who knows me, you don’t understand at all,” I muttered, tying the strings of my bag with too much force.
He placed his palm over mine, and I stopped moving.
“Isn’t it obvious?” he whispered.
I jerked my hand away. “It’s not. Nothing is.”
I stumbled a few steps to the side of the road and dropped my pack. While sitting on the packed dirt wasn’t the best option, I needed to put these socks on.
Eric followed and lowered himself to his knees to assist with my shoes.
“I’ve got it,” I protested.
“You always do.” His tone implied a familiarity that I didn’t appreciate.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He chuckled without humor. “You’re stubborn. Independent. Refuse help when you need it.”
I frowned. “But you told me I asked you to accompany me.”
He pressed his tongue against his cheek and looked down. “You did.”
I shoved a shoe over the thick sock with a wince as the pressure over my blisters returned. “If you’d just be open and explain more, maybe I’d be more willing to listen.”
“You wish me to …”
“Tell me everything. Yes.” I squeezed my other foot into the boot and muffled a whimper. Why did minor injuries hurt so much?
Eric stood, holding his arm out to help me stand. I clasped the proffered limb and rose, biting my lip against the sting. The socks blocked direct contact, but the pressure from my footwear still pained me.
I cleared my throat and balanced, breathing against the discomfort.
“If I spill my guts, will you come with me?”
I needed to know the truth and hear every bit of my former life he hadn’t shared.
“Yes.”
Relief washed over his features, his brow relaxing and lips widening. “What should I tell you first?”
I lifted my bag to my back. “How about the day we met?”
“Sure.” He gestured for me to walk ahead of him.
I acquiesced. Worst-case scenario, I’d return to the capital and find employment, perhaps as a book caretaker at the magnificent library Bolin had described. Best outcome? We fix the political issues and save hundreds to thousands of lives. This goal was worth bleeding feet and lost memories, right?
“Our first meeting,” Eric began, “was on my initial mission as a timekeeper. The goddess sent you forward to my era to teach me how to navigate time magic. You demonstrated the aevum levare incantation.”
My eyes widened. I taught him?
“How old were you?” I asked.
“Nineteen.”
“And now?”
He laughed nervously. “Thirty.”
I evaluated his appearance and believed him. Despite no clear signs of aging, he wasn’t young.
“The physicians said I’m that age.”
He nodded. “You’re thirty-five or thirty-six.”
I blinked away my shock. My feelings for Fernando seemed more inappropriate now. Eight or nine years older. The revelation only made missing him worse. It was another nail in the ‘I can never have him’ coffin.
This was ridiculous. I had a husband and a daughter. I shouldn’t want anything else.
Eric went into more detail about me arriving in the vortex and frightening his teen self half to death. Apparently, I was only twenty when I mentored him. I limped another two miles over the course of an hour when I interrupted.
“Why did I abandon my family?”
He fell quiet for a moment before answering.
“You didn’t confide in me, but I suspect you were unhappy.”
An icy shiver ran down my spine. Surely not. Even if that was true, leaving my child felt wrong on every level.
“Why do you think that?”
“Before you became a mom, you glowed with internal joy. You were my best friend and my comrade. We completed several successful missions. You laughed and told me about your hopes, despite being cautioned to keep personal details private. Then you disappeared.”
He cleared his throat. “When the goddess reunited us, more years had elapsed for you than me. You spoke lovingly about your daughter, but never mentioned your husband. You had unexplained marks.”
I crossed my arms, fighting the heaviness on my chest. The present was hard enough. The thought of my past being unpleasant made it worse.
“My daughter.” I choked back the words. I needed to remember her more than anything.
“You called her Dani.”
The name stirred my soul, and I had to stop walking to catch my breath. I glanced over my shoulder and he stepped closer.
“You’re here so her progeny can thrive. In the other variation, they don’t make it.”
I dashed at the tears pricking my eyes. Losing my child killed me. Part of me screamed for her, but my mind couldn’t recall her face.
“But if her father was abusive, I’d never leave her there. Not even to protect her future.”
“You assured me she was safe. I believed you.” He reached a hand out to my cheek, then stopped himself.
I faced our destination, unable to handle the pity in his gaze. “Do you know where they are? My descendants?”
“The goddess didn’t show you exactly where they were, only that they needed you to balance the political system or they’d be wiped out in a brutal war.”
I dragged my fingers through my sweat damp hair, hating this impossible situation.
“Then we better not fail.”
Comments