Page 149 of The Edge of Dawn

The walls of his mind were caving in. The icy control he’d trained so long and hard to develop was nonexistent.

Of course, he remembered everything. That alone made him question his sanity.

Just like he’d predicted, Tarak appeared, as cold and indomitable as ever.

He and Amun exchanged terse words, following exactly the same script as before. But Dragek was so far gone their conversation barely registered.

He was barely present. The tip of his sword wavered slightly. He fought to maintain a sliver of consciousness—just enough to hold it steady.

Dragek. And then she was there, catching him with her steady presence. Her ka’qui was magnificent. She seemed to grow stronger with every passing moment.

How was it possible that she knew exactly what he needed?

You’re not going insane. It wasn’t your imagination. That really happened. I was there with you. I felt it. And now you’re back, and time starts flowing again, and you have to let this play out. Don’t waver. Don’t question yourself. Just do what you do best. What you want to do.

Dragek took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He centered himself and drew his ka’qui—which had become chaotic—back into his body.

She was here, with him.

She’d seen everything.

She shared that wild, mind-bending experience with him.

But she knew. She gave him the testament he so desperately needed.

She was the only one who completely understood him.

He was not going insane.

She was with him.

He closed his Second Sight and opened it again, just in time to hear Amun repeat the same words all over again.

Only in Amun’s case, he was speaking for the very first time.

“You’ve logged our course,” Amun replied. “You know where this ship is headed. We’re close now. Close enough that you might just be able to avert a disaster of Universal proportions.”

Ah.

So this is what it came down to.

The point where Amun was supposed to reveal the presence of the portals.

This was the turning point because if Tarak had changed the timeline back there, then everything from here on in would be different.

What had the general done?

How clever was he, really?

Too infernally clever for his own good.

“The portals are gone,” Tarak said calmly, giving Dragek a knowing look. “The problem with ancient technologies—especially those invented by the Zor—is that most of them are beyond dangerous. Who would have thought that it would be possible for one to go back into the past and meddle with the fate of an entire Universe? Nobody should hold that power. There are no gods in my Universe, Amun Kazharan. Not now, not ever.”

Amun’s aura flared. His tail whipped up, taking Dragek’s dagger with it.

Catching him off-guard.

He maintained his grip on the hilt as Amun tried to wrest his tail away.

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