Page 6 of Tides of Time

“She’s already told you it will do no good. The death of a child is a horrific event, but do not tax yourself only to have the same result.”

“No,” Ariana shook her head, watching as her dark black curls floated around her them, framing Orion’s face as if to caress him. “You misunderstand me.”

His fingers traced the line of her jaw even as his eyes searched hers for the words she was afraid to say. When Orion set his forehead against hers, her resolve nearly crumbled.

“You cannot mean what I think.” he refused to look at her, leaving them connected in the gentle touch of their heads.

“I do,” she whispered, all of her fire and ice from the fight with Galene a thing of the past. It had been such a very long day, and it was a day she could reset and erase - along with hundreds and nearly thousands of others that had come before.

“Then you are mad at me, too?”

“No!” she pulled back, surprised that he would ever think she loved him any less than with her whole heart. “I would find you.”

“Would you?” He scoffed and pulled away, his eyes storming over as hers had moments before.

“If I turn back time before you are turned, I would lose my fins as well. We could be together.”

“I waited thirty years for you to fall into the ocean. You go back before my time and you won’t even be born.”

“I am in control of my gift. Time will work for me as I need it. I cannot write myself out of existence. Think how foolish of a gift that would be.” She reached for him, her hand slinking around his wrist. Pulling him closer, she tried to get him to understand that she was tired of this life, but not of him.

“Aren’t you the one who always says how our gifts are curses we cannot see that way?” He narrowed his eyes as he stared at her, waves of anger rolling off him.

“Orion, I love you and I am not trying to end our time. I am merely sick of living for the pod. I want to live for us. For me and you and the family we could create together.”

At the mention of family, his eyes softened, and the dark chocolate brown shifted a shade lighter as if changing with his shifted emotions. He’d always fought for the children who fell into the water, but he never dared suggest they take one in.

His response was all Ariana needed to know.

Her gift could undo everything.

Ariana knew what she needed to do.

One last thing.

Just a few specific lives to save with her gift.

THREE

Numbness tookover Orion’s entire as he stared at the most important person in his world.

She’d entranced him from the moment he lay eyes on her. His quest to save her had been foolish and driven by his desire to feel her lips against his, but Ariana was his world. She was everything he’d ever dreamed of, and now she spoke as if she could simply take all that away and hope their connection was strong enough.

“Ariana, promise me you won’t do that.”

“We don’t make promises, you know that.” Her hand weaved into the thick hair on the back of his head and pulled him close.

The tingling numbness that had consumed him slowly melted away as she pressed her lips to his. Desire coursed through his veins, igniting a fiery passion. He yearned to deepen their kiss, his tongue playfully teasing her lips in an enticing dance. The taste of her was intoxicating, leaving him wanting more with each passing moment.

Orion’s hands went to wrap around her with a low growl of approval, but he found he held nothing.

“Ariana!” Orion spun, knowing full well she’d used her power and soon his rational thought to slip away as she did what she chose to do.

He knew his wife. She wasn’t changing their timelines, not yet.

But she was going to change a timeline.

The little girl’s.

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