Page 81 of Gifted Destiny

The calm I’m projecting must steady him because my words are inflammatory. I nod. “I’m trying to find a way to explain it, but the words aren’t easy. Basically, your farseeing ability has merged with your atmospheric power. The phrase that my mind keeps repeating istime storm, but I might have just created it because it sounds cool. I don’t know how to define it further. My sphinx intuition suggests that we can use this power before it fades, but I haven’t the slightest idea how.” My nose wrinkles in confusion.

“Can we time travel?” Giddy excitement colors Bren’s tone. I hate to shut him down, but contemplating time travel fills me with dread.

I shudder and shake my head rapidly. Loose tendrils of hair fly around me. “No. Well, possibly, technically, we could … but no. We can’t.”

Bren studies my expression with his brows drawn together, and I try to explain. I don’t usually have difficulty speaking, but the topic is so foreign that it scrambles my brain. “It’s really not a good idea. If we try to change anything in the past …. Take the moment Agustin was trapped in that book as an example – stopping this would change more than just his future. If Agustin doesn’t disappear, then my grandmother wouldn’t leave the library. She wouldn’t be captured and killed, so she might still be the librarian. In the slim chance that I’m still born, she might find me before Addington does. My legs might be unbroken, but I wouldn’t have met Kodi. I might not have met you, Garrett, or Avery.” The prospect fills me with so much sadness that my chest aches. I rub subconsciously at my chest, massaging the place where I feel the tie to my mates.

“Not long ago, I would have sacrificed anything to change my body,” I add in a quieter voice. “I would have surrendered my wits to run or dance or just walk – such a simple thing that nearly everyone else takes for granted. I won’t give up the four of you for anything, though, not even that. I can’t.”

Bren’s gaze and body soften as he pulls me into him. The world feels muffled, as if the magic is a thick fall of snow. Sounds are nonexistent, and I might have thought we were the only humans left if the bond with my mates didn’t exist; those and my connection to the library remains strong.

“You’re right. Meddling with time isn’t as easy as books and movies make it seem. I might despise Addington, but I am who I am because of him. If I change who I am, I might not be your mate. I won’t sacrifice this either.” His arm tightens around me, and I relax into him with relief. I was worried he’d argue.

“What if …?”

I lift my head to look at his face. He’s lost in his mind as he evaluates the situation from every angle. I might have a library of knowledge inside my brain, but Bren can solve puzzles and problems with the abstract creativity I struggle to employ; they’re two different forms of intelligence.

“Are we stuck in time? Has time stopped for us? Can we travel linearly?” When I simply blink in reply, he continues. “Can we go to Walthers’ office and destroy him and Addington while they’re frozen in time?”

A bright bolt of electric blue streaks through the static miasma of magical fog. The orgasm might have addled my brain, but I think the magic is trying to communicate with us. I can’t interpret its message, but Bren’s connection to it has increased with every minute. He shakes his head, answering his own question.

“Never mind. That’s equally dangerous,” he sighs. “We don’t want to create a split in time that leads the two of us onto a different path than your other mates.”

I might have been able to explain why time travel is a bad idea, but this goes beyond my understanding. “A split in time?” I echo.

“We could potentially create two paths in which the two of us that exist at this moment right now veer onto a different timeline than the versions of your mates that you’ve grown to love. In that scenario, you might be separated from your mates, too. Furthermore, a version of Addington could survive to threaten the library in either time split, and the sacrifice would have been for nothing. We’d be no different than those that meddle with time ….” He halts mid-sentence, captured by an elusive idea.

“Should we just ignore this opportunity, then?” I prompt after several minutes. The complexity of time is confusing, even with my wealth of knowledge.

Bren jerks at my question. “Sorry. I’ve called the others up, but I need to evaluate my past and current visions. If I’m lost in my head when they arrive, you can explain what’s going on. I don’t think we’re pressed for time because it’s literally ours at the moment.”

I splutter an argument. I haven’t the slightest clue how to explain anything. Bren swoops in for a kiss that effectively halts my half-formed protests. “You’ll know what to say, my little lioness. Before they arrive, I need to tell you that sex with you was the most amazing, phenomenal experience of my life. I love you, and I want to do it many, many more times, but preferably without the magical time storm.”

His earnest declaration of love and appreciation is both swift and endearing. As usual, he adds his flair to everything he says and does. I dart toward him to collect a kiss before he disappears into his visions.

“I love you too,” I say with a certainty I couldn’t muster an hour ago. “Next time, we’ll skip the time storm. I promise.”

An intense smile brightens his beautiful face before it morphs into a mask of concentration. The swirling, opaline colors I saw the morning we freed Kodi returns. This time, a ring of bright blue surrounds his irises, and his sparks are absent. That morning, I’d been worried and scared.

I don’t understand half of the stuff he muttered about time travel, and I have no idea what is actually going on. I am confident he’ll emerge with a solution, however, and I’m not worried about our connection. We are destined to be together, and I won’t undertake any action that might risk our commitment to each other. The same can be said for all my mates. I’ll forego walking and dancing to keep them by my side.

Chapter 37

Kodi

One of the worst things about being a ghost is that I still experience boredom. Before my spurts of solidity, I could will myself into a state that felt like sleep and wake up hours later. I haven’t been able to do that since that morning that I actually slept – or whatever it was that happened. I can’t enter that sleep-like mindset at will, though, and I can’t relax if Zosia’s not beside me.

The others are counting on me to watch the stupid, unmoving book, but it hasn’t done a damn thing. I hover back and forth along the aisle, imagining what the others might be doing and trying to whistle. Evidently, I can sigh and make breathing noises but not whistle …. It’s fascinating.

When Bren joins our bond, taking his place alongside the others and me, I chortle with glee and relief. If they weren’t taking advantage of their time alone, I was prepared to have a serious talk with them. Seconds later, Zosia’s pleasure rises and falls before building again. I applaud Bren without solid hands. The man might seem antisocial, but he knows how to pleasure a woman – our woman. The warmth in my chest and the slightest twitch of my body reassure me that I’ll recover from the backlash of the stupid spell.

Zosia’s ecstasy reaches a pinnacle. I expect her to scream loud enough for everyone on campus to hear. Then …, shit gets weird.

I feel like I’m dying again, but I can’t be extinguished by internal causes. As for my external environment – at first, I think it hasn’t changed. Tiny differences appear one at a time. The air stills. It’s difficult to explain, but it’s suddenly harder to breathe. I remind myself I don’t need air and don’t need to breathe, but the discomfort remains. It’s as if the library and I are suddenly stuffed into a box barely big enough to hold us. Sound and light further dull my muted senses.

I glare at the spelled book, but it hasn’t changed. In fact, it seemslessthreatening than it did minutes ago. It feels like an inanimate object, not even a book. It definitely doesn’t feel like a dangerous artifact with a malevolent spell and a soul trapped inside.

Zosia’s climax rocks through me, but it doesn’t hit me as intensely as the previous one. She feels miles away instead of two floors above me. When Garrett and Avery appear, their movements are slow and graceless. They look like they’re wading through quicksand.

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