by Cherie Marks
“Here! At the foot of the bed. This is where I want to be.”
She stepped in place and pulled the book from her backpack. With a final look at Mav, she opened the book to the correct page.
“Wait! Are you certain this is the right thing to do? It said that you can never go back to the same time again. This will be your only chance to get it right.”
Mav’s question didn’t offend her. She’d actually asked herself the same question many times. Always her answer had been yes. No alternative would work except to go back and make different choices this time.
“It is my chance. This is what I need to do. I need to see who tried to kill my father so that I can stop the assassin in the act the first time. Whoever it is won’t even get the chance to murder him in this current time because that person will be executed when I catch the one who tries.”
“Wait!”
“What now?”
“Where’s the necklace your mother gave you?” She put her hand to her forehead with the realization of how close she’d come to messing everything up. Quickly, she unzipped her backpack and pulled out the tissue-wrapped necklace. She carefully unfolded the paper and shook the necklace free, placing it over her head until it hung around her neck. It felt right, and she understood why it would work to keep everything in balance. It reminded her why she was doing this—for her family.
Satisfied that she was ready, she pulled her curved dagger to be ready for any attacks that came her way. Her gaze dropped to the book in her other hand. She laid it before her on the foot of the bed and began to chant the words. Her voice shook slightly at first but grew in strength as she spoke the powerful spell.
As it began to work, she felt her body fading slowly. The room around her shifted as her vision blurred. The scene seemed to speed up as sunlight and moonlight traded shifts moving across the room in fast motion. Often, she sensed others moving in and out of the room, going about their daily lives, but she continued to feel time in reverse. She reminded herself that she had ten minutes only to do everything that needed to be done.
Finally, the room came into focus once more, and she caught a glimpse of a shadow leaving out the balcony doors. She ran to catch the killer she was certain it must be, but as she glanced over the railing, she saw herself scaling down the palace wall. It was surreal and creepy, but it was exactly how she planned it.
With determination, she returned to the foot of her father’s bed, and tears sprang to her eyes once again as she saw his peaceful form, breathing gently in his sleep. Her chest tightened as she realized it was the first time that she’d seen him alive in five years.
She wanted to run around the side of the bed and wake him up with a hug, but she had a mission to complete and limited time to make it happen. If she got lost in just holding onto what she’d wanted for so long, she might miss her opportunity to make it permanent.
“Father.” She scanned the room to see if any invaders had come in while she’d been distracted, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She tried to wake him again, raising her voice as loud as she dared. “Father, it’s Gemma. Wake up.”
He gave a small cry and sat up quickly. “Gemma? What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to...” She felt her body flicker, as if her time were up here. NO! It was too soon. She needed to tell him. Someone is trying “...to kill you!” The words flew out of her mouth, but she stared at his horrified face and realized what he’d heard.
In an instant, she was dragged forward in time, slamming into her body so much faster than when she’d left it. She sagged against Mav before straightening and looking him in his beautiful, sad eyes. “Oh, no! I know what happened now. You must send me back. I know why my father believes I tried to kill him!”
“I can’t send you back.”
“I don’t care about the rules. Send me ten minutes later. I just need to go back and tell him the truth. My father thinks I tried to assassinate him!”
Mav’s nostrils flared as he tried to point to something with a nod of his head. As Gemma turned and looked, she understood why she’d been brought back so soon. Captain Narcus held the closed spell book in his hand. Ten guards or more had swords drawn and pointed at Mav and her.
“Guards, take them into custody.” As the guards grabbed them roughly, the Captain said, “Did you really think I’d fall for your little tricks? Those two idiot guards might have let that mouse Shifter fool them, but she couldn’t fool me.”
He turned on his heels and called over his shoulder, “That is King Zolunder’s assassin. Take them to the prison with the cats and Shifter, and feel free to be rough with them. They can all rot in there until the day of their execution.”
Chapter 18
Mav sat against the cold stone of the prison cell and listened to Gemma cry. He wished he could span to her side and hold her in his arms, but the prison blocked all magic, which meant none of their powers worked here.
Gemma had looked like she was in shock as the guards shoved them out the door and down the hall. Over and over, she had said, “It really was me, Mav.”
Slowly her tears seemed to slow, and he hoped she’d cried herself to sleep. Her next words, though, told him that she probably wouldn’t get sleep at all tonight.
“No wonder my father believed I’d tried to kill him. I had my dagger pulled. My words...I said...I’d come to...” She didn’t finish whatever she was going to say. Falling into fresh sobs once more instead.
He felt so helpless. So sure he’d thought of everything, he hadn’t even considered what would happen if she wasn’t even able to complete what she’d gone back to do. Instead, she’d confirmed the King’s belief that she had come to assassinate him. Now, he had to wonder if they had never sent her back, would things have changed? By sending her back, had they set into motion everything that had gone wrong ever since? It was enough to make one’s head ache.
His heart broke with every painful sob that came from her cell. He wanted nothing more than to ease her suffering, but again, he felt powerless to do anything. One thing he knew, they couldn’t stay here and wait for their execution.
Dammit! He was a Royal Hunter. He’d vowed to give his life to protect her, and he was going to find a way to get them out of here if it was the last thing he did.
Of course, if he were being truly honest, it wasn’t only his responsibility to the royal family that made him want to give his all for her. He knew the truth. Maybe he’d always known the truth.
He felt something deep for Gemma. In his soul, he knew that that was the reason the King had sent Maverick after her. From the beginning, the King had noticed that something about Gemma had drawn Maverick in. And once they met, there was clearly a strong connection. In the old tradition, the people would say they were soulmates, but that implied they never had a choice. He would always give Gemma a choice, and he would always support her dreams, whether they were to travel through time or to find and remove cursed objects before someone got hurt.
He wanted to give her the life she deserved, and in order to do that, he needed to get them out of this prison. They needed to get their hands on that book once more and do the spell right this time.
He rose from the floor and began to pace. He just needed to think things out. “What do you know about this prison, Gemma?”
She didn’t answer immediately, so he pressed her. “Gemma, I know you’re devastated, honey, but right now, we need to work on getting out of here and finding a way to save your father.”
“Why even try?”
“Because it’s the honorable thing to do.”
“What will it change? I mean, I tried to fix the first mistake, and it was a disaster. It’s me. I don’t think I can do it right.”
“Don’t say that. You can do this. I believe in you.”
“I’m still such a disappointment to my father. He died believing that I tried to kill him.” She dissolved into tears again.
Maverick stopped pacing and leaned his forehead agai
nst the wall between them. He wished he could pull her out of this depression, but all he could do was support her. “I’m so sorry, Gemma. I wish it had gone differently.”
“Oh, boo-hoo!” Jeff the familiar yelled across the cell at Gemma, and she stopped crying for a few seconds. “You failed! So what? So what if you didn’t get it right the first time? Do you think that’s the end of trying? Failure isn’t the end. It’s the point where you eliminate an option. That’s all it is. Now, quit your pity party and figure out how Maverick and you are going to get us out of here.”
Maverick pounded the wall with the bottom of his fist. “Don’t talk to her that way, you old geezer! Gemma, don’t listen to him.”
“No, he’s right. I am spending too much time feeling sorry for myself. I...I can’t just give up, but I’m scared. What if I try again and it’s just as disastrous? What if I go back and I learn...I was the assassin? What if I kill my father?”
“Just details, kid. You can ‘what if’ yourself until you’re blue in the face. It won’t change what is meant to happen.”
“Dammit, Jeff! Just keep your yap shut.”
“I just want to run and never stop running.”
Jeff rattled the chain circling his paw. “And how has that strategy worked out for you, princess?”
If Mav had been in the cell, he might actually have considered tossing the damn cat out the barred window. Even as Mav knew the cat spoke truth, he wasn’t sure that Gemma was ready to hear what he was saying to her.
She was silent for too long for his peace of mind. Maverick called out to her, “Gemma! Are you okay? Talk to me.”
“He’s right, Maverick. I can’t run from this. I have to try to make it right whatever it takes.”
Maverick sagged against the wall. Relief filled him. She was going to be okay.
Now he just needed to figure out how to get them out of here.
As he glanced around the cell, trying to look for any weaknesses, he heard a loud scraping sound in the hallway outside of their cells. He crossed the cell and tried to look outside the small square rectangular window with thick, solid bars, but very little outside of it was visible. He mostly saw gray, stone walls.
He couldn’t see what was making the noise, but once the scraping stopped, he heard two light footfalls. Then, a tiny voice said, “You look just like her.”
He heard Gemma ask, “Like who?”
“Mother. You look like our mother.”
He heard Gemma’s sharp intake of breath. “Wait! You’re Hadden, my brother.”
“And you’re my biiig sister, Gemma. I’ve been waiting so long to meet you.”
“How do you know about me?”
“Before I came here, Mother told me all about you, and I couldn’t wait to see you. She told me that people would try to tell us that we couldn’t be together, but that the truth is better than that.” He lowered his voice to a whisper, but Mav could still make out his words. “Whoever tried to keep us apart didn’t want us together because we’re stronger together.”
“But the prophecy said we would battle each other. I don’t want to fight you. I hope you don’t want to fight me.”
The cutest sound of laughter rolled out of the little boy before he said, “I can’t fight. I’m too little. Besides, you got it wrong. Mother said that we would battle together!”
Mav ran the prophecy through his head. Maybe the little guy was right. He remembered the words spoken said that when Gemma and Hadden were in the kingdom together they would battle. It didn’t specify who the battle would be against.
“You’re right, kid!” Mav wanted to try to get Hadden to let them out. If he could just convince him to bring the keys to Maverick, they could escape and get the book back. There was still a chance. “Do you think you could help your sister?”
“Mother said I should help my sister. She said I would know how when I saw her.”
“I know how you can help. If you can bring us the keys, so we can get out of here, that would definitely help your sister.”
Maverick heard a slight commotion, and suddenly, the kid came into view. He had messy light-brown hair and the same bright green eyes as Gemma. There was no doubt that they shared genetics.
“I’m not supposed to talk to strangers. Who are you?”
“I’m Maverick Waraxe. I was a friend of your father’s. Now, we’re not strangers.” Mav tried to smile in a friendly way. “So you think you could get the keys?”
Hadden smiled back at him. “I can get them, but then you have to help Gemma hide. She’s in danger.” He was back to whispering.
Mav nodded, hoping the kid could see the motion through the barred window. “I promise that I will protect her always.”
“Okay.” In a blink, the kid placed his hand on the lock, and Mav heard the door click open.
As the kid walked to Gemma’s cell and did the same thing, Mav swung the door wide and asked, “No one is supposed to use magic down here. How did you do that, Hadden?”
“It’s easy. Mother showed me how to get past the magic wards. She’s very smart.”
Gemma stepped out of her cell. “Is Mother still here?”
He looked at the floor and shook his head. She felt his sadness. “She’s trapped. I can’t get her out. I keep trying, but she didn’t show me how to do that.”
“I’m so sorry. You’ve been all alone.” Gemma wrapped her arms around her little brother and squeezed gently.
“It’s okay because she said that when I found you, you’d know how to get her back.”
“Oh.” Gemma’s gaze met Mav’s, and he saw the uncertainty there. “Well, I’m afraid...”
“We must wait until tomorrow. It’s a special day when everything will be perfect to bring back Father and Mother. Mother said you can only do it tomorrow. She told me over and over that the time would come. That it would be the night of the new moon the day after I found you. And, now I found you. So, it will be tomorrow.”
“Okay. Goddess, I hope you’re right.” She sighed heavily. “Tomorrow it is then.”
Chapter 19
In the cottage in the woods once again, Gemma felt stronger than she had in a very long time. They’d freed Kylie, Gaston, and even Jeff, with his know-it-all attitude. She had to admit, he was one wise familiar, and it might be alright if he stuck around.
Of course, she hated to leave her brother behind. She had wanted him to come with them, but Jeff had said it would be a bad idea. They needed him inside the castle to let them in tomorrow. Plus, Captain Narcus would be alerted if the crown prince was missing.
But she vowed that as soon as everything was back to the way it was supposed to be, she was going to spend so much time just getting to know her little brother.
“Are you ready for tomorrow? You know, if you want to run, I understand. I wouldn’t blame you at all.” Kylie hugged Gemma, and Gemma surprised herself by not wanting her friend to let her go too soon.
“I can’t run from my problems. A very wise person once told me that.”
Kylie flounced her hair over her shoulder. “Gee, who would that have been?”
“Thank you.”
“For what? Great advice?”
Gemma laughed, liking the feel of the human behavior. “That, and for being here with me. You really are a great friend. I’ve never known a true friend. All the other people I called friend would have gladly stabbed me in the back to make themselves look good. Literally, stabbed me in the back. We were all training to be assassins.”
Now Kylie laughed, and Gemma liked the feeling of bringing a little joy to another. It was actually a better feeling than receiving joy for oneself. She liked making others happy.
“Gemma, can I speak with you privately?”
Speaking of joy, Gemma couldn’t erase the smile from her face when she heard Maverick’s voice behind her. She swiveled to face him.
“I think I’ll go inside now.”
Gemma didn’t even take her gaze off Maverick when the door slam
med behind Kylie.
“What did you want to talk about?” She read the passion in his eyes and was pretty sure he wasn’t really interested in conversation.
“Will you go check the protective wards around the property with me?”
Not exactly what she expected, but she nodded. It might be nice to clear her mind before she had to go to battle tomorrow.
Dusk surrounded them, still giving enough light for Gemma to watch Maverick out of the corner of her eye. He seemed unsettled, like he didn’t quite know how to say something. Then, it occurred to her why he was finding it difficult to say. He was telling her he was leaving.
“Where will you go?”
“What?”
“That’s what you want to tell me, isn’t it? That this has been too much, and you don’t want to deal with it anymore. I don’t blame you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It was never your problem. You are free to go anywhere you want to go, to be anything you want to be. You don’t have to be a hunter any longer.”
Maverick stopped and gently tugged her toward him. He put his hands on her upper arms, and she could feel his gaze on her, but she refused to look at him. She was afraid she’d cry again. Now that the floodgates had been opened, she was finding her emotions came naturally...and often.
“I’m not leaving. That was not why I asked you out here with me.”
She looked up at him. “It’s not?”
“No, it’s not. I wanted to be alone with you. I was hoping you might kiss me again. I mean, if tomorrow is my final day alive, I want to go knowing that I lived my best life before it happened.”
“A kiss? That’s all you want.” She leaned up and brushed her lips across his. With what she hoped was a mischievous glint in her eye, she stepped back and said, “Well, there you go. A kiss. Happy?”
With a growl, he cupped the back of her head and pulled her in, taking her mouth with a demanding caress of his tongue. She hungrily returned his kiss as warm sensations radiated through her. She couldn’t get enough of his mouth. His other hand gripped her thigh and lifted it over his own hip as he bucked his pelvis into hers. She felt his arousal and moaned at the undeniable sign of his desire.