Dry words from Elder Jacobs. “Would someone please care to explain why the Prodigies and Ms. Farrow have all,” he waved a bored hand, even though his dark eyes were sharp, “plummeted about the carpeting like dropped sticks?”
A wave of all magical factions powers slammed through the room—guess the Kings didn’t want to explain, but all I felt directly was a potent dose of fire Elemental power aimed at me, and it rocked me at full power, keeping me pressed to the couch. The fiery touch commanding, Fergus grunting and falling on his side a few feet in front of me, and I blinked seeing the Kings each moving peacefully to a cabinet, ignoring the silent glares they were receiving from the two Elders, who both appeared to be waiting for them to make just the wrong move before they dropped them, both miens barely hanging onto their threads of respect, not wanting to over command them if it wasn’t needed. King White opened the cabinet…the thing lined with silver, and they each pulled a pair of black gloves out silently, slipping them on, and lifting silver handcuffs from the depths of the cabinet.
Oh, holy shit.
Just as Elder Merrick started growling low in his chest, his voice decidedly ticked off, his positioning protectively in front of Kincaid, Elder Jacobs in front of Fergus spoke in a very soft tone, which was scary in itself. “You four have exactly two seconds to start talking.”
King White instantly stated, “We managed to fingerprint Ms. Farrow while she was recovering in jail. Not only does she not have a background,” his head teetered back and forth, “she also doesn’t exist according to any database. So, we’re done fucking around. It’s time questions were answered, and the Prodigies are going to sit back and listen mutely.” He bent next to Fergus. “And learn something about trusting so damn easily.”
King White swiftly slapped the silver cuffs on Fergus, then a second pair on me, making me grit my teeth as the icy burn coated me from the inside out. Like a shot of pure dry ice shut down any chance of me using my powers, not positive I could have with the drug in my system like it was anyway, but I kept my gaze firmly away from Elder Merrick, since I would have been glaring at him when he and Elder Jacobs went mute, stepping back to stand at a wall quietly, letting the Kings do their thing.
“What. The. Hell?” Fergus slurred on a shout from the ground, sounding entirely pissed, the other Prodigies voicing their complaints loudly, too, as they were silvered.
“Calm down,” King White murmured, bending to lift Fergus to a sitting position, and then he shouted, his head flying back when Fergus swung his head back in a quick jerk, slamming the back of his head into King White’s face. “Shit!” He shook his head swiftly, blood running down his nose, but it quickly cut off, healing, his grip not loosening on a clearly furious Fergus. “I’m not going to hurt you, dammit!”
“Get her out of those cuffs!” Fergus growled before a slew of inventive curses aimed at the Kings starting flying out of his mouth on a slur.
King Bridges actually chuckled at the furious expression King Samson wore at one of the particularly artistic insults toward him as they started dragging their drugged and silvered Prodigies to lean against a wall next to each other.
“Shut up,” King White muttered under his breath, starting to drag Caleb next to the other Prodigies. “Before you piss one of them off too badly.”
Instant slurred order. “Get. Her. Out. Of. Those. Cuffs!”
“Not after we’ve gone through this much trouble to get her in them,” King White muttered, placing Fergus gently on the wall, then growled another curse when Fergus started shouting at all of them, many different variations of ways he would kill them if they hurt me…to the point where King White gagged him with one of his gloves and the curtain ties he grabbed. “Be quiet before they charge your ass.”
King Samson murmured very dryly, “It’s tempting.”
And, Fergus flipped him off.
“Fergus!” I barked loudly, shaking my head against the ringing in my ears that caused. “I like you living, so do as he says.” My forehead sweating from the silver, I turned my eyes to King White. “He’s only protecting you.”
“Very nicely deduced.” King White removed his other glove, straightening to stare at me directly across the intimate room we were in, the Prodigies about ten yards away from me. “And seeing as you’re extremely intelligent and smooth with your dialect,” he waved his arms wide, “here we are.”
“I didn’t lie,” I mumbled. “You asked. I answered.”
King Townsend waved a finger. “You still never answered a question directly.” A wave at the silent, glaring Prodigies. “And you, your powers unknown to us, a woman with no background or history, except for activity with a criminal stopping by your apartment late at night and trained fighting skills against Law enforcement—we saw a video of that, by the way, a woman who does not exist in this world, you’ve managed to worm your way into their lives to the point each one trusts you completely.”
I sighed heavily. “I have no malicious intent toward any of them or any of you.”
King Townsend murmured, “Truth.” He nodded once. “I think you understand where this conversation is going, Ms. Farrow, so why don’t you start at the beginning.”
I chuckled quietly, eyeing them as I slurred, “Peace Kings, my ass.”
All four of their lips lifted slightly, and King White stated simply, “We brought peace to a world terrified from war.” A shrugged shoulder. “How we did so, is moot at this point, everyone much better off than how things were.”
I grunted. “I’m not really up for giving my life story.” I blinked slowly. “It’s really a dreadful and depressing one to most.”
“We’ll ask, then, and you answer without the elaboration of warped prettiness.” King White inhaled and exhaled slowly. “Your parents. Who are they?”
“I don’t know. I was raised in foster homes, none of those people’s names worth remembering.”
King Townsend nodded once.
“What are you since we can’t feel your power?” King Bridges asked bluntly, his arms crossed, leaning back against the bar.
Keeping it simple. “I’m not a Com. I’m Elemental.”
Another nod from the Shifter.
King White ordered, “Elaborate.”
My lips pinched, but I exhaled heavily, seeing no real way around this unless I wanted my throat slit, since I had no doubt one of them would do it in the dark of night if I didn’t pass this little test, stating, “I’m a spirit Elemental.”
All four stared at me for long moments, clear shock radiating on their faces, then three of their heads jerked to King Townsend, and he nodded once absently.
King White muttered a curse, running a hand over his face, peering at me with brown eyes as he held his hand over his mouth for, at least, a full minute. Not saying a word in the shocked silence before he dropped his hand, face blank, but he wasn’t a fool, not missing a damn thing, turning his attention to the Elders, asking them gruffly, “Did you know she’s a spirit?”
And, they both only stared at him calmly—no shock, their eyes both hooded. Apparently, they were going to let him run this little show, but they weren’t about to help.
“That would be a yes,” King Bridges murmured, actually appearing a bit amused—must have been listening to their heartbeats, his gaze coming back to me. “Why can’t we feel your powers? Is that a spirit thing?”
“No,” I stated calmly. “I don’t know how it happened, but I’m protected from others feeling my powers from a distance.”
A nod from the Shifter.
“Where are you from?” King White asked quietly, studying me closely, definitely a different light in his gaze now that he knew what I was.
“All over,” I slurred, blinking slowly to keep them in focus. “All over this fucking world.”
Instantly, King Samson’s head tilted oddly, and his eyes started glowing, and they all waited until he murmured in a dreamy tone, “World…Distance…Years…Dates…” My heart rate shot off like a cannon even
with the drugs in my system, sweat beginning to trickle down my temples. King Bridges eyes flicked to me, then back to the Mage, whose head cocked the other way. “Lost…Scared…Alone,” his eyes glowed brighter, “Soul mates…Crossed…Love…Dates…Time,” he stuttered, voice airy, “Time…Time…Time…” He jerked, his entire body glowing dimly. “This isn’t her…time.” A wave of a hand as he stared off at only something he could see. “She’s from the…distance.” Another head cocking. “The future.”
I kept my face perfectly blank, scared to do anything else as he lurched, his glowing stopping, his gaze positively frantic as he asked me hurriedly, “You haven’t done anything to disrupt the future, have you?”
I stayed silent.
Somewhere I heard a door shut as the employees of the home worked in the hushed quiet.
“Answer me!” King Samson shouted at the top of his lungs, and started stomping toward me.
“Wait!” King White bellowed, slamming a hand on his chest stopping him in mid-motion, then stated more quietly, and slowly, at his furious expression, “You could be wrong.” He stared at him steadily. “And she is not yours to deal with.”
A finger jabbed in my direction. “I am not wrong, and only a Mage can travel through time, unless you know some secret about the elusive spirit Elementals I don’t.” He shook his head. “And even at that, no Mage can travel back in time. Something. Is. Wrong!”
Yes, something was very wrong if they kept up with this line of questioning, but I didn’t know what to do, unsure of what was safe to say.
“Are you from the future?” King Townsend asked bluntly, his wolf riding his tone, appearing confused as hell to even be asking the question.
My eyes tilted back to King Samson…staring at the man who had already done the damage…feeling a nice simmering anger for him in my belly, but I pulled my attention back to King Townsend, saying the only thing I could, “Yes.”
He muttered on a whisper, “Truth.”
“Jesus,” King Bridges mumbled in horrified wonder.
“I fucking told you!” King Samson barked, slapping King White’s hand away, pointing his finger at me again, ordering gruffly, “Keep your mouth shut. Don’t answer another damn question until we get this figured out.”
My lips pinched, and I stared at my lap, still unable to really move from whatever they had drugged me with as the Kings moved to the Elders, who joined the discussion this time, in a corner talking heatedly with one another. I couldn’t control my breathing anymore…my emotions anymore. Because, I honestly didn’t give a shit about any other ramifications, except for the obvious. My friends, the Prodigies, all of them sitting across from me, utterly mute, and still. And my lover, the man who I had learned his real smile, his real laugh, his serious mien, his brutal devotion for his people, the one man in my romantic life, the one who made my heart swell and my stomach turn at varying degrees. All of whom I had tried to keep this damning information from, it being something…one might definitely not look past.
Gut dropping to the bottom of hell, my chest heaved as slow tears began to trickle down my cheeks, joining the sweat on my face, while my chest burned in fear of losing the Prodigies or Elder Merrick, the few right things in my life, but more importantly, of having hurt them. Bit by bit, I lifted my teary gaze across the room. All four stared at me from under hooded gazes, expressions wiped clean of any emotion. I sucked in a shaky breath, mumbling on a sob, “I’m sorry. All of you, I’m so sorry!” I blinked through the tears, mumbling through a choke, “I’m so sorry to anyone here.” I couldn’t say his name aloud, and I hated it.
“Be quiet!” King Samson shouted at me, his tone clearly furious and stressed.
My mouth slammed shut, and I quickly dropped my tearful gaze back to my lap, away from their expressions of nothing, the tears cooled as they dripped down onto my shirt, little splotches of darker black appearing on the material while my heart churned, burning inside my chest. Minutes passed in my heartache, hearing nothing but my heartbeat inside my ears. The sound of desolation, the churning impact of hurting those I cared for, the real ramifications now a reality of being with someone from the past settling heavy on me, because I knew it might not be something I could forgive if the situations were reversed if any of them had hidden this big bad truth from me, not to mention…it was dangerous.
I blinked through the tears, seeing King Samson’s face in front of mine, the Kings having moved back at some point, the Elders back against their places on the wall, both of them rubbing their faces, and King Samson’s expression had altered, and he watched me with quiet eyes, asking softly, “Are you alone here?”
My voice was a mere croak. “Now I am. Thanks to you.” And, thanks to me.
His lips pinched, and he straightened, saying bluntly, “You never should have entered into any type of a relationship in your situation.”
“I should have told the truth,” I ground out. “But Elder Farrar told me not to say anything that could affect the future, so I kept my mouth shut.”
Every single King, and Elder, even after the big shock I had given them, stood frozen for a moment, and King Samson asked slowly, “Elder Farrar,” he pointed at the floor, “from this time?” He watched me warily, warning me. “Be careful what you say.”
“Yes, Elder Farrar from this time. You all know I know him. When I first came back to this time, not of my own free will, I went in search for him to take me back. When I found him, he told me he couldn’t. Only Elder Harcourt could, but Elder Harcourt is even more fucking elusive than spirit Elementals. He’s, apparently, only found when he wants to be.”
King Samson nodded absently.
“Anyway, Elder Farrar stated that he believed I was meant to be here. In this time, otherwise, Elder Harcourt would have found me, known I wasn’t supposed to be here, and taken me back.” My jaw clenched. “So, I was stuck here. I can admit I was depressed for a while, but I got over it before I blew my brains out. I started living again, finding something I never expected to find or experienced before.” A damn tear trickled down my cheek. “And now, it’s all fucking ruined.” I glared at King Samson. “Thank you for that.”
“Truth to all,” King Townsend stated in wonder, staring at me a bit dazed like all the Kings were.
No one said a word for long moments, so I stared between them, nowhere near in control of myself right now, chest burning, my lungs working in overtime as my heart pumped way too quickly.
King White finally broke the silence, asking King Samson, “Is what she said accurate? Can only Elder Harcourt take her back to her time?”
“Yes,” King Samson stated slowly, running his hands through his golden hair. “Elder Farrar would be next in line,” he shook his head, “but he’s not powerful enough yet. Not old enough.” He paused, his gaze flying to me, his mouth opening, eyes widening.
Instantly, I interjected, knowing what he was going to ask. “No, living here a hundred years until he’s old enough would not help me.”
He blinked, and then held up a quick hand. “Don’t answer questions like that. We shouldn’t know the answers.” Eyes to the ceiling as he ran his hands through his hair again. “And Elder Farrar,” a pause, “I have no clue how you really found him, by the by,” a throat clearing, then he was back on track, “he was correct. Elder Harcourt would have found you if you weren’t supposed to be here.” A shake of his head, golden gaze to me. “Tell me this much, because it may help. Did a Mage, in a completely unheard of act, bring you back?”
My lips pinched. “Yes.”
King Samson teetered a hand. “The truth, but not completely.”
King Samson appeared pensive for a moment, and then waved a hand absently at the Shifter King. “It doesn’t matter.” Eyes on me. “Can you seek out this same individual, or individuals, to take you back?”
“No, he went back without me when a bullet stopped—”
I stared wide-eyed at the hand over my mouth, King Samson having moved damn quickly, and he st
ated slowly, “Too much information. Keep it simple.”
“Okay,” I mumbled against his breaking hand. When he lowered it, I stated honestly, “I’m okay being here now.” I paused, my chest aching fiercely. “Or, I was before. But, either way, I’ve come to grips with being here in this time.” Another pause as I peered down at the cuffs I still wore, and back up to the Kings. “Now that you know why I have no past, or why I don’t exist, what type of Mystical I am, and I’m not here with any damn malicious intent toward any of you, can you get me and the Prodigies out of these freaking cuffs?”
The Kings concurred, but King White ordered gruffly before moving to do so, “Everyone stays. Don’t even think about leaving because we’re not through talking.”
Hell, I still couldn’t move, and it wasn’t because of the cuffs, so I had no clue how anyone was going to move with the drugs in their system…until I saw each Prodigy slowly stand as the cuffs were removed from their wrists, Fergus yanking the gag from his mouth, tossing it on the ground before cracking his back to lean back against the wall, arms crossed, ankles spread, green curls dangling down around his hooded eyes, hiding his gaze, and expression further as he stared at me across the room…exactly as each of the Prodigies did. Dark gaze, golden gaze, blue gaze, all three hooded and cold on me. King White removed my cuffs last, and I instantly felt my Core flare to life…but dammit, I still couldn’t move, and I asked quickly, “What the hell did you drug us with?”
“Just a mild sedative,” King Bridges muttered, waving an absent hand as he began pacing.
Instant. “For a Mystical or a Com?”
Everyone stopped to look at me, King Bridges eyebrows puckered, and he stated slowly, “A Mystical, of course.”
“Of course,” I muttered under my breath, and tried pushing a bit of my power…and nothing.
Tried again…and nothing, the drug overpowering my system, not having been exercising the use of my power unless it happened in bed with Cain, my body already drained from the broken bones, and such.
“Is there an issue?” King White asked calmly as he threw the handcuffs into the silvered cabinet.
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