Instantly, I saw them all jerk, their careful expressions altering to varying degrees as they rushed toward me.
Elder Fergus made it to me first, stopping in front of me, then he was gently lifting my chin, amber eyes filled with regret stared down at me, not hiding his emotions at all. “I’m sorry. I,” he shook his head, “we shouldn’t have abandoned you like that. We were mad, furious…but we should have been bigger than the men we were.” Amber eyes darted between mine in the hushed quiet. “After we got the letters you sent, we put our anger aside and went to your apartment, but it was empty, and you were gone. We thought you had just left.”
“Elder Harcourt arrived and abruptly took me back.” My chin trembled the barest bit, but I nodded jerkily. “I’m not mad at you guys. I understood. I didn’t like it, but I understood.”
Elder Fergus grabbed me into a bear hug, holding me tight, whispering against my head, his own voice choked, “I’m so sorry.”
“We all are,” Elder Venclaire stated directly beside us, having heard him as I hugged Elder Fergus back just as tightly, and I opened my one eye that wasn’t pressed against Elder Fergus’s chest. “We’re sorry, Caro. You were our friend.” He shook his head, placing his hand against my cheek. We shouldn’t have cast you off like that.”
“You were upset. I understood.”
Nelson smiled a bit, his eyes sad. “At least we had the letters.” He chuckled quietly. “Hitting a plant and gossip-gawking-pain-in-her-ass staff cleaning up the mess.”
Elder Venclaire mumbled, “Leaf on my shoulder.”
Elder Kincaid grunted. “Twig in my hair.”
Elder Fergus’s voice was muffled from my hair. “Falling backward over luggage.”
Elder Kincaid’s brows puckered slowly as I smiled sadly. “Caro…how did your apartment get cleaned out if Elder Harcourt just appeared and took you?”
I blinked slowly, rubbing Elder Fergus’s back, pulling away gradually. Shaking my head, stating on a hoarse voice, “Everything was there when I left. It wasn’t empty.” I wasn’t going to say anything about my last night in the past, if no one had told them.
Golden brows snapped together, and Nelson stated, “Well, it was empty of any of your belongings.” He looked thoughtful. “Maybe Elder Harcourt came back and removed everything, leaving no evidence of you?”
I shrugged a shoulder, King Collins having moved up behind me. “Alright, that’s enough,” King Collins muttered, pulling me back under his arm, sounding confused. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’d like to find out.”
He ushered me to a green couch, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around me, acting all kinds of hovering while Sin sat close, but my eyes had turned cold, the change in my emotion now that my quick reunion was done. My gaze slowly moved around the rest of the room, landing briefly on…Elder Merrick. He watched, damn near reminiscent of how he had appeared not only an hour ago to me, but forty years for him. He sat on a red chair almost in a bored manner, his head tilting the barest bit, black curls dangling over the side of his face. But, his eyes…his eyes of navy blue held only a feral intelligence as he gazed back at me unflinchingly, and nothing had changed for him, or for me, our hatred barely masked. Him, from sleeping with someone of another faction, and me, for being betrayed in the most intimate of ways.
I inhaled deeply…and quickly looked away when I wanted to rip his damn head off, placing a gentle kiss on Sin’s cheek, murmuring, “I’ve missed you.” Trying to keep cool, I put my elbows on my knees, and let my head drop into my hands, staring at the floor. One more inhale, and an exhale, then I began coolly, “Only an hour ago, it was night, and I was in 1994.”
I inhaled heavily. “Philip Masterson in the today of 2035 kidnapped me. Sin shot him at the last moment. The bullet traveled through the force he was taking us back in time with. It moved at a snail’s pace, but when the silver bullet touched his flesh, it stopped our progress. We ended up in 1993, which was not his intended destination, I’m assuming. When pedestrians began to attack him, Philip Masterson went back. Without me.”
Another shaky inhale. “I sought out Elder Farrar with the Primal Diamond.” I licked my lips, and stated a lie, which I prayed no Shifters contradicted me on, even the one who hated me. “I found Elder Farrar, but I lost the Primal Diamond in the process, the damn thing as small as it was.” I paused. “I’m sorry, Leric, it’s who knows where back in 1993, but anyway, Elder Farrar could not take me back to 2035. He wasn’t powerful enough, and supposedly, Elder Harcourt would have found me if I wasn’t supposed to be there. During my course of time there, I met the then Prodigies, who were Fergus, Kincaid, Nelson, and Venclaire. I also met Elder Jacobs and Elder Merrick, and the then King Townsend, King Samson, King White, and King Bridges. All of them eventually found out I was from the future when the Kings went and drugged me to find out who I was and what my story was since I had no background.”
Another inhale. “I managed not to spill any world ending secrets for the around five months I was there before one night, which, again, was only an hour ago for me, Elder Harcourt showed up, said my time was up, and brought me back through time.” My voice was a bit harsh. “And now, it’s forty fucking years later, I’m once again the Prodigy in 2035, my brain is still spinning a bit in dimensional warp shit, and I would like to go take a shower and go to bed before any questions are asked of me.”
A long beat of silence, then Queen Ruckler muttered, “She’s not lying.”
“I am going to kill that bastard!” King Collins barked so damn loudly, and furiously, even I jumped a bit, turning to stare at him over the back of the couch. “Do we have any Commoner drugs here?” He waved a hand at the room. Silence only greeted him, and he barked, “I’m serious, people. I know some of you imbibe. Like Valium or even some damn marijuana she can smoke to help her sleep through this reality transition?”
My mouth parted, but I slowly shut it, thinking that might be a decent idea.
King Zeller cleared his throat. “Yeah…um,” he sounded hesitant, “I may have something. I’ll be back in a moment.” He left the room in a blur.
“God, I’m going to kill that bastard,” King Collins muttered again, starting to pace, his eyes never leaving me. “You’re alright? You weren’t harmed?”
My mouth opened again, but I shut it, thinking how to phrase my answer. “It’s nothing I can’t get past.”
He punched the air, spinning a bit with the action, muttering curses under his breath.
And I couldn’t help my gaze wandering back to Elder Merrick. Because, yeah, I could definitely get past it after I kicked his fucking ass. Bloodied him. Stabbed him a few times in specified locations on that body of his. Then, possibly buried him in the back yard with Sin’s help. Hopefully still alive as I spit on his grave.
Frosty, navy blue stared back at me evenly, and the bastard’s lips actually tilted the barest bit, a blatantly cruel challenge.
And Lord, I started glowing dimly, my jaw clenched, nostrils flared, barely able to keep myself from blasting him, my hands shaking with the need as my blood boiled.
His lips only lifted further, the barest bit, baring his teeth, his own eyes starting to glow dimly.
“What…?” King Collins stopped pacing off to my side as everyone in the room froze, and he flicked a finger between the two of us as we stared each other down. “What the hell’s going on?”
“Hatred.” Elder Zeller inhaled heavily. “And I mean a lot of it.”
More flicking of King Collins finger as he instantly took two steps forward. “What’s happened?” A pause, his head cocking. “What happened in the past I need to know about?”
“You are a piece of shit,” I growled low in my chest straight into navy glowing eyes.