Carter’s gaze drifted to Marigold Vesta, and his eyes flared once again. “I see you’re bartering with demons again.”
“I’m bartering to return home, to change everything that has happened here. If I go back, I can stop everything before it occurs.” I took a deep breath. “I’m not sure what will happen if I make it back. I could fail and you’d be in the same situation. I want to try to make things better before I go.”
“Rhiannon.” The fingers Paine wrapped around my wrist were cruel and harsh, squeezing so tightly I couldn’t bite back a wince. “I’ve told you what happens when you change the course of history. You cannot intervene. You can’t do this.”
“What other choice do I have?” I softened toward him, knowing a combination of his fear for me, as well as his adoration, demanded that he force me to stay by his side. “Look around you. Is this the world you want? Could anything possibly be worse?”
“The pain you will bring upon yourself will destroy you.”
“Maybe,” I acknowledged, nodding, “but it’s a chance I’m willing to take. I can’t allow this to happen. Not if I know there is some way I can stop it. This isn’t your choice to make, it’s mine. You’re going to have to let me go.” Sighing, I wound my fingers around his, loosening his death grip. “There’s something I have to tell you, something you need to know.”
“Nothing you can say will change how I feel.”
Taking a deep breath, I whispered, “Which is why I’m going to make things right between us when I go back. I don’t know how, and I’m not sure what will happen, but now that I know what to do, I won’t allow things to pull us apart. I’ll find a way to make things work.”
“Gabriel will never allow that to happen. You know that.”
An invisible vise around my chest made it difficult to breathe. “Once he learns of what occurred between us here, it’s probably not going to matter.”
“You’re going to tell him?” His thumb caressed the back of my knuckles.
“I am.”
He pondered the thought for a moment. “He won’t take it well.”
“No.” I felt as if the weight of the world had suddenly landed on my too weak shoulders. “But he won’t have any choice but to listen.” Lifting my free hand, I cupped his jaw. “I didn’t know how deeply your feelings went, or how I would feel when I learned about them. It’s changed things. I’m not sure what will happen, but I do know this. I won’t let you go when I go back. I won’t let you leave because of this obstacle between us. We’ll find a way to work things out.” Determined, I added, “I’ll find a way.”
He lowered his head until our foreheads touched. “Did I ever tell you that familiars beholden to a family are sometimes shared by those they establish a mark with? It’s not common, as vampires are possessive by nature, but it does occur. The link between those who share a mark is too strong to be denied. Gabriel didn’t want you to know that, which is why he kept you so close at his side. He feared you would feel it, and he wasn’t ready to consider what it could mean for the three of us, of what it would mean for you after all you’ve been through in your life. He didn’t want to frighten or scare you.”
“Because of the mark you established when you saved my life?”
He nodded, his cool skin brushing against mine. “It was necessary, but it was also something I wanted. Gabriel knew that.”
Surprisingly, the information didn’t scare me. “Then I’ll find a way. We all will.”
“I’m waiting, Rhiannon Murphy.” Marigold sounded mildly amused.
I peered up at Paine, smiled, and broke away. “If things don’t work out as I hope, you have a chance to make things right now. That’s the way it should be. Make a difference. If I can’t stop events in the past, don’t let the world to continue as it is.” I turned to Carter. “I’m giving you both a chance here. Use it. Don’t let foolish pride or hate stand in your way. No one will win if you do.”