“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 stated slowly, “Too much information. Keep it simple.”