I placed a hand over his. “Yes, tomorrow. And there’s no logical reason I wouldn’t go, or for anyone else to go with us. So now that everyone is filled in, what do you say we stop talking shop, and make the most of tonight?”
CHAPTERFOUR
Igripped the side of my head and groaned as I rose from the bed of hay that I shared with Alex. No one could argue that we hadn’t made the most of last night. After Eva and I told the others about our demon magic, I’d joined my friends in ordering ale after ale. The drink helped dim our worry and temporarily allowed us to lose ourselves in the moment.
Now, however, it just made me feel like crap, especially because its stench permeated the shack. My stomach heaved a little, and I wrinkled my nose.
Get it together, Dane. Today’s a big day.
Although Diana had put a positive spin on our power, I was still nervous. Terrified, even. And not just over the idea of harnessing black magic.
I’d timewalked once, practically by mistake. I hadn’t known what the heck I was doing. Even though I knew Morgan would be at my side today, holding my hand every step of the way, timewalking was dangerous. People had sustained serious injuries after poorly executed warping and timewalking experiences. Loss of limbs being some of the most severe.
Still, I couldn’t claim that I wasn’t going to practice because I was hungover and scared. No matter what, I had to be the one to timewalk my friends and myself back to the present. Morgan couldn’t because as my ancestor, we couldn’t occupy the same space in time in what would be her future. It sucked that timewalking could only work one way where family lines were concerned.
Glad that Diana, Hunter, and Eva had already left the shack, I got dressed quickly. Once I was done, I leaned over Alex and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“Hey, babe, I’m leaving.”
His eyes blinked open, and his hand found mine, gripping it tight.
“Do you need anything before I go?” There was no need to add that I wasn’t sure when I’d be back. He already knew that it was hard to predict the exact moment a timewalker would arrive in the future or past.
I shuddered. What if I never got good at timewalking and we returned to the present to find that a decade had passed? What sort of dystopia would our loved ones be living in?
“I don’t need anything,” Alex murmured and rose onto his elbows. “Be careful. Listen to Morgan. Let her help you.”
“Excuseme. I’m not the prideful one in this relationship.”
He breathed out a laugh. “I just want to make sure I’m not rubbing off on you.”
I kissed him, and savored the heat between us. We hadn’t had much alone time since arriving in the seventh century, and we were both missing it. A lot.
“You are rubbing off on me,” I replied as we broke apart. “In a good way.”
“I love you, sweets.”
“Love you too.” I squeezed his hand and kissed him one more time before leaving.
“About time.” A voice cut through me as I shut the shack’s door, making me jump. “I was thinking I’d have to send the chickens in to get you out of bed.”
I turned to find Morgan, her red hair glinting in the morning sun and blue eyes twinkling. Not for the first time, it struck me how much she looked more like Eva than me. Then as my gaze traveled over her, I noticed something else. She was dressed differently than usual, in a drapey, white dress that reminded me of a Greek goddess.
“One, the sun just came up, it can’t be that late. And two,” I gestured to the outfit, “what on Earth are you wearing?”
“You like it?” Morgan beamed. “I got it on one of my recent timewalking trips. It’s all the rage in Rome.”
Rome . . .My mouth dried up. “Is that where we’re going?”
“I think it’s a good start. Traveling back a couple more centuries will test your limits—see how far you can stretch into the past. Rome has the added benefit of being home to many great witches. Perhaps we can interview some with darker proclivities.”
I’d been hoping to try timewalking into the future, but Morgan knew best. I would do anything she said if it got me closer to my goals.
“Okay. Do you have an extra one of those dresses?” I asked.
Currently, I was wearing a loose, brown dress with a shawl wrapped around my shoulders to fend off the early morning chill. It wasn’t extravagant, so I suspected that it wouldn’t necessarily stand out where we were going, but it also didn’t look a thing like Morgan’s attire.
My ancestor’s lips curled up. “Of course. It’s lucky that these outfits are roomy. They’ll easily accommodate your height. If we were traveling to a period with more fitted fashion, you’d have to make do with what you’re wearing until we picked something else up.”
