“Left unchecked,” Asmira said, her voice cutting through the noise, “Mullo’s curse will echo in all directions, unraveling the threads of fate in the past, present, and future.”
The ticking grew louder.
Red-hot agony stabbed my eye. My knees buckled.
Tavish caught me with a low, anguished cry. He sank to the ground with me and held me in his arms. Saliva rushed into my mouth, and I moaned as my stomach sloshed and bile burned my throat.
“Mullo was clever,” Asmira said, and now her voice was as terrible as the rest of her. “But time is the god element, AND NONE BUT THE GODS CONTROL IT.”
The ticking stopped.
The agony in my skull vanished.
Asmira spoke into the silence. “The gods will not allow Mullo’s curse to survive him. The moment he lodged his curse in another, he ripped a hole in the fabric of fate.” She turned to Portia, and her voice softened. “The gods chose to repair it. In doing so, they chose a very special Timekeeper.”
Chapter
Twenty-Six
PORTIA
The weight of Asmira’s revelations threatened to take me to my knees. The gods had chosen me to smooth the tangled threads of the past—to break Mullo’s curse.
No, hissecondcurse. The one he’d lodged in Albie’s eye, only for me to be born as Albie’s mate centuries later. Had the gods arranged my birth? My head spun, the events of the past three weeks parading through my mind. All the jumps through time. Meeting Tavish and Albie. Watching history unfold. Setting events in motion. All of it had led to this moment.
Had the gods planned all of it? Had they foreseen it?
“Why not just fix everything themselves?” I asked, the question spilling forth before I could stop it. Maybe it was unwise to challenge Asmira, but I wasdonebeing manipulated with no explanation. I stepped next to Da and fixed my gaze as high on Asmira’s face as I dared. “If the gods are all-powerful, why did they need me at all?”
Mullo’s shade twisted and seethed over Asmira’s shoulder, but she ignored it as she said, “Everyone has free will, young one. The gods create the threads of time and fate, but it’s up to mortals and immortals alike to weave them.” She spread her hands, and fire danced over her fingertips. “If the godsunmade every mistake and poor choice, the world would lose all opportunity for growth…and love.”
Love.The power my great-grandsire had failed to understand. My species’ mate bond was built on it. Mullo had used it against us.
The glow around Asmira brightened, and Mullo’s shade behind her recoiled.
“You’ve done well, Portia Balfour,” Asmira said. “Your tasks are finished. Tonight, the gods look to another.”
Albie stirred. He rose to his feet on shaking legs, drawing my gaze. He was pale, but his good eye burned with resolve.
“Me,” he said quietly. Then he reached up and removed his glasses.
My heart skipped a beat. “No,” I croaked, a horrible suspicion forming in my mind. I grabbed his arm. “Albie, don’t?—”
“It’s all right,” he said, turning to me. A soft smile gleamed in his good eye as he leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to my mouth. When he pulled back, my tears gleamed on his lips. “It’s okay,” he amended, his sweet smile tearing my heart in two.
I came alive, grabbing at him. “You can’t do this! I won’t let you!” Strong hands gripped my shoulders, and Da spoke in my ear.
“Wheesht, Portia. He’s doing what he has to do.”
“Let me go!” I screamed, struggling. “Da, please!”
Tavish grabbed Albie’s wrist, his face contorted with anguish. Tears streamed down his cheeks. “Don’t do this,” he begged, his voice breaking. “Albie, please. There has to be another way.”
Albie smiled. “I love you, Tavish. From the very first moment we met.” He brushed a tear from Tavish’s cheek. “Let me go now, love. I have to fix an old mistake.”
“No!” I shrieked, thrashing against Da’s hold. Tavish stepped back, tears streaming down his face.
Fire swirled through Albie’s good eye. Smoke curled around him as he lifted a hand. His first two fingers elongated, his fingertips shifting into shadowy dragon claws.
