Cayden gently wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. “As much as I hate everyone...” I swatted my best friend. Sure, he’d despised Everly and Rowan at first, but now everyone at this table would throw themselves in front of a runaway train for each other. I’d put money on it. “All of us love you. Don’t be afraid.” He kissed my cheek.
I propped my elbow on the table before pressing my palms against my eyes. The world turned black, and I felt a gentle pressure against the front of my face. When I pulled my hands away, my new world still remained. Who was I kidding? I had stopped believing this was a delusion weeks ago.
I lowered my gaze to my cider and watched the bubbles in the carbonation. “With great power comes great responsibility” is a quote from a comic book, which was turned into movies and TV shows. Movies and TV shows that were a bit old when I watched them, but my dad still loved them.
I waited. Rowan slid his hand onto the top of my thigh under the table, but no one said a word.
I took a sip of cider and swirled it to make the bubbles rise faster. “I’m either from the past or an alternate dimension.” My voice came out stronger than expected, though quiet. “I’m not actually sure. The past makes the most sense, but yeah.” I stopped studying the bubbles and looked at my friends. “I’m not crazy. At least, I’m not crazy here. But yeah, I mean, there’s not much else to say.”
“Not much else to say?” Everly snapped her fingers.
I wasn’t sure what I expected, but her rosy cheeks broke into a smile, and my fear eased.
“One of my best friends is probably from BT.” Everly bounced in her seat, clearly trying to keep her excitement from growing in volume. “Where there was technology, which I’m absolutely obsessed with, and there’s not much else to say?”
“You believe me?” I peeked at the rest of the table.
Hero sat frozen, disbelief cracking across his face. Brit held a few coins between her fingers and gave Cayden a skeptical glance. Rowan smiled at me and put his arm around my waist, resting it just above Cayden’s. My core burned with the memory of XanRa’s hands all over me.
“You told Cayden already,” Brit narrowed her eyes. “That’s insider info.”
Cayden grinned. “Technically, she didn’t tell me. Pay up.”
“What?” I asked, confused. “Pay up? You believe me?”
“Oh, my sweet innocent sister,” Brit said. “Your eyes don’t glow or match your hair. Well, they kinda do now, ish. You couldn’t turn on the lights, and you can’t even stand right to shoot a bow. You’re so painfully not from this time it hurts.”
I ducked my head as Brit and Cayden launched into an argument defining insider information. Everly gave me a huge smile. “Nothing’s changed. I had a feeling. Thank you so much for telling me.”
“Sister,” Hero sputtered. “This is not that simple. How can you still make everything so simple?” He put both his hands on his sister’s arm and gently shook her. “If this is true, Quinn’s old blood, ancient blood. She’ll be a target for everyone wanting power.”
Everly nodded. “It is true, and she is old blood. I told you to follow up on our Intention.”
I blinked a few times. I still hadn’t gotten any… and the more I thought about it, the more I could see Xan keeping them from me until I was ‘ready.’ XanRa had some boundary issues.
“I thought that was because she was your friend!” Hero exclaimed, a faint pink tingeing his cheek, and he tried very hard not to look at me.
“It is.” Everly knocked on the table. “But she’s also the most powerful person here with literal ‘old blood’ in her veins.” She let out an exasperated moan. “How are you so blind? Remember when you thought she was a boy?”
Hero turned bright red and spluttered, prompting Everly to explain herself again in greater detail. Cayden and Brit’s argument grew even more heated, and he pulled his arm off of my waist to jab a second finger at Brit. The privacy bubble popped, and the two arguments unfolding around me blended in with the roaring voices.
Rowan pulled me close. “Thank you for including me tonight.”
“This doesn’t change anything, does it?” I asked.
Rowan pursed his lips. “Yes, and no. I’m still madly in love with you, Q-tip. That hasn’t changed.”
Butterflies filled my stomach. He said love, madly in love.
Rowan slid away from me, only an inch, but it pushed his discomfort forward.
“Quinn, there’s something I need to talk to you about, alone,” he said, keeping his tone even.
“There is,” I agreed.
“You may not leave!” Everly blurted.
The tables around us went quiet.
