Winston was a monster. He’d been alive before the tremors. He was like me.
I sat bolt upright.
I was a monster.
Not really, but maybe.
I’d made that assumption days ago. However, I became so busy and focused on earning money, I forgot about everything else.
But I wasn’t distracted now.
There were three monsters in the Architect’s castle. The skeletal Professor Holiday gave me the creeps. Chancellor Morgen had been very, very clear I was useless beyond my reproductive parts. Then there was the monster lecturing in front of me, who I really knew nothing about.
Cayden brushed my arm. “What is it, Quinn? And if it’s Rowan or Ezra, I promise not to cut you off this time. But I do hate them both.”
“You don’t like anyone, not even me.” The words came out sharper than I meant, with too much truth hiding behind them.
Cayden pursed his lips.
“It’s not Rowan or Ezra.” I leaned into my friend to let him know there were no hurt feelings. I mean, therewere, but I would respect his emotions and move on. “I’ve had an idea. I think I need to talk to Winston.”
Cayden cocked his head to the side but accepted what I wanted as fact and didn’t question me. I love it. I tried to focus on the lecture, but I didn’t have it in me. Winston had to have figured out how to use magic if he was born in BT. I needed his help, as much as I didn’t want to ask for it.
The moment the lecture ended, I popped out of my seat and rushed to Winston with Cayden hot on my heels.
“Winston,” I shoved myself in front of him so he couldn’t slip away, not that he was trying. “Could I talk to you alone?”
“No,” Cayden stated. “Not alone.”
I wrinkled my nose.
Winston glanced between us, then settled his eyes on me. “Quinn, my door’s always open. Say the word, and I’ll clear my schedule.”
I blinked in surprise. “It doesn’t have to be right now.”
“It does,” Winston said as he pushed a scrawl into his TB. “Despite how we’re treating you, you’re not a simple trainee in our family, Miss Eyes from the Past. I will not be happy if I miss this opportunity.”
I flushed. Willow had pegged my eyes immediately. She said ‘everyone’ was talking about me. I’d never even had a conversation with Winston, and apparently, I was worth clearing his schedule for. I paused at how little thought I’d put into my actions here.
I presumed this reality was a delusion but went with it. I didn’t even try to blend in. If a time traveler were to show up in my time, the government would likely pick them up, and we would never hear another word. But there wasn’t a governing body in AT. I guess the Architect’s two options were to turn me away or stick me in a dorm room and keep me busy until the right person had time for me, that person being him, who was now awake.
I gripped my hands together to keep them from shaking. I hadn’t kept my cards close to my chest at all. Whatever conclusions I’d made about consequences not being a big deal suddenly felt very wrong.
A second scrawl went into Winston’s TB. He looked at Cayden. “I shall make excuses for you as well, Lawson, but my goodwill only extends if Quinn remains safe and out of your compound.”
“She will never join my family. I give you my word.” Cayden held out his hand.
Winston cocked his head to the side before he took it.
I bit the inside of my cheek. The questions I wanted to ask Winston definitely pointed to my existence before the tremors. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to have that conversation with anyone else yet. But, of all the people here, I spent most of my time with Cayden. He accepted every weird quirk, word, and item I’d flashed in front of him.
Warmth curled through me before I could stop it. My fingers found his like muscle memory.
I trusted him. Maybe that was my mistake, or the first smart thing I’d done since waking up here.
“Don’t let me down, Lawson.” Winston gathered up a few scrawls and shoved them into his pocket-void. “Follow me.”
The Friar Tuck-look-alike led us to an office above the library I hadn’t noticed. Glass cases filled with Scottish military uniforms, weapons, and even a set of bagpipes lined the walls. The air between Cayden and me still hummed, even as Winston’s presence cooled the room.
