Marcellious barely had time to react before Balthazar snatched the journal from his hands.
Then—
In the blink of an eye, they were gone.
Blurred out of existence.
The clearing fell eerily silent.
My vision swam, my mind struggling to comprehend what had just happened.
Darkness crept at the edges of my consciousness, and before I could stop it?—
I collapsed.
And everything went black.
Chapter 13
Roman
We needed a plan for dealing with Tristan.
Currently, he was lounging in a chair in the basement, his head hanging and his body too weak to support itself.
I wanted to kill him.
For betraying Olivia. For harming her father.
But Lee had other ideas.
So, he and I retreated upstairs to discuss our options while Jack disappeared into the kitchen to finish cleaning up.
We stood in the hallway, leaning against the wall.
“The letter from Malik said we need to take Tristan to Italy,” I reminded Lee, rubbing my jaw. “But how the hell is that supposed to happen? Besides, spending even a second in his presence is pure torture.”
“I know, I know,” Lee said, pumping his hands up and down in exasperation. “He’s a sniveling idiot. But he’s a useful sniveling idiot. And he can be controlled by his weaknesses.”
I caught the subtle flicker of his gaze, just for a second, shifting away from mine.
He was hiding something.
I straightened. “What aren’t you telling me?” My voice was demanding.
Lee exhaled. “Tristan can time travel.”
I froze.
“He what?” My pulse kicked up. “How? Is he a Timeborne?”
“No, no, nothing like that.” Lee rolled so his back pressed against the wall, bracing himself. “He’s what’s known as a Timebound.”
I narrowedmy eyes. “Explain.”
Lee hesitated, then shot me a side-eyed glance before continuing.
“A Timebound is someone who can only time travel with the help of a Timeborne.” He crossed his arms. “If the darkness or a Timeborne has a child, that child is automatically a Timebound. Unless they’re born during a solar eclipse—then they’re a Timeborne.”
