He stumbled, coughing out a shuddered breath.
“What?” he muttered once he’d recovered, rubbing his jaw. “I just remember the last time I was in this situation. I had a gun to the old man’s head.”
My fingers curled into fists.
I took a step toward him, my expression turning to ice.
“And this time, you’re under my command.” My voice dropped to a lethal whisper. “Do you honestly think I’m done punishing you for your actions?”
Tristan’s face paled. His mouth opened—then shut again.
Smart.
I turned back to Jack.
“Goodbye, Jack,” I said, my voice quieter now. “I hope we’ll see each other again.”
Jack gave me a sad smile, lifting his hand in farewell.
I didn’t let myself hesitate.
I crossed the wooded yard, heading for the clearing I’d scouted earlier. The moon had begun its ascent, slipping through breaks in the clouds like a silver omen.
I turned to Tristan.
Without a word, I slashed his palm.
He hissed in pain, but I ignored him, smearing his blood onto the pendant before inserting it into the hilt of my dagger.
Then, I cut my palm.
I lifted my bloodied hand, letting the sacred words fall from my lips.
The dagger flared to life, pulsing with power.
And then?—
Everything fractured.
Time splintered around me, twisting and folding in on itself.
I felt myself plummeting through the ages, ripped from one reality to another, each moment bleeding into the next.
For a brief, terrifying instant, I no longer knew what was real.
Who I had been before all this began…
Or who I would become once I landed.
Wonder and dread warred inside me as I tumbled through the void.
Because I knew?—
Whatever was waiting for me in 16th-century Italy…
It would change my life forever.
Chapter 14
