Lee’s smile faded into a deep frown.
I told him everything about meeting Olivia, our initial conflicts, and how we fell in love despite them. I also told him about Grey Feather marrying us in the Americas, binding us in ways deeper than time.
“How is he?” Lee asked, his voice heavy with longing.
My throat tightened. “Much of his tribe has been killed. Their people are struggling to survive.”
Silence settled over us, thick with unspoken grief.
The smell of bacon filled the air, stirring my stomach into a hollow ache. I took a sip of coffee, letting its rich, earthy sweetness ground me.
“I’m so glad she found you,” Lee finally said. He stared into his mug asif the past lay in its depths. “I sent her to Rome for a reason. I needed her to take you out of there. She’s a smart girl. I knew she’d figure it all out.”
He lifted the mug to his lips, taking a sip.
I set my own down, my grip tightening around the handle. A thought clawed its way up, twisting in my gut.
“It was you,” I said, my voice quieter now but no less intense. “You threw me into Rome when I was twenty-one.” The coffee in my stomach churned, turning acidic. “And then, years later, you sent Olivia to find me.”
Lee didn’t speak. He didn’t have to.
“We always wondered if you were truly a time traveler,” I pressed. “Grey Feather confirmed it for us.”
Jack’s pan clanged against the stove as he continued cooking, but I barely noticed.
My entire life—every hardship, every twist of fate—had started with the man sitting across from me. And now, at last, I had answers.
But did I want them?
Jack set a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon before me. I picked up my fork and began to eat, my mind still tangled in the conversation, waiting for Lee to speak.
Lee exhaled, pulling himself from his reverie. “Jack called me a few weeks ago and said a strange man appeared near his home. That was you.” He studied me, his brow furrowed. “Who brought you here?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted, wiping my mouth with a napkin. “But I have a note.”
Lee straightened, his interest piqued. “Might I see it?”
“Sure.” I pushed back from the table and retrieved the parchment from the bedroom. When I returned, I handed it to him.
Lee held the note carefully, his lips moving as he silently read the words. His eyes darkened. “Have you met this man? Have you met Malik?”
I shook my head. “No. But somehow I feel like I know him, as if we’re bound by something deeper than time. He’s saved my life more than once.”
Lee nodded, his expression unreadable. “If Malik sent you here, the mission has begun.”
Like feathers brushing against my spine, a strange sensation shivered through me. “What does that mean?”
Lee tapped the parchment. “The letter says you must find Tristan. But Jack and I have been searching for him for months. It’s as if he vanished into thin air.” He splayed his fingers. “Poof. Gone.”
My appetite disappeared. I pushed my plate away and leaned forward on my forearms. “Do you know Malik? What can you tell me about him?”
Lee’s face darkened. “Malik is like a son to Balthazar. Balthazar raised him as his own.” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “But Malik is ruthless. Dangerous. He’s not a man to be trusted.”
He looked at the window as if seeking answers among the trees. His voice dropped lower. “Still, Alina trusted him.”
I frowned. “They were friends?”
Lee nodded. “Yes. She believed in him.”
