Elizabeth Teresa Montgomery II
My heart had not stopped pounding like a drum in my chest. From the moment Louis had explained his insane plan, I’d been in adrenaline overload. I couldn’t quite handle the reality of what he was saying. Shifting the timelines was basically a lesson in ways you should never use magic. We were warned about it from a young age, almost as much as we were warned about embracing our darkness or making deals with demons. A few had ignored these rules over the years, of course, and most of them had died.
It was Louis, though, and I felt deep inside my aching, pounding-too-hard heart that I needed to support him. This was who he was. This was my mate. If there was a way he could save everyone, he was going to take it. I had to just trust in him. He would not leave me easily. I knew that truth more than any other.
“So how can you shift the timeline without shifting everything?” Mischa asked, her arms wrapping tightly around herself like she was chilled.
Louis’s gaze flickered to mine for a beat, before he turned back to his family. “That’s the part that is difficult. I can’t change too many strings of the world’s timelines or I could risk affecting a lot more than just this part of the past. I have to specifically find the line where the spell was cast, and I have to change its story only.”
“So you don’t actually go back in time?” Tyson asked eagerly, wanting more information about this forbidden task.
Louis shrugged. “My … energy goes back, if you will, and I will possess my past self. I should be able to halt the spell if I take him by surprise. After that, I will return to my vessel … in the future.”
“But changing that could still change everything. Like, will you still be Lizzie’s mate?” Grace asked, her hand pressed to her mouth.
Louis pulled me closer, and I could tell her question bothered him. “Yes, we’ll still be mates. If all of you are with me when I cast the spell, you should be spared from consequences. And my aim will be to keep all other timelines the same, outside of a few small changes.”
He was guessing. There was no exact science to shifting timelines, and there was a reason why this never ended well for anyone who tried it.
“Do the council members know that this is your only option?” Justice moved forward then, less attitude on her face than usual. If anything, she looked a little beaten down, and I hoped everything was okay for her. Outside of this drama.
“They know,” he said simply.
Justice shuddered, shaking her head. “I couldn’t do it. You’re one brave dude, Louis, and I have no regrets saving you from that demon realm.”
He chuckled, and I wondered if it affected everyone else the way it did me, sending tingles across my skin and through my energy. “I appreciate that. But the reality is, this is a mistake I made, and I have to set it right. I won’t be able to live with myself if I don’t.”
Jessa surged forward and wrapped her arms around him. Well, around us both really, because I was still firmly held against his side. “Don’t forget how much you have to live for,” she said with force and emotion. “I mean it, Louis. Don’t forget for even a second, because I bet this spell messes with your mind, putting you back in the world and body where you were dark.”
His eyes met mine over her head and I almost drowned in the swirling purple depths. “I will never forget,” he said to her, still staring at me.
My heartbeat picked up again, and I sucked air in deeply, trying not to freak out.Trust.I had to trust him. It was going to be okay.
“Where are you going to try to shift the timelines?” Braxton asked. “And is there any way for me to help you?”
Louis and Braxton exchanged a look and I saw the same closeness between them that I’d noticed the dragon shifter share with the other Compass quads. I wasn’t sure when it had happened, but Braxton had accepted Louis as one of his brothers.
“The dragon might be able to help ground my vessel here,” Louis said slowly. I could tell he didn’t want to pull any of them into a dangerous situation, and for some reason that calmed me even more. He was taking this really seriously; he was not going to leave without a huge fight. I was finally starting to believe it.
“Done,” Braxton rumbled. “I will be by your side the entire time.”
“We’re going to need to go to the strongest ley line,” I said softly. “Louis will need that energy if he’s going to stand a chance.”
“And where is that?” Jessa asked, looking at me. Then her eyes flicked to Louis. “Please don’t say—”
“Antarctica.”
“That,” Jessa finished. “Ugh, I only just got warm from our last time there, and there is no way those bastards will let us in a second time.”
A low voice drifted from across the now almost empty stage; most of the leaders were back on the ground with their people. “You don’t need to go into the prisons, so there’s no reason for us to say or do anything.”
The old supe strolled toward us, his tiny frame hidden under long, thick cloaks. He stood about five feet tall and had tufts of white hair on his head. Most of it had fallen out at some stage. This was a supe at the end of his life, but he still walked upright with strength.
Louis released me and stepped lightly toward the powerful sorcerer. “Lochlan,” he said, bowing his head respectfully.
Lochlan waved him away. “Enough of that. We are far past that, my friend.”
Louis straightened, towering over hisfriend—I had no idea he knew the famous mage.
