“Max said not to, you would go against him?”
“Aye, sometimes I hae tae beat his arse tae get him tae see reason. I can handle Max, we are brothers. He will be persuaded, tis yer uncles… I need yer permission tae cross them.”
Her eyes settled on the uncles for a moment, swept the war room…
I said, “Nae hurry, Princess, daena want tae rush ye, but the battle is nigh.”
She met my eyes. “Yes, you have my permission.”
I crossed the room.
26
TORIN
DOING IT OVER - SEPTEMBER 16, 2185
“Iam nae goin’ unless ye tell me the truth.”
The uncles stared at me dumbfounded.
I dinna look at Max, but could feel him starin’ at the side of m’face.
“We are makin’ a mistake, I believe ye hae fought this battle before, and now ye are doin’ it again because we lost, and?—”
Ryan said, “Don’t be ridiculous, Torin, what are you saying?”
“I am nae goin’ tae fight it without assurances that ye are being truthful, I need ye tae admit we hae done this before, and I want tae ken that ye hae altered the battle plan. I daena want tae live through this battle again without warnin’. I daena ken how tae fight it differently. I canna fight a battle I hae already waged once. We lose, tis clear — ye are attempting tae fight it again, I say, nae.”
Ryan sputtered.
Aenghus said, “We need ye in the battle! Ye would leave m’nephew on the field? He said ye were his sword!”
“I ken, I am goin’ tae try tae convince Max tae remain here, I want a word with all of ye tae make my case.”
Ryan looked at his watch. “The soldiers are arriving in a minute, we don’t have time for this.”
Aenghus said, “If ye are afraid, Torin, ye can stay here.”
I said, “I am not afraid of anything, nae… I take that back, I am afraid that ye, auld man, are takin’ yer time machine, not even yers, tis Max’s and I almost died ten times in gainin’ it for him, that ye are usin’ it tae twist time tae yer liking. Ye are usin’mybody tae secure a throne, without givin’ me a chance tae agree that I will live this battle over. Tis fraudulent and every battle there is a chance tae die, ye are taking a chance with my life that I daena agree with.”
I looked at Max, “Ye hae thoughts? Remember, m’laird, ye commanded these men not tae turn time again, they hae gone against ye.”
He chewed his lip. “Uncle Ryan, hae we fought this battle before?”
Uncle Ryan huffed, “Come on, nephew, we don’t have time for…”
He let his words trail off.
I met Max’s eyes and then turned tae Charlie. “Ye are being verra quiet, Charlie, ye hae something tae say?”
He shook his head. “I… I will fight with my brothers for my nephew’s throne, as planned, but yeah, I’ve got a weird feeling that this has happened before.”
I said, “I will tell ye what happened, I believe that Max is goin’ tae be gravely wounded, tis why the uncles would try tae do it once more. And I believe ye will be killed, Charlie, tis why ye daena ken about it. But I also think this inna the first time, ye hae all done time over, trying tae unspill the blood and unbreak the bones.”
They all looked at each other.
I said, “I winna demand ye admit it, but am I wrong?”
