I scooped her up and kissed her forehead.
“It’s just you and me now, baby girl,” I said with a sigh. “But that’s okay. Your daddyisthe most powerful mage of all time. We’re gonna be just fine.”
But her confused expression turned into a frown, then she began to cry.
“Oh, honey,” I murmured. I pressed her to my chest and rocked her back and forth, rubbing her back. Despite my efforts to soothe her, she continued to cry. I groaned inwardly when I noticed she needed to be changed. One of the things I apparently didn’t think about when time-travelling was that I forgot to bring any supplies.
“Shh, just hang on. I’m going to clean you up,” I promised.
Still trying to calm her down, I snuck out of the cavern entrance and glanced around. Despite being far away from the Knights, I had no idea about the safety of my surroundings. I knew I was definitely in Cinderhollow, judging by the mountains and tell-tale scarlet sky of the sunrise. But a lot could change over the centuries, and I wasn’t about to throw away our newfound safety by being careless.
Thankfully, Angel quieted down as I slipped down the ravine towards a stream. I kept my eyes and ears peeled for any sudden noises, but the wilderness was silent. I crouched near the water and cleaned Angel up, then ripped off a strip of fabric from my shirt to create a makeshift diaper for her. The cool mountain air nipped at my bare skin now, but I was willing to suffer for my daughter’s health and comfort.
Angel had stopped crying now, but her face was still stuck in a frown.
Maybe she’s hungry,I thought.
I glanced over the land and felt a pang of longing. In the distance stood the tribe I knew and loved - Cinderhollow.
Even if they didn’t love me back.
The thought of strolling into town and picking up necessities was tempting, but right now I felt too vulnerable to try. I was exhausted from spending so much magical energy. A lot could change in a few centuries, and I was afraid things had taken a turn for the worst.
But one specific thing gave me hope. Surrounding Cinderhollow in a huge, translucent arc was the barrier I’d created long ago. My heart filled with hope. It was still standing, after all this time - still protecting the tribe.
I’d left something special behind using the same skills that earned me so much hatred. I felt a smug satisfaction that the barrier stood untouched while the Knights who tried to kill me for my magic had died a long, long time ago.
Serves them right,I thought bitterly.
But that led me to another train of thought - once again, unfortunately, about Kassius. I frowned despite myself. Was he still alive? My mate had been a dragon shifter, too, giving him the ability of a long natural lifespan. Dragons who had claimed their mates in a mutual bite could share their life force equally, but it was at the cost of cutting down their own natural lifespan.
But Kass and I never claimed each other,I recalled. It was one more reason for society to despise me. Not only was I hated and feared for being skilled with magic, but I was an omega who refused to be claimed by an alpha. People’s reactions ranged to thinking of me as a foolish troublemaker, to being downright sinful.
My lips faded into a frown. Just because we hadn’t split our life force didn’t mean that dragons couldn’t be killed in other ways, I recalled. Disease or murder was always an option, and Cinderhollow wasn’t exactly a paradise when I left it behind. A lot could have happened after I vanished. Maybe Kass was murdered for promising to turn me in and showing up empty-handed.
The thought of Kass slowly getting sick - or being killed - made me shudder. Maybe it was what he deserved. But he was the father of my child, and the horrible act he commited didn’t make his death any less uncomfortable to think about.
I couldn’t do it back then,I thought, remembering the awful feeling of being surrounded by the Knights with Kass at the lead. I couldn’t kill him. I didn’twantto kill him.
Angel suddenly laughed. She was sitting by the stream and giggling at her wavering reflection as she splashed her hands in the water.
Her smile looks so much like Kass’s.
I sighed as the good memories of my ex-mate floated to the surface of my mind. Kass was full of surprises. He never minded that we were mates without a mutual claim. It was one of the reasons I chose him, besides the fact that he was the only alpha in the tribe with any romantic interest in me. A smirk crossed my lips. Every other alpha was afraid of me, but not Kassius. He liked playing with fire.
A chilly wind ghosted across my skin and I shivered. The weight of the situation grounded me back to reality. This wasn’t the time to reminisce on the good times with my ex-mate. Those were over now, and he would never be in my life again. Chances are that Kass was dead now, anyway, either by sickness or murder or - my chest clenched sickly at the thought - claiming a different omega and splitting his lifeforce, only to have died before my arrival.
I quickly scooped Angel up in my arms and walked up the slope. I needed to accept the truth. Kass was gone. The Knights were gone. The only thing that mattered now was raising my daughter in the safety of the future.
