Semele looked to Theo in surprise. She had never considered that he might possess Liliya’s ability.
Viktor chuckled. “It is no matter to me if you can see through walls.” His eyes searched Semele’s again. “Nothing in the world is more powerful than time. It is the only thing that controls us, until we can grasp how to break free.” His next words made her freeze in terror. “There is a device strapped to your mother, and the countdown has begun. I will leave it up to you to free her. Me, I am happy to watch. My greatest triumph would be to see you become your ultimate self or to die trying.”
“You’re crazy,” she whispered.
“Am I?” Viktor shrugged. “I’ve gotten you this far, dear girl, when no one else could.” He held up Ionna’s cards and the manuscript. “Are you really going to let her down?”
Semele instinctively took a step toward him.
“For the first time since Elisa died so tragically in Gundeshapur, the cards, the manuscript, and the heir are all united. It has taken a long time for this day to come. If it wasn’t for me, Ionna’s legacy would have been kept hidden by both of your fathers, and you would continue to forget who you are.”
Semele found her voice and hated how weepy she sounded. “Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?”
“Your best self.” He motioned to her mother. “You have the power to save her.”
“I don’t… I can’t.…”
“Yes, you can!” he erupted. “Do you know there are premonition bureaus around the world where people send letters filled with visions of the future?” He waved his arms like a conductor. “Do you know how many letters arrived before theTitanic? Before Kennedy was assassinated? Human consciousnessknows.The mindcantravel time. You have no idea how many others with the sight are out there. But you have the power to write more than a mere letter.” He took a long breath from his oxygen tank and gestured to her, indicating that she could approach her mother. “Now prove me right.”
Semele couldn’t move. She shook her head, unable to understand what she was supposed to do.
“Go on,” he said, his voice muffled behind the mask. “The bomb will explode soon. At least say your good-byes.”
His words galvanized her. Semele rushed to her mother and knelt at her feet. The contraption looked even more alarming up close. “There are too many wires!”
“And not many minutes to spare,” Viktor taunted. “Get to it.”
The timer strapped to Helen’s chest ticked as the seconds moved forward in a relentless march. They had less than fifteen minutes.
Tears ran down Helen’s face as she whimpered behind the gag.
“There’s a pair of wire cutters under the chair,” Viktor called out. “Cutting one of them will disarm it, or so I’ve been assured by the Russian gentleman I paid an exorbitant sum to assemble it.”
Semele found the wire cutters beneath her mother’s legs. “This is insane! I have no idea what to do!”
“Because you’re still trying to live in the moment instead of looking beyond it. Effectcanprecede cause. So the question is, do you survive this test or not? Do you live or not? The answer is quite simple. Don’t think! Use your ability.”
Semele’s pulse skyrocketed. Her heart hammered in her chest so hard she thought it might give out. She was sure she was going to hyperventilate. She watched the counter tick down.…
13:46… 13:45… 13:44…
“Oh my God, oh my God…” Free-falling into panic, she surrendered completely to its grip. All rational thought abandoned her.
She was about to die.
“Semele!” Theo’s voice sounded dim, far away, and beyond her reach.
“I can’t.” She could barely hold the wire cutters, her hands were shaking so hard.
The timer continued: 12:59… 12:58… 12:57…
“Yes, you can. I know you can,” he said with utter conviction.
She stared at the tangle of colored wires. There were at least thirty.
With an anguished yelp, she cut the white one.
The device beeped, stopped, and then continued its countdown.
