When I drew my lips away, my eyes took in a wondrous sight. Purple, blue, and pink colors washed around me in a whirlwind, taking on a sparkling sheen that looked like the reflection of a waterfall. The whirlwind encompassed Kallie, Kazim and me, containing us within an entrapment of rainbow light. I turned on the spot as my stomach dipped, not quite sure what was happening. My heart raced, and the wind around us lifted my hair. There was the sound of music, some sort of ancient fae song from far off that I couldn’t place, but that reminded me of Edinmyre. The spectacular sight was enhanced as the shadows of deer danced within the colors, beckoning me to something greater.
The whole scene looked and felt exactly like it would moving through a portal, but expanded upon a thousand times. In horror, I watched as a vase of fresh white roses in the corner withered and died within seconds.
Kalina let go of the key. As the colors stopped swirling and the wind died down, the room lightened from night to day in moments.
I quickly checked on Kazim and Kalina, and found that both of them were unchanged.
It’d been near one in the morning when I’d entered the nursery, but now, it was the middle of the day. I looked in the mirror, and saw that my appearance was unaltered as well, although my skin was pale from shock.
What was going on?
I crossed to the window, still clutching Kalina to my chest. I gaped as I moved the curtain aside with a shaking hand, and saw that there was a light dusting of snow on the ground outside.
It was May in Ireland. That wasimpossible.
Unexpectedly, the door burst open. Kazim began wailing. My eyes widened as I took in Arthur.
He was wearing different clothes. His hair was longer by several inches, and he had sprouted a beard. He looked like he’d been through complete hell.
What the fuck? Had he cast some sort of spell just a moment ago, to alter his appearance? This didn’t make sense.
Arthur completely broke down. He stumbled forward as he wept, reaching down to cradle Kazim against him. He stroked Kalina’s head lovingly as he said, “Emma. You’reback… and you brought the babies. Gods, our prayers have been answered. I’m so relieved. We all thought you were dead.”
He was acting as if this was some grand reunion. “What are you talking about? You left the room five minutes ago,” I stuttered.
“Emma, I haven’t seen you or the children inmonths,” Arthur wept. “We had no idea where you had gone, or why you took the twins.”
My tongue was floppy and useless in my mouth as I asked, “Months… Arthur, how long have we been gone? What day is it?”
“You’ve been missing for nearly a year,” he rasped. “It’s March fourteenth.”
My hands trembled as I grasped the inevitable reality. I’d woken up on May seventh just this morning, but now, I’d appeared in anotheryearentirely.
My mind raced to find explanations. Neva was the goddess of time, and she had control over it, but I hadn’t seen her here. Had she been somewhere nearby?
An overwhelming feeling of shock caused my knees to shake as I realized the truth. If Vara was an incarnation of Neva, the goddess of time… and Kalina was her daughter… it was possible that she’d inherited her mother’s magic.
Somehow, Kalina had used her demigod powers to transport the three of us nine months forward in time.
My prophecy was almost complete. I was only a short time away from the date the hag had foretold. There were only six more days until the Spring Equinox,. On that day, the portal to Edinmyre would close for good, and the fae would turn to dust.
“Before the snow melts away at the end of the fourth winter, you shall meet your death.”
My fourth winter in Malovia had come and gone. It was nearly over. I had no more time left to bargain with, for my death was already here.
Chapter Fifteen
Ethan
Ihad believed I’d been sent to the Underworld the day we lost the Crystals, because nothing could be as great a punishment as what I currently endured.
Nine long, terrible months had passed. Emma, as well as the twins, had vanished from our reality the day Jasper and Ozzie had died. We’d done countless searches, speculated on their location, and examined every angle, but all our efforts led to nothing but grief. It was as if she and the children had disappeared into thin air.
Now, I’d all but given up. Wherever Emma was, she wasn’t here. I didn’t believe she’d died. Our bond would tell me if she no longer existed, and there was no evidence of foul play. If she and the twins were kidnapped, whoever took them left no traces behind.
I felt like she might’ve been so devastated after the Crystals were lost, she’d taken the twins and left for Edinmyre permanently, to start a new life there without telling any of us. It didn’t seem like something Emma would do, but nothing else made sense to me.
It was the one place I couldn’t follow her to.
