Delilah stared at me in awe. “You’ve been interfering the whole time.”
It wasn’t a question, so I didn’t bother to answer.
“So, what happens now? Did you—” she paused, her tongue sticking out as if she could lick the word from the air “—reseteverything again? How many times have you done that? I remember a quest and an engagement, that’s it. Were there other times?”
“No. Resetting the timeline is difficult. I’m not even technically doing it for everywhere, just our own little bubble.”
“But … why? What’s so important?”
Trey once asked me the same question. At the time, I knew he was struggling with his own morality. I just thought I’d come out on the winning side. I gave Delilah the same answer I gave him: “Everything.”
Her brow furrowed, then her face suddenly crumpled in the other direction, transforming from confusion to an aching sadness. “Trey died,” she whispered.
“He didn’t,” I snapped. “BecauseIsaved him.”
“Does he know that?”
It was like she’d punched me again, knocking the wind out of me so I couldn’t answer.
“He doesn’t, does he? Because you made him forget.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. It couldn’t shut her voice out though, and she kept talking, digging her claws into me and toying with my soft innards for her own amusement.
“He knew who you were before. You were close, even before the quest began, because you worked for his evil father. Now, you’re a stranger. An attendant eavesdropping. A woman seducing another prince—”
“I didnotseduce Fitz, that was a misunderstanding!” My eyes snapped open to glare at her.
She scanned me from head to toe. “You put a lot of effort into that misunderstanding.”
Heat suffused my cheeks. “I was just agirlwho was hisfriend. He didn’t have to proclaim his love for me!”
“It happens to the best of us,” she said, like she received unwanted confessions every day. Though maybe they weren’t unwanted, if she was happy to collect multiple husbands.
I pushed past the embarrassment to demand, “Will you help me or not?” If not, I would have to figure out what to do with her. I could send her back to Woe and reset the timeline again, before she confirmed my identity, but nothing said she would forget me, or that she couldn’t remember me again. There were still dungeons downstairs and a host of potential minions outside who would be happy to guard them.
She scooched away from me, lips pursed. “You’re looking at me all evilly. Stop it.”
I softened my features and stared back at her with a blank face.
She shuddered. “Somehow, that’s worse. Alright, let’s make a deal. If you can turn me into a cat—not just parts of me,allof me—I will provide you with a backstory to help you secretly join our quest.”
“Deal.” Cursing someone into an animal shape was easy. It was turning them back into a human that caused problems.
As if reading my thoughts, she held up a finger and said, “I want to turn into a catat will, and turn into a humanat will, as well.”
“That will take time,” I said carefully.
“You control time,” she replied breezily.
I sighed. “I’ll take you back home—”
“Don’t bother.” She stood up and dusted her pants off.
I scrambled to my feet as well. Allowing someone to stand over you gave them a certain power I refused to concede to Delilah. “What do you mean?”
“I told you we need a plausible backstory. I’ll tell everyone that I left on my own, afraid my parents would try to prevent me from attending the meeting. On my way to Misfortune, bandits attacked—”
“There have never been any bandits.” Except the ones wanting to work for me.
