“C’mon, what are you w?—”
“Really, there’s no need for—”the guy started, raised a hand up and everyone erupted in screams and shouts, which sent him back a step again. He looked…exhausted. Justexhaustedas he closed his eyes for a moment.
It occurred to me that they were Timekeepers.
It occurred to me that they had indeed been the ones to bring us here, but they hadn’t chained us or caged us or anything—they’d let us all wake up on our own and find this notebook.
A notebook with Mimi’s handwriting that Mimi obviously didn’t remember writing.
Which meant—and Holy Hour, I couldn’t believe I was thinking this, but—these men hadanswers.
“STOP,” I called, and by some miracle, they did.
They’d been so loud, speaking over one another that my ears had been ringing and I hadn’t even noticed.
“Stop for a second,” I breathed, fisting my hands to keep them from shaking. “Who are you? Tell us your names and tell us where we are.”
“All in due—” the Timekeeper said, but…
“Nowis the due time,” the Heart boy cut him off, and his voice coming from right behind me made me consider if maybehewas my gravity, not the realm.
March.That was his name. I felt it in my bones.
“Yes,nowis the time. If you want us to listen, you tell us right now,” Mimi said, her voice shaking. “Where did you get this notebook, and why does it havemyhandwriting in it?”
“Because you wrote it,” the Timekeeper said, his voice perfectly calm.
The one behind him stared at us passively, but it didn’t even matter, because I was right. Theydidhave answers.
“Allow me to introduce myself, Hands. My name is Jonas Kohen. I used to be a Royal Timekeeper, and with the help of my friends, I’ve gathered all of you here today.”
“Herebeing…?” the Diamond boy said.
“Neverwhen, of course,” he said without missing a beat.
Neverwhen.
I looked up at the tall ceiling, at the walls that seemed to be closing in fast now, and then my head turned back, too. To the Heart boy, who was standing right behind me, his eyes on my face, searching. For what, I had no idea, but he analyzed my cheeks and my nose, my eyes—and my lips.
He analyzed my lips like it was the most important thing he’d ever do. My cheeks felt like they were going to melt offmy face, and for that second, I forgot all about where we were and what was happening around us.
I just…forgot.
Then he looked away, and the sound of the people around me returned all at once, like I’d just pulled my head out of water.
They were shouting—you brought us to Neverwhen?! How long have we been traveling? How did you get us through the courts? Are you planning to kill us? Is this part of the trials? Did the 31st Trials even happen?!
Except they did. And even if I refused to believe the whole world about them, that little notebook in Mimi’s hand proved it.
We’dall been in the trials at some point. She’d written those words down with all of us present—Iknewthis. She’d written all our names, too—just the nine of us.
We knew someone was lying and someone had kept usstucksomewhere, and someone was responsible for our memories being lost, too.
Someone.
“If I may finish speaking.”
The voice of the Timekeeper was loud and crystal clear. Everyone shut their mouths at the same time, but their words echoed still in my ears.
