“You stay here,” Ash murmured, the skin on his brow creasing. “I’ll . . . go . . . I’m . . . I can probably convince them I was alone up here. Then you . . . get somewhere safe.”

Dorothy leaned closed. These words felt familiar. She’d heard Ash say them to her before.

She said, automatically, her brain supplying the words before she could remember where they’d come from, “You think I’m going to stay behind?”

With that, the memory came flooding back to her: she and Ash were standing in the Dark Star, armed soldiers surrounding them. They’d just kissed for the first time, and now Ash was telling her to stay with the time machine so that she wouldn’t get captured.

Why had he mentioned Quinn?

Her frown deepened. This wasn’t the first time he’d mentioned seeing her at Fort Hunter. When she first went back in time to see him, he’d mentioned spotting Quinn Fox running through the halls with the Professor. At the time, she’d been so overwhelmed by everything else that was going on to give it much thought. Now, it bothered her.

Roman had gone back to Fort Hunter on his own. They’d agreed that it would be much too confusing if she were there, too, and neither wanted to risk her past and current selves accidentally discovering one another. Quinn Fox had never stepped foot inside of Fort Hunter.

And, yet, Ash said that he’d seen her there.

And . . . hadn’t she premembered something like this? Something about chasing the Professor through the halls of Fort Hunter? She frowned deeply. It certainly felt familiar.

“What did the Professor want with a weapon?” Ash was murmuring, thrashing a little in his sleep. Dorothy chewed on her lip. He didn’t look good. She looked over her shoulder, wondering if she should call Avery.

But if she called Avery, Ash might stop talking. And then she’d never know what he’d seen at Fort Hunter.

Making up her mind, Dorothy turned back around and touched Ash’s shoulder, rocking him gently. “Ash?” she said. “Where did you see me? What was I doing?”

Ash’s brow cleared, his breathing steadied. Dorothy suspected that whatever memory he’d been reliving had passed, that he was somewhere else now, somewhere new. She sat back in her seat, exhaling hard.

How had she gotten back to Fort Hunter? And when?

Any why?

None of it made any sense.