Adrenaline buzzed through me, but wired wasn’t enough to start the timewind. I could still see our reset point, but it was like I couldn’t hit the button. Some trigger wasn’t firing. “A little help?”

Tair took a step closer and gripped my one hand in both of his. Energy buzzed up to my shoulders and then rolled all the way down to my toes. The stray timeghosts vanished like they were giving us a moment alone.

They made seriously crappy chaperones.

In the silence, Tair’s reality sucked me in. I could count our breaths and heartbeats, both kicking up. How did he calm me down and wind me up at the same time?

And how was I going to let him go when he made everything so much easier?

The door opened before I figured out my answer.

Guards upon guards upon guards stood ready and the first ones into the room lifted a few weapon lockers full of firepower. I reflexively squeezed Tair as the first round fired. For a breathless moment, he squeezed back.

Our bookmarked breakfast hadn’t moved and the threat of being dead made all the gears click in my head. With a smoosh and a flick, I got down to rewinding.

Bullets and darts and possibly a stray ninja star flew back as the world reversed. The seconds with Tair snapped back without a hitch, and watching Darren get hit with the melon felt just as satisfying in reverse.

After that…

If time was a guy with a whip, I was getting pretty flayed.

Hot and cold and screaming, time roughed me up and dared me to make a mistake, but I focused though Tair, pulling us toward the bacon smell. I couldn’t let go. Just a few more seconds and we’d be back together—

And Christ on a cracker.

That couldn’t be the thing that got me through this. Tair had been forced into my life but even if we got out of this mess, he wouldn’t be in it forever. Fantasizing was one thing. A crush, fine. But if I started building my life around him? Leaning on him for every little thing?

It would be nice while it lasted, but the nugget of ice lodged in my chest already knew the score. We’d been coasting on adrenaline, running and trying to stay alive, but when all those endorphins wore off, I’d have to face reality.

We wouldn’t get to be together forever.

Forever didn’t exist.

An ice pick headache settled into my skull as soon as we snapped back to the table and I clapped my hand to my mouth to keep from upchucking. We needed to never reset near food again.

If we could choose where it happened. Could we choose? Or change it?

Maybe we’d be stuck eating this nasty breakfast for eternity. Or just until we both keeled over from exhaustion.