And you didn’t know? I’d never heard his voice so hard.

He thought I knew. That I’d known and not told him.

Sick awareness roiled in my belly. Was that what he really thought of me?

I had no idea. I was only ten when Nagi’s goons stole me back from Eva. Sure, I’d been peeking into the future since I was a toddler, but if I’d been omnipotent, I never would’ve gotten caught. Clearly, I missed things.

Even big things.

And this?

Pretty huge.

I was a sinking ship and Eva had just handcuffed Tair aboard for the final voyage. No wonder we both ended up dead. The implications made my temples throb and I couldn’t wrap my head around the why of it. How did you not know?

She didn’t ask permission. Tair glared, his gaze boring into me like I was the enemy and I didn’t blame him.

She wouldn’t… I started the thought but I couldn’t finish it.

The Eva I’d known wouldn’t do a nonconsensual mod. Not a change of eye color, and definitely not this—linking a guy on track to be Seligo with me… A Red on track to be composted. It went everything she was fighting for.

But she’d bound us down to our proteins. That explained our chemistry just as well as it explained why all the future Tairs were bleeding, dying, and dead.

Because of me. Because that was where I’d always been headed, and now he had no choice but to come along for the suffering.

It was exactly what I’d been trying to avoid. I’d pushed away dreams of escape because getting free would always mean taking other people down with me when it was finally my time.

Now Tair was living in the crossfire.

I’m sorry. I started to slip my fingers free of him, knowing the insanity that waited as soon as we broke apart, but I couldn’t handle touching him—not with guilt weighing down my shoulders like a concrete vest.

I wanted to shake Eva.

Why? Just why would she do this to us?

Even though it was her mistake, I had to make it right. I had to find a path that got Tair out of my mess.

He let me break away and that hurt most of all. Whatever was between us was artificial and now that he knew the truth, he had every right to be angry about it. I mostly felt betrayed.

Images stabbed back into my head, each one a dagger.

Dozens then hundreds then thousands of timeghosts.

Screaming and whirling and dashing and crying. Through all the madness, I could still see Tair’s face.

The sight of his hard mask would’ve broken my heart if I’d given it to him.

Either way, it stung.

Finally, I saw nothing at all.

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

ALTAIR