Page 98 of Discovered Magic
“He’s not. At least not yet.” Turning to the third man, who bore a startling resemblance to Abbie’s new dad, the Aether said, “And this is Ronan O’Connor. Your long-lost cousin.”
The man’s grin was reminiscent of Castor’s, roguish and charming, belying the seriousness in his blue eyes. “Sure, and welcome to the family, love. You’re a grand addition.”
“Thank you, cuz,” she replied. “What is your role in all of this?”
“I’m here to help ya send that bastard Morcant back to the past.” His expression turned grim. “Sure, and I’d prefer hell, but a man can’t always choose these things, yeah?”
“I don’t understand.”
“You need extra juice to open the portal again,” Trevor explained. “Until now, you’ve been fueling it with fear. You can’t risk so strong an emotion. Not with Morcant. He’ll snap that shit up.”
“Ronan will be your battery pack, and I’m going to shut off your darker emotions until this is all over,” Damian added.
“Why can’t we just kill him and be done with it?” Her initial plan was going sideways, and didn’t it suck? “That’s what I intended.”
An amused smile curled his mouth. “I’m aware. Thanks to my Oracle daughter, I am also aware of four potential outcomes today. The most promising is the one we are proposing.”
“Do I want to know the others?”
“No.”
“I’ll need to go back to get Wilder and Castor,” she reminded him. “What’s to stop Morcunt from coming back through after all our work?”
“That’s where it’s trickier, chér.” Draven toyed with a coin, weaving it in and out of his fingers in a habitual fashion. Almost like he had a nervous tic, which meant he wasn’t as calm and collected as he presented.
“Lay it on me, my friend. I’m a big girl. I can take it.”
“You cannot return for them.”
His statement was the death knell for her dreams of saving the others.
“Fuck off! I’m not leaving Wilder.”
“I didn’t say you should,” he countered.
“Then what the hell are you saying?” she demanded, battle stance ready.
“You leave it to your brother and niece to bring them back.”
“No. I’m not involving a child in this mess, and I’m certainly not leaving anything to chance.”
“Abbie, you didn’t send them through time. The others did,” Damian said. “They have to be the ones to return them. Like you have to return Morcant to his past.”
It finally dawned on her what they were trying to say. “I was never going to be able to save them?”
“Not alone. Not without your brother.”
“Where is he?”
“He’ll be here as soon as Morcant is taken care of,” Damian assured her. The solemness in his dark eyes registered.
“I’m not surviving this, am I?” she asked as the truth dawned. “Or there’s only a one-in-four chance I will. He’s the backup to bring my father home in case I fail.”
When he didn’t answer, she said, “You can’t have my brother here right now. Why?”
“In one outcome, Morcant steals both sets of powers.”
“Tell me the other three scenarios.”
