Page 29
“And you remember it,” Ruby says slowly. “But Jade and I don’t.”
Logan leans forward and presses the tips of his fingers together. “That’s how it works. Anyone I bring with me retains their memories. Everyone else resets.”
Ruby turns to me, and there’s something in her turquoise eyes that’s asking are you okay with this?
I don’t know how to answer, since my brain is busy chewing on a problem it’s never had before. Because yes, I know there are futures Logan’s erased and I’ve forgotten. But he told me about those moments way after the fact. This right now—being aware of the exact moment I lost—is a first. Because I’ve never had the details. I’ve never heard about the version of me that confirmed Logan’s time travel and made a joke about her organs. That version of me existed for several minutes and then... stopped. She was overwritten by this me, who’s sitting here with no memory of any of it.
A chill crawls up my arms, and I’m suddenly aware of Logan watching me with that careful, quiet expression he gets when he knows I’m working through something and he’s deciding whether to let me finish or intervene.
“That’s...” Ruby pauses, visibly searching for the right word. “A lot.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “It is.”
Connor’s dark eyes fix on Logan with the respect of someone who understands exactly how much power is sitting across from him. “Time travel is an acceptable response to my question about what makes you special enough to have earned the love of a star touched,” he says simply.
“Acceptable,” Ruby repeats, chuckling in a way that makes it clear she doesn’t think this is funny. “My mate’s an alpha wolf. Amber’s husband is a vampire king. Sapphire’s husband is a fae prince. And Jade’s boyfriend is a witch who can travel through time.”
Logan’s as still as a statue as he watches her. “I’d argue that mine’s the most practical,” he says in that infuriatingly calm way of his. “An alpha wolf, a vampire king, and a fae prince are just titles. Time travel is an exceptionally useful skill that’s saved Jade’s life more times than I can count.”
Connor plants both palms flat on the arms of his chair, and the floor drops out from under us in a seismic lurch that slams through the cabin hard enough to throw my spine against the back of the couch. My mug launches off the coffee table and shatters against the hearth. Books avalanche off shelves. The couch slides sideways with me and Logan still on it, and the walls groan, as if the cabin is being reminded that the earth it’s sitting on belongs to someone else.
What. The. Actual. Hell.
My hands fly out for something to grab. One of them finds Logan’s arm, the other finds nothing, and my electricity detonates in a surge so violent I have to clench every muscle in my body to keep it from blowing out every window in the room. The floor bucks again—a second wave that’s harder than the first—and the coffee table flips onto its side. My stomach hits my throat, and for one horrible second, I’m convinced the earth is going to split in half and swallow us whole.
Then it stops.
It just… stops.
The fire in the hearth is still crackling. A book slides off the last standing shelf and hits the floor with a thud that’s obscenely loud in the silence, and a crack crawls across the wood ceiling.
Connor glances at the crack, gives a casual wave of his hand, and the ceiling repairs itself.
“The earth answers to me,” he says simply, his hard gaze locked on Logan’s. “That’s not a title. It’s a fact.”
“Fair point,” Logan says, as if Connor didn’t try to drop us into the earth’s core. “But I could go back thirty seconds, stop you before you did it, and you’d never know it happened.”
Connor holds Logan’s gaze for a long beat. Then he lets out a breath that’s almost a laugh.
“Every star touched shows up with someone who makes the rest of us take notice,” he says. “Riven frosted up to his elbows within five seconds of meeting me and told me he’d turn me into a fur coat. Damien’s been alive for centuries and acts like every room belongs to him.” His unblinking eyes settle on Logan. “You can erase the last five minutes of my life without me knowing. So, I’d say you fit right in.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Logan says.
“Take it however you want. Just don’t rewrite my evening without asking.”
Logan gives Connor a rare half-smirk. “Only if you keep the earthquakes to a minimum while Jade’s in the room.”
Connor gives Logan an approving nod. “Deal.”
Ruby reaches down and places a book on the side table next to her chair, methodical and slow, the way you do when your hands need something to do while your brain catches up. Then, finally, she looks to me.
“You said he’s brought you with him before.”
“Yes.” I give her what I hope is a reassuring smile. “His magic saved my life at the academy more than once. One of the times was during the hellhound attack I told you about earlier. He looped us back again and again until we found a version of the night where the fewest people died.” I pause, because it’s impossible to get across the true horror of that night. “He went back so many times it nearly killed him.”
Ruby’s gaze shifts to Logan, and she’s quiet for a few moments before speaking again.
“How did you find out you could do it?” she asks him.
