“I’ll go too.” Mason stood to his full height. “She can’t win this on her own, and Timber from this time…” He leaned over and felt Timber’s pulse. “…is seconds away from being lost to us.”
Cassius hung his head. “Choose wisely. Trust no one.” And then his gaze went white. “Even the angels. Trust only the Creator, may He show you favor, because the gods, I fear, will not.”
Screaming erupted in my ears. I tried to cover them, but it was useless.
“Even now,” Cassius’s voice boomed. “They cry for release from the pit of the Abyss. They watch, they wait in painful silence. Make the right choice, and you’ll save Timber. If either of you choose wrong—” The screams intensified. “—your future is an eternity of constant dark.”
I could have sworn I heard a male voice utter. “Worth it.”
Alex squeezed my hand. Mason squeezed the other, and then Tarek with a cocky grin winked. “Ready for an adventure, princess?”
The screaming swelled to deafening proportions.
“Princess?” I repeated.
“Can’t wait.” He seemed pumped.
Abruptly the screams stopped.
My ears rang in the absolute silence.
And I felt… the intense heat of the sun.
“Ra,” I whispered, lifting my head toward the blinding temple.
Next to me, Mason stilled. I glanced over and my breath lodged in my throat. His black hair was pulled back in a braid, his armor matched his hair, and he was towering over me with a sword bigger than my arm. Tarek flanked my right side, similarly dressed. Alex looked the same, but his armor was gold.
The gold of a god.
My lungs cried out for oxygen, and I sucked in a sharp breath, too freaked out to even look down at my own dress or anything else, for that matter.
“Shhhh,” Tarek said softly. “So what if he has the blood of a god? We don’t let him out much, and he’ll have lots of tricks.”
Tricks were right. In the next instant, Alex’s eyes flashed red. His hair flamed to match as he approached the white throne. “Father or should I say great-great-great-great-grandfather?” A smirk followed—of course it would.
My knees threatened to buckle. What. The. Hell.
Ra’s face was a tanned brown, his eyes crystal blue, long white hair wrapped in a crown around his head. “Son, this is unexpected.”
Alex shrugged. “Time travel typically is. By the way you’re going to love Doordash just wait.”
Ra rolled his eyes in amusement. “This is outside of your current time, son. Who has given you leave to exit and re-enter?”
“I’m aware.” Alex stood to his full height. “And, we don’t really ask for permission, more like forgiveness. Let’s just say if the Creator wanted to stop us He could have, and since I have some of your blood running in my veins, I figured I was one of the better choices to come back. Then again, it’s always entertaining when you hang out with vampires, am I right?”
He made a face. “Ridiculous creatures, I prefer my own blood.”
“So I tell them. Every day.” Alex winked. “And we’re merely here as guides, with your awareness of course.”
He looked around Alex toward me and then back. “Trying to change a past or a future?”
“Both.” Alex’s body pulsed with energy that hit me in waves of heat and longing. I gripped the reins I was surprised to find in my hand and kept wat
ching. “Apparently you’re about to make a deal with the devil and try to fix it in the worst way possible. I can’t tell you what you will do, but I urge you to trust carefully.”
Ra studied him and then stood to his twelve-foot height, placing both hands on Alex’s shoulders. “I do not trust easily, not with the wars, not with the mortals pushing us from their realm. But I do trust a true son of the light even if he’s part siren. So I will listen to your warning. Go with my peace. Furthermore, go with my permission in this time.”
Alex bowed and then came back to us. I could tell something was wrong by his less confident swagger. When he was finally at my side, he looked up to Mason with fear in his eyes. “I improvised.”