“No.” I swallowed roughly. “I won't let that happen, Brevyn.”
“I love you, Mommy,” Brevyn said more calmly. “Don't forget me.”
“I won't,” I promised again.
“Vervain!” Arach shouted.
“Okay.” I held up a hand. “Let's get the boys in their bedroom first.”
“I don't want to go anywhere!” Rian said again. He stomped his foot and smoke came out of his nose.
“Calm yourself,” Arach growled. “Dragons cannot afford to lose their temper. Do you understand? You could hurt the people you care about.”
Rian's face fell, and he nodded solemnly. “Okay, Daddy.”
“Good.” Arach nodded. “Now, you and your brother are going to play for a few minutes in your bedroom while I talk to your mother.” Arach turned the boys toward the door. “Go on now.”
Brevyn took his brother's hand. “Come on, Rian; I'll tell you what's going to happen.”
“Brevyn, no!” I snatched up Brevyn's other hand. “Don't say that to him. That will just scare Rian for no reason.”
“I'm getting scared right now!” Rian's eyes went wide.
“That's it!” Arach declared. “You're telling all of us what's wrong, Vervain.”
I sighed and looked from my boys to my husband. Dexter whined, and I scratched him absently. Tears started to fill my eyes as I realized all I had to lose; my husbands, my children, my friends, and my furred family. I could lose all of Faerie. And Faerie could lose the seasons while the Fey lost their fertility.
“Vervain!” Arach snapped.
“It's okay, Mommy,” Brevyn said. “As long as you remember us, you can bring us back.”
“Bring us back from where?” Rian asked.
“From nowhere,” Brevyn said simply. “We won't exist.”
“I don't want to not exist!” Rian shouted. “I like me!”
“You're going to be fine,” I said to Rian and then gave Brevyn an exasperated look.
Brevyn only shrugged.
“Vervain, if I have to ask you one more—”
“I was given a warning that Nyx is working with a time god,” I interrupted Arach. “We don't know for certain what he's capable of, but he seems to have the ability to circle back in time.”
“And he could change the past?” Arach asked.
“It's possible,” I whispered. “I changed the future, after all.”
Arach inhaled deeply and then released his breath. “What can we do?”
“I'm here for a day,” I said. “Tomorrow, time will catch up between the realms, but for now, we're safe.”
“What are we going to do, A Thaisce?” Arach tried again.
“We're going to find Nyx and Aion, and we're going to...” I looked at the boys before I stared meaningfully at Arach, “take care of them.”
“Good,” he said in relief. “Do you need my help?”
“We have to find them first,” I explained. “But they're both Greek and we have a lot of Greek allies now that I'm an Olympian. Someone is bound to know where Aion is.”
“Yes, but will you find him in time?” Arach asked.
“No,” Brevyn said.
“Brevyn,” I growled as Rian started to cry.
“Rian, cut it out,” Brevyn said. “You won't know any different.”
“But I won't be here,” Rian said. “Where will I be?”
“You'll be with me,” Brevyn said. “Part of you will be, I mean. The other part will be with Faerie.”
And I will look after you, my sweetling, Faerie said gently
“Faerie,” I said in relief. “Can this actually happen? Could someone alter time and change our lives?”
It's possible, she admitted. But Brevyn is right; time altered is not the same as time in its original state. Once something occurs, there are records of it. You can write over the record, but the original will remain beneath it. If you can focus past the surface, you can find your way back to the original path.
And if I don't? I asked in my head. What will happen to them? I looked at my family.
You are jumping to the conclusion that this Aion will take away your loved ones. That's not an easy thing to do; he'd have to find the precise moment when your life moved in this direction and then change it. If he strikes at you from any other point, a million different variables will come into play, and he could end up making you even stronger.
But what if I forget this time? I pressed.
If you forget, I shall remind you, Vervain, Faerie declared confidently. And if you're in the God Realm, Alaric will remind you. We stand beyond the touch of time. Do not worry; your fate cannot be altered; too many lives depend on the choices you've made. A whole race exists because of you, Vervain.
“The Dark Fey,” I whispered. “They could be wiped out.”
What I'm saying is that they can't be; not for good, Faerie explained. Time cannot be played with like that. Certain beings must exist, and the Dark Fey were meant to be formed, just as your sons were meant to be born. Fate is far stronger than Time.
“Faerie says—”
“I heard her too,” Arach cut me off. “Thank you, Faerie, but I'm sure you can understand why I'm still worried. Vervain's fate may be certain but there are several paths to it, are there not?”
Faerie was silent for a few minutes before she said, That is true; the path toward her fate could be altered. But what must be, will be, no matter what some Greek god does. Trust in your destiny, Vervain.
I think I'd rather just trust in my ability to kill him, I said.
That is also an option.
Chapter Four
Arach refused to accept “I'll remind you” as a solution. He insisted that we were faeries, and as such, we had access to magic that was far superior to that of any god. He spent hours trying to come up with a spell that would protect our family. He even thought about calling the High
