“I…” My gaze pivots between Rose and Parker. It’s not that simple. Trust is earned. It took me months to open up to Silas. Even Anna is unaware of the details of my past. “I can’t.”
“I told you this would be a fucking waste of time,” Rose growls in Parker’s direction. She slams her palms against the tabletop and abruptly stands.
“Wait.” Parker gets off the couch and closes the distance between us, his amber eyes piercing my soul. “Ella, you can trust me.” His warm voice is like a calming wave drenching my skin.He’s right.I feel as though I’ve known him foryears, and it makes no sense, but I trust him. “I hate to ask you to do anything for us, but we—Ineed a sample of your blood. And I promise we’ll stay away from you after this. I don’t want to meddle in your life.”
But Iwanthim to meddle in my life. My dreams may explain the familiarity I feel toward him, but they don’t negate this burning need to know him.
I turn back to Rose, now hacking at her nails. If time travel’s making her sick and I don’t help them, she’ll get worse. “How much blood do you need?”
“A few vials,” she says.
It’s not as if I’ll miss it. And if my blood will help them—help Parker—I can’t say no. But maybe they can give me something in return. “You said your precision was always poor with time traveling.” I incline my head toward Parker, who’s now standing behind Rose. “What about his?”
Rose tilts her head, her eyes narrowed as she takes me in. “Why do you want to know?”
“I’ll give you my blood. But once Parker has his powers back, I want him to take me into the past. To see my mother.”
“Absolutely not,” Rose says.
I lean back in my chair. “Then you can’t have my blood.”
Rose grits her teeth. “You don’t even know what you’re asking. Wait until you’re recruited and understand the implications of interacting with your past before you do it. By then, you’ll have the skills to time travel and visit your mother yourself.”
My throat constricts. “I’m not going to Neurovida.”
“What?” Parker says, staring at me like I’ve wounded him.
I avert my gaze to my hands. “I’m not going. I don’t want to be a time traveler, and I don’t want any special skills. I just want to see my mother and move on with my life.”
“You can’t change it,” Rose says, scolding me like I’m a child demanding a different toy. “It’s already done.”
“Do they force you to go?” I ask.
“No,” Parker says. “We went by choice.”
“Then I choose not to go. I’ll only give you my blood if you promise to take me to see my mother.”
Rose opens her mouth to argue but Parker cuts her off. “I’ll do it,” he says.
“Parker,” Rose says.
“Do you promise?” I ask him.
He dips his head, and his golden eyes lock with mine. “Yes,” he says, as if Rose isn’t here. As if we’re the only two people in the world.
I tear my gaze to Rose, who’s gritting her teeth. “Then you can take my blood,” I say.
Muttering under her breath, she pulls a small case from the front pocket of her hoodie.
“You—want to do it right now?”
“No time like the present,” she says dryly, unloading the contents of the case onto the wooden dining table. Parker steps away, content to study Silas’s record collection.
“Okay.” I pull up my sleeve and hesitate. “You’ve done this before, right?”
“Yeah.” An evil grin breezes across her face. “I’ve been practicing on Parker.”
I hesitate, recalling Parker’s arms covered in plasters at Tilly’s, before extending my exposed arm toward Rose. She secures a tourniquet around my biceps and my pulse spikes. She rips open a packet and rubs an antiseptic wipe over my skin. I scrunch my eyes shut.
