It’s worse than you know, Oberi told me.I told you there were consequences to time traveling.
The nausea rolling around in my gut seemed to intensify.Ava’s sick because of what Kallie and I did?
It affects you all, even if you don’t realize it.
I turned Ava’s chair around instantly. “We’re going to the infirmary.”
No!Ava protested in my mind. The pain must’ve gotten worse, because she didn’t speak out loud, just gave a whimper of agony.You promised you wouldn’t take me back.
This is bad, pidge.I was worried our time traveling had made her injury worse.
I just want to lie down,she insisted.
I lifted Ava out of her chair and set her gently on the bed. My stomach sank as she groaned with every minor movement. The ache in my gut couldn’t compare to whatever she was feeling, though. Oberi climbed onto the bed beside Ava. He moved carefully and deliberately, which told me things were really fucking bad.
Kallie hurried out of the bedroom and came back a few moments later. She placed a wet cloth into my hands. “Warm it up, for the pain.”
I drew Ava’s Fire magic out of her, which was easier than ever, because she didn’t resist my magical pull. I used the magic to warm the towel, then lifted her shirt and laid it across her middle. Ava didn’t say anything, just gave a ragged breath as he laid her head back on the pillow.
While I helped with the warm compress, Kallie uncapped a bottle and told Ava to take her meds. Ava gagged as she forced the painkillers down.
Oberi, why isn’t she healing herself?I demanded.
This is a magical affliction, caused by yours and Kallie’s poor choices, Oberi said.I daresay healing magic would barely counteract the effects of time travel. You should have listened to me. I tried to warn you.
You should have been clearer about the consequences!
Kallie tugged on my arm. “Charlie, we need to talk.”
I didn’t want to leave Ava’s side, but Kallie and I had a lot to talk about. Ava barely made a noise. I wasn’t sure she was aware we’d left the room and shut the door behind us.
The nausea got worse, and I lowered myself to the couch. IfIfelt this shitty, I couldn’t imagine how Ava felt.
“Clearly, we can’t change things in the past,” Kallie said bluntly.
I sighed heavily. “No shit. This whole thing was a mistake. We fixed nothing, and Ava’s sicker than ever. Why did it affect her so much, when you and I were the ones who went back in time?”
“Even though I’ve learned how to travel at will, without affecting other demigods’ timelines, it must give them a reaction. Ava’s nervous system is already damaged, so it must be reacting worse than ours. I don’t think my time powers can be used to manipulate events.”
“Then what’s the point of having them?” I demanded. The fact that we had the tools to go back and change what happened in the Infernal Underground andcouldn’t use themwas infuriating.
“I can still go back, but only to observe and gather details,” Kallie said. “We proved today that changing things is too much of a risk.”
“What if you accidentally change things?”
“That’s a gamble, too, which is why we have to reserve my powers for when wereallyneed them. I still have a lot to learn. But I think there are ways we can still use my powers for good.”
“What’s there to learn?” I asked. “You change things, you make things worse. End of story.”
“Maybe I can go backwithoutchanging anything,” Kallie theorized. “The time travel we’ve experienced here on the Institute grounds is different than I thought it’d be. Time isn’t supposed to be this linear thing. It’s all happening at once. But here at the Institute, it acts differently, and I don’t know why. It could be the noxite or inferichite— I don’t really know. But today, we had to live out the daybeforewe could go back. If I really understood my powers, I should be able to show up at any point in time without changing things, as if I’d been there the first time. I know time is happening all at once everywhere, but here at the prison, I can only work it on a line. I can’t seem to go anywhere I want to go.”
“None of this makes any sense,” I said.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” she agreed. “Look, we pushed our limits today, but now we know better.”
My shoulders dropped. “Yeah. We learned that we can’t go back and change Ava’s fate, no matter how much we want to.”
I couldn’t hide the devastation in my tone. What was the point?
