AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Callan rubs a beringed hand over his mouth. “You’re certainly very forthright, Teddy.”
“I don’t see any reason to beat around the bush, mate.”
“Very well. I’m here because I wanted to see my son, and meet his potential mates, but also because I had a disturbing representation.”
I glance at Darwin.
“A vision,” Darwin murmurs. “Fire fae have visions.”
“Do you?”
“The flickers,” he murmurs.
That makes sense. Because Charlie has lengthy, detailed visions that are like watching a movie, I always think of visions that way. But I know other mages, particularly Fire and Air mages, have different kinds of visions. Evidently, Darwin and his father are among them.
“I’ve Seen something you wrote, Teddy. Apparently to yourself. It was quite disturbing.”
Future-me’s note.
“Do you have contact with your future self?” I ask Callan.
“Myfuture self? I’m not aware of having contact with my future self. Are you suggesting that’s what this was?”
“Do you know anything about chronomancy?” I ask.
“I’m aware of it as a magickal discipline. I’m afraid I don’t have much formal schooling in magic. Things were different when I was a boy. That’s one of the reasons I sent Darwin away to school. I wanted him to have a thorough grounding in all magickal disciplines.”
Bevington will certainly give him that.
I take a breather from the loaded glances going around to pour the batter into the tin and pop it in the oven. After I set the timer, I snug my hip against Darwin’s and lean into his side. His arm slips around my back.
“You were saying?” Callan prompts.
“I’ve been Time-Walking into the future,” I say. “Not entirely voluntarily. In the future I Walked into, future-me was dead. She left a note. I found it and showed it to you. I’m assuming that’s what you saw.”
Callan blinks at me. “Please explain that again.”
Darwin chuckles. “Time-travel makes everything extremely complicated, father.”
He doesn’t know the half of it.
I try to break down my explanation into more digestible chunks. “I Time-Walked ten years into the future. In that Timeline, I’m already dead. Future-me left me a note. I met you in that Timeline. I showed you the note.”
“Which you wrote to yourself?” Callan asks, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“Yes.”
“And you’ve seen the note’s contents?”
“Yes,” I say.
Callan’s eyes flick to his son. “You’ve shared this with—?”
I am so fucking glad I chose us.
“We don’t keep secrets from each other,” I tell the Winter Prince. “My boys know everything.”
Callan’s jaw feathers. “This isn’t a burden I wanted you to bear so young, son.”
