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“There is,” Number Two confirms. “Much of the future is similar to what you know. Bobby and Catrina still end up together, and they do have a child, but it’s a son. Not Hannah.”
“But Hannah’s still with me.” I glance down at her peaceful face. “How is that possible if you changed the future? If you erased her?”
“This is where it gets complicated, but I’ll try to explain. Every time a magical bargain is changed, it causes a fracture in the original universe. The weak spot branches off in different tangents, creating a new universe.” He presses his hands together in front of his torso, moves them forward, then breaks them apart to veer off in opposite directions.
“Alternate realities,” I say with dread, realizing where this is going. “One future leads me to where I am now, with Hannah dead. The other redirects the course of fate, where Hannah is never born.”
Seeing that I do understand, Number Two’s shoulders sag with relief. “Yes.”
“Well, what am I supposed to do? I won’t accept either outcome.”
“I’ve thought about this. I’ve gone over it in my head again and again. I’ll warn you, it’s not the best option, but I don’t see any other way.”
“Tell me.”
“Stay within your universe but go to a time before Hannah got sick. I suggest a few months prior to the illness setting in. Take her—the alive and healthy version of her—and bring her to somewhere far away, both in the past and location. Possibly Valora about fifty thousand years ago. No one will know you during that time period. The dark fae are still suppressed in the Lost Land, so, in theory, the bargain can’t touch her. The two of you could make a life for yourselves there. Fly under the radar as commoners and just… be happy.”
It’s a solid plan, and I’m grateful to myself—to Number Two—for thinking of it and coming all this way to tell me.
There’s just one problem. “Hannah from before the illness… she doesn’t know me.”
“Correct.”
“I’ll have to abduct her, and she’ll have no idea who I am.”
“Right again. Like I said, it’s not ideal, but there’s a chance some part of her will recognize you.”
“How so?”
“With parallel universes, sometimes there’s a shadow of what once was, or what will be. Take déjà vu, for example. It’s a result of that shadow.”
“So you’re saying she’ll feel a connection to me?”
“I’m saying she might.” His eyes drift to the limp form in my arms, and the corners of his mouth lift fondly. “Still, I suspect she’ll be very angry with you. It amuses me to imagine the things she’ll say.”
Suspicion clouds my mind. “How do I know you’re not tricking us? What if you’re saying all this because you want her for yourself?”
“It doesn’t work that way.” His sad eyes shimmer. “The broken realities keep us apart because fated mate pairs are exclusive to their own universe. My Hannah—my soul mate—is gone because of my mistake. I can’t get her back. This one—” He nods at Hannah. “—is yours.”
I understand what he’s saying. Each universe has a pair of people who are meant to be together. When he changed the future, he altered fate itself and now he’s fucked.
Sometimes I hate my ability. It’s too powerful. Too complicated.
No one, especially me, should be able to change the course of destiny.
Number Two is right, though. I must stay on this plane. I have to work within its constructs and rules so that my Hannah and I can be together. Above all, I can’t stop Number Three, who’s climbing into Waylon’s window as we speak.
Within minutes, the original bargain will be made, and Hannah’s existence will be secured. So will her death.
“Thank you for your advice,” I tell Number Two, eyeing the flask sticking out of the pocket of his leather pants.
Yes, he would’ve needed Glow to get here, and he’ll have to use it to get back. I can only assume he has access to the substance through thievery, just as I do.
Which means he could find us if he really wanted to. Even if my Hannah isn’t his, it doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be tempted to take her from me.
I feel the need to issue a threat. “If you follow us, I’ll kill you.”
He shows no fear. “I think I’m already a dead man walking.”
