It’s gone. Never had such simple words held so much weight. Her mother was gone. Her grandpa was gone. Soon Emmy would probably be gone too.
An overwhelming hopelessness washed over her like a tidal wave, and she leaned over the side of the bed to retch. But with nothing in her stomach, all she could manage were choking dry heaves.
“I can’t do this anymore!” she sobbed, still hanging off the bed. “I just can’t…”
Strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her back onto the bed. Connor tugged her into an embrace, locking her against his solid chest. A moment later Caleb joined him, laying his cheek against her back, stroking her neck with gentle fingers.
“You’re not going to give up,” he whispered. “I won’t let you.”
“We’ve come this far,” Connor added. “We’re going to keep going.”
“We’re Team Dragon,” Caleb finished. “And we are strong.”
She drew in a shaky breath, trying to still the raging panic inside of her and concentrate on the two brothers’ touch. To appreciate the moment of peace between them as they worked together to comfort her. For once there was no bickering, no fighting, no bitter rivalry. Just a family coming together. Her new family. Totally different, totally dysfunctional. But hers all the same.
A sudden crash interrupted them. Trin looked up to see Emmy, tripping over a trash can in her haste to get to the adjoining hotel room, where Connor and Caleb slept. The dragon squawked furiously at the trash can, kicking it onto its side then turning to fly out of the room. Trinity bit her lower lip then turned to the boys.
“I’ll be back,” she told them.
She rose from the bed, walking into the other room and shutting the door behind her. Emmy was at the back, staring intently at the blank wall, while fluttering her wings with marked frustration.
“Are you okay?” Trinity asked quietly.
She didn’t expect a response. She’d tried this—many times before over the last week—and had been greeted with nothing but silence. But this time…
You should leave me here. I’ve been nothing but trouble for you since the beginning. You should have never let me hatch from my egg. I can only bring you misery.
Trinity’s heart wrenched at the pain she heard in the dragon’s voice. Pain she had caused through her own selfishness.
“That’s not true,” she managed to say past the huge lump in her throat. “You’ve brought me great happiness. That day you hatched from the egg? That was the happiest day of my life.”
But Emmy only shook her head, refusing to look at her. You’ve sacrificed everything for me. Your home, your family. And I’ve given you nothing in return. Nothing but pain and death.
“Emmy…”
Why am I even here? What purpose does my life serve? I thought I was supposed to save people. That’s all I was trying to do. She hung her head. I didn’t realize some lives were worth more than others.
She said this simply, as if it were a fact she’d learned in school. But it sent an arrow of guilt straight into Trinity’s heart. Her hateful words from the barn came rushing back to her, and she wanted to throw up as the reflection of her own ugliness came into sharp focus.
“That’s not true,” she said slowly. “All lives are precious.”
But you said…
Trinity closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I know what I said. But I was wrong to say it. You saw someone who needed your help and you acted. That’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s pretty amazing.” She gave the dragon a rueful smile. “You have a big, beautiful heart, Emmy. And you should never, ever feel guilty about going and aiding someone who needs your help—no matter who it is.”
Even Scarlet?
“Even Scarlet,” Trinity declared. “Though I doubt we’ll be seeing much more of her anytime soon.” That troubling ship, at least, had sailed.
Emmy gave a long sigh then looked up at Trinity with mournful eyes. I’m so sorry, she said.
“Me too,” Trin told the dragon. She paused then patted her lap. “Dragon cuddle?” she asked hopefully.
Emmy grinned, hopping up into her lap as she used to do when she was little. She didn’t really fit anymore, but Trin wasn’t about to complain. She laid her head on the dragon’s soft scales and absorbed her strength, her heart feeling as if it would burst from her chest. Emmy grunted contentedly and for a moment, all seemed right with the world again.
She wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, but eventually, Emmy slid down from her lap. The dragon gave Trin a shy smile then pushed back through into the adjoining room and over to her previously untouched food dish, nudging the beef bone with her snout then taking a tentative first bite. The satisfying sound of crunching bone that soon followed made Trin’s heart soar.
“Well, all right!” Caleb declared. “Hungry dragon is hungry again. The universe has been restored.”
Trin chuckled at that. Actually chuckled. If you had told her five minutes before she’d ever laugh at anything ever again, she wouldn’t have believed it. But now she had hope again. If they stuck together, maybe it would turn out all right. Grandpa was gone and nothing would bring him back, but his dying wish was that she carry on. And she was determined not to let him down.
She rose from the bed and wandered back into the room with the boys.
“What about the music box?” she asked with a sigh, looking down at the shards of glass and wood on the bed.
“That, I think is irreparably damaged,” Caleb admitted with a small snort, picking up a broken princess leg and turning it over in his hands. Trinity sighed.
“I can’t believe I did that,” she groaned, gathering the pieces together while trying to do the same with her composure. “That was all I had left of my…” She trailed off.
“What?” Connor asked, exchanging a look with his brother.
Trinity frowned, reaching into the rubble and pulling out a small, folded up piece of parchment. “What’s this?”
The two boys shrugged. “Was it in the music box?” Caleb asked.
“I guess so?” she replied doubtfully. She didn’t understand how it was possible—she’d opened that box a hundred times over the last three months, winding it up to watch the princess dance while thinking about her mother.
“It’s probably just winding instructions,” she murmured as she unwrapped the paper, her fingers trembling so hard she could barely hold on to the edges. “Or maybe a receipt from the store it was bought it from.” But even as she said the words, she didn’t believe them. Whatever it was—it was something important. She didn’t know how she knew that, but she did.
“Your father gave me this,” her mother had said. “He told me that when you were old enough I should give it to you.”
Trinity assumed she’d meant the music box. But could it have been something else entirely? As she unwrapped it, she felt something fall into her lap. She reached down, feeling a piece of cold metal against her fingers.
“What is that?” Connor asked curiously.
She pulled it up, more confused than ever. “Some kind of pendant,” she exclaimed, examining it closely. “Like a snake, chasing its tail.”
“That’s called an Ouroboros,” Caleb pronounced after taking a closer look. “And it’s not a snake. It’s a dragon.”
Trinity turned the pendant over in her hand, feeling a weird buzzing prickling at her skin. It was almost as if the pendant were alive somehow, pulsating in her hand. But that was crazy, right? She opened her mouth to speak, to let the boys know what she was feeling. But the buzzing got louder and louder, and a moment later she found herself succumbing to blackness.
Chapter Nineteen
Trinity opened her eyes. She was lying flat on her back, staring up at the ceiling, strange plastic monkeys weaving and bobbing above her head while a cheerful lullaby tinkled in her ears. She tried to move, but her ar
ms appeared to be pinned to her chest and her legs felt floppy, as if all her muscles had atrophied. Panic rose as she tried to lift her head, to figure out where she was and what had happened. But she couldn’t. She was trapped. And her mouth opened in a scream.
“Are you okay, sweetie?”
A woman leaned over her. A young woman in her early twenties, with black eyes filled with affection. It took Trinity a moment to realize it was none other than her mother. Well, her mother as she’d appeared in photographs from sixteen years ago, anyway. Right after Trinity had been born.
And suddenly she realized what must be happening. Connor and Caleb had shown her how to use gems to channel memories from the Nether. The Ouroboros must have been infused with this particular memory—of her as a baby—triggering at her touch and taking her back with it.
Was this why her mother had been so insistent on her taking the music box while she was in the Nether? Had she meant to impart something important to her daughter that she hadn’t dared say aloud in case the Dracken were listening?
“Hush, my dear Trinity,” her mother murmured, stroking her forehead with gentle fingers. “Your father will be home any minute now.”
Trinity stared up at her mother, wanting desperately to have the ability to speak. Her father? But her father was dead. He’d died before she’d been born. At least that’s what her mother had always told her. But when she tried to ask the question now, it came out only as frustrated gurgling.
Her mother reached for a bottle. But before she could place it in Trinity’s mouth, there was a loud clattering at the door. Her mom rose with a smile. Then she turned back to Trin. “See?” she cooed. “I told you he would be back.”
From her vantage point in the cradle, Trinity could just make out the outline of the front door, which, a moment later, swung open. A handsome man with styled hair not unlike the tenth Doctor burst into the room, his eyes wide and his face pale. Trinity’s mother’s excited smile fell from her lips.
“Is something wrong, Cameron?” she asked, crossing the room with quick steps. She reached for him, but he backed away at the last minute, forcing her to hug the air.
“No time to explain,” he sputtered, his eyes darting around the room. “I’m endangering everything by even being here—he said I shouldn’t come. But I had to see you one last time.”
Her mother stared at him, her face awash with confusion. “What are you talking about?” she demanded. “Is this some kind of joke?”
“I wish it were,” the man—Trin’s father!—replied, shaking his head. “But I’m afraid it’s very real. And very dangerous too. I need you to grab your things—whatever you can pack into the car—and leave tonight. Take Trinity and go to your father’s place and don’t come back here again.”
“You want me to pack up and go to Texas?” her mother cried. “Tonight?”
“Yes,” he replied, as if the request wasn’t the least bit insane. “Go there and stay there and when they call you to tell you I’m dead, do not let them know—under any circumstances—that you saw me here tonight.”
“Cam, stop it! You’re scaring me!” she cried, her voice cracking at the edges. “Why would they tell me you’re dead?”
He drew in a long breath, biting his lower lip, just as Trinity always did when she was unsure of what to say. Then he stepped forward, taking her mother’s face in his hands and meeting her eyes. “I was meant to die tonight,” he said, his tone ultra serious. “There was a fire at my lab. Just a freak accident, but I was supposed to be trapped under some lab equipment and die. But he saved me. He said he needs my help and I’m the only one he can trust. But no one can know I’m still alive.”
“He? He who? Who the hell are you talking about?”
“His name is Virgil Hauer. He’s a scientist from the future and he’s come to save us all. But Em, I’m telling you now, they can’t find out about any of this. If they learn that he’s here and I’m alive, they’ll come after both of us. And we won’t be able to make the preparations for what’s to come.”
“The future?” her mother screeched. “Cam, you’re talking crazy. We need to get you to a doctor and—”
He glanced at the door, as if he half expected someone to burst through at any moment. Then he crossed the room to Trinity’s cradle. He looked down on his daughter, his eyes hollow and wild and sad. “You’re such a little thing,” he said in a hoarse whisper. “Can the fate of the world really lie in your tiny hands?”
But Trinity couldn’t answer. She just stared up at the father she never knew, too powerless to even lift her head. She watched, helplessly, as he leaned down, his mouth to her ear.
And he whispered…an address?
“Cam, I’m going to call 911 okay? We’ll get you to the hospital. They’ll give you something that will help.”
“No!” he cried, whirling around to face her. “Don’t call anyone! Didn’t you hear anything I just said? You can’t tell anyone you saw me here tonight! I’m supposed to be dead. If anyone finds out I’m still alive, the entire time line could spiral out of control, sending mankind down a devastating track.” He raked a hand through his wild hair. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“No,” she whimpered, taking a hesitant step backward. “I don’t understand any of this. Are you really leaving? When will I see you again?”
His face softened. He stepped toward her, taking her trembling hands in his own. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Maybe never. But at least you’ll know I’m alive, right? That I’m out there, trying to save the world.” He reached out, brushing a lock of hair from her eyes. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I love you so much. All I wanted in life was to make you and our beautiful daughter happy. But that was never meant to be.” He leaned forward to kiss her.
She shoved him away, her face a mask of rage. “You bastard! What, did you meet someone else? That girl from your lab? Are you running away with her or something? God, at least have the decency to tell me the truth, not this sci-fi/fantasy bull. I mean, do you think I’m an idiot?” She gave him a deadly glare. “If you walk out that door now, you’d better never even think about coming back.”
“I won’t,” he said simply. “Not because I won’t want to—I’ll want to more than anything—but I won’t be able to.” He gave her a tortured look. “I don’t want to hurt you. Trust me, the only thing that makes any of this bearable is knowing that you and Trinity will be safe. Virgil promised me that. He said they know better than to screw with the time line before the Reckoning is scheduled to take place. They need Trinity for what they’re planning and they won’t risk hurting her beforehand.”
“Need her for what? Cam, she’s just a baby!”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object. From her vantage point, Trinity couldn’t see what it was exactly, but she had a pretty good idea all the same. “You need to give this to her,” he told her mom. “On Christmas Eve when she’s fourteen years old. That’ll give her two years to prepare for the Reckoning. And once she has the egg, the pendant will lead her to me. By then, Virgil promises we’ll be ready. Everything will be in place.”
“In place for what?” her mother whispered, her voice cracking.
He gave her a sad look. “I’m sorry, but it’s best if you don’t know. And anyway, I’ve got to go. Virgil’s waiting for me and we have a lot to do.” He grabbed her and kissed her hard on the mouth. At first she resisted, trying to fight him, but then gave up, surrendering into his arms, sobs shaking her entire body.
“I love you, Emberlyn,” he murmured. “And I will always love you.”
And with that, he tore away from the hug, stalking toward the door, not looking back as he stepped through, out of their lives forever.
Chapter Twenty
Trinity opened her eyes to find Connor and Caleb staring at her intently. The pendant slipped from her fingers and onto the bed. For a
moment she couldn’t speak, as if she were still that infant girl lying in her cradle. Helpless, powerless, scared.
“Oh, Mom…” she whispered.
All her life, she’d blamed her mother for being weak, for letting the voices take control and steal her away from the daughter who needed her. But now, realizing what she’d had to go through, she couldn’t blame her for wanting to retreat from reality. She’d lost her husband, lost her home, was forced to become a single mom, never knowing what had really happened to the man she loved. And yet somehow, she’d managed to cling to life until she was able to keep the promise she’d made to her daughter’s father—even if she could have had no idea whether he was telling her the truth.
Do you think I don’t know? I’ve always known. Your father knew. And I was going to tell you.
No wonder that Christmas Eve had been so important to her mother. It was supposed to be the day that Trinity learned her true destiny. Her mother had obviously planned to give her the pendant and tell her the story of her father that night, so she’d be prepared for when she first encountered the egg two years later. Instead, the Dracken had showed up—taking her mom away before she could tell the tale. Leaving Trinity to face her future clueless and alone.
It was still hard to wrap her head around: that her father had known about the Reckoning. That someone had come back from the future to tell him—to warn him about what his baby daughter would be forced to do. That alone was incredible. But what did it mean for her now? Was her dad still out there somewhere? Hanging out with the time traveler who had seen fit to save his life? He said they would be making preparations. Could it be possible they had a plan for Emmy?
“Trin,” Connor said gently. “Where were you just now?”
And so she told them, not leaving anything out, her heart swelling with pain as she spoke of the anguish she’d seen on her mother’s face. The desperation in her father’s eyes. They’d loved one another so strongly. And yet destiny had ripped them apart.