Chapter 23

Chapter

Twenty-Three

Magnus

"Wait. What?" I couldn't believe that Kitra had even suggested that. Was she crazy? Rose wouldn't last ten minutes in the fae realm. Up until a few hours ago she didn't even know she was fae. And I highly doubted she'd understand her magic the moment it returned. "No."

"Excuse me?" Rose looked at me with clear disdain. "Last I checked, this was my choice not yours."

"It's too dangerous. You aren't equipped to deal with the fae."

"But won't I have magic?"

I shook my head and closed my eyes for a moment. "There is so much you don't know."

"Like what?"

"Can you wield a sword or shoot a bow?"

"Yes. But I’m a little rusty. It’s been a while."

"What will you do with your magic once you have access to it? How will you harness your power?"

"Don't be an ass, Magnus. She can be taught. Now that we are in the vicinity of the amulet and its power, I can shore up the spell containing her power. That should buy us at least a few days where we can teach her what she'll need to know."

"You can't teach her a lifetime's worth of lessons in a few days."

"You'd be surprised what I can learn in a short time. If there is one thing I excel at it’s knowledge. And I probably have more knowledge of magic than you know. My mother taught me a lot growing up. I might have thought it was fanciful at the time, but knowing what I know now, I can see she was preparing me."

"Perfect." Kitra beamed. "Does that mean you want to go with Magnus?"

I could see the word yes was about to leap from her tongue when I stepped in front of her and covered her mouth with my hand to stop her. "Do not speak it yet.” I growled. "Even fae with good intentions can trick you. It is their nature. They can't help it."

"Hey!" Kitra protested.

"It's true and you know it."

Kitra smirked at him, but she also didn't say he was wrong.

"Okaaaay. I have to pay more attention to what fae aren't saying versus what they are saying and ask more questions. So what else do I need to know? I think I understand the dangers and the consequences if I stay. How can I not go? I want to know about where I come from, and I can't put everyone here at risk."

"Time," I said. "It's different there than it is here.

She sighed before ultimately nodding. "Clear as mud. Got it. So how is time different? In detail."

"It's a little difficult to explain," Kitra offered, speaking up again. "It runs concurrently like you would expect, but I guess the best way to explain it is how much slower it passes for fae. And as you are fae, you will likely experience the difference."

"That doesn't sound too bad." She looked back at me. "But I'm not getting it am I?"

Isaac snorted. "Smarter than she looks. I like that."

"Shut up," I hissed at him. "Unless you want to be eaten."

"I'd like to see you tr?—"

"Boys!" Kitra yelled. "Enough."

Putting my temper back in check, I turned back to Rose. "If you go through that portal, I can't guarantee you will make it back. Although I will promise to do everything in my power to see that you do. But?—"

"But?"

"When you go through the space between realms it will warp time for you. The magic in there is ancient, and we don’t fully understand it, but in minutes, you will lose months here. In days you will lose years. If you return, your whole world will have changed."

"Good Goddess. Just say it," Isaac grumbled. "Look. I was gone two weeks. But when I walked back through that portal, nearly one hundred years had passed. My entire family was gone."

"Real subtle, asshole."

He looked at me. "You know what I mean. And don't you dare give me shit. You have not acknowledged me as anything but a pain in your side either."