Time's Edge

I don’t stop to kiss him goodbye. I don’t even look at him, because I’m afraid I’ll lose my nerve. I lock in the stable point for my room and blink, seconds before the tears that would have made it impossible to focus flood my eyes.

As much as I want it to be true, I’m not an ordinary girl with an ordinary life, ordinary friends, and an ordinary relationship with an extraordinarily wonderful guy.

And unless I stop pretending, I’ll never get the chance to be one.

I indulge in a brief pity party when I get back to my room, the first stage of which consists of a ten-minute cry in the shower. The second stage is a talk with Mom, even though I have to jump back a few hours to synch things up with Italy time. If there’s a teeny, tiny silver lining to this evening, it’s that I have something I can actually talk to her about, as long as I avoid the details and stick to the basic fact that Trey and I are no longer together. And even though I can tell she’s sad for me, and maybe a little worried, I’m glad I called. I needed my mom, and I think she needed to feel needed.

There are two text messages from Trey, but I don’t read them. I can’t. Not until the 1938 jump is behind me.

No pity party is complete without ice cream, so the third and final stage is the pint of Ben & Jerry’s I saw in the freezer this morning. It’s missing when I get down to the kitchen, however, and I’m pretty sure Katherine didn’t eat it. Since I’m positive I need it more than Co

Co

“I don’t want to talk about the me-and-Trey part. But is Katherine busy? This affects everyone.”

The house no longer feels private. Everything I told Trey about how Prudence could have placed a stable point in his room is, as far as I know, also true for this house. Who owned it before Katherine? How long was it on the market, sitting empty and waiting for someone to stroll in and set up stable points or even listening devices?

Ten minutes later, Katherine and Co

“I had the place thoroughly checked for listening devices when we moved in,” Co

Katherine says, “If they’ve been watching us, they know we’ve collected four additional keys. Prudence would have known for a while that you weren’t keeping your side of the bargain. So why wait until now to react?”

“Maybe the keys at Athens are the only ones they need,” Co

“Could be,” I say. “But does anyone else get the feeling we’re being played?”

∞18∞

BOGART, GEORGIA

October 8, 1905, 9:00 a.m.

I’m not surprised to see Kiernan near the table in his cabin, since he knows I’ll be arriving at nine and that’s where he usually greets me. I’m a little surprised to see that he’s had a haircut and his skin is about three shades darker than usual.

What surprises me to the point that I nearly blink myself into the cabin on accident, however, is seeing him with his arm around a woman about twenty years his senior.

A woman who can only be my aunt Prudence.

I watch for several minutes, barely breathing.

They aren’t alone. A blond woman, who is probably in her fifties, stands near Prudence. I don’t think I’ve seen her before, although she reminds me a bit of Katherine around the eyes. The guy just to Kiernan’s left is in his twenties or early thirties, and I get the feeling that I have seen him before, but it could just be that he looks a little like Simon. He’s better looking, though, thi

Both of them seem eager to leave.

Prudence is doing most of the talking, but without audio, I can’t tell what she’s saying. Apparently something she said was fu

It’s not a long kiss, but it’s certainly not platonic, and a flood of different emotions rushes through me. Mostly betrayal, some confusion, and a hefty dose of anger, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit there’s a tiny bit of jealousy in the mix.

I lose the stable point and decide it might be a good idea to wait a moment before pulling it back up. I need to think.

Kiernan knew I was coming in at nine, and it didn’t look like he was trying to rush them off. It’s impossible to be late when you arrive via CHRONOS key, so he knew exactly when I’d arrive.

I toss the key on the bed and consider whether to talk this through with Katherine and Co

And in the end, it will come down to the exact same thing. I’ll have to go in and piece this together on my own. If it turns out to be a trap and I don’t come back, neither of them will be able to do a damn thing to help me.

The only one who can help me is Kiernan. And he just freaking kissed Prudence. Not young Pru, either, but the one he claims is borderline insane.

Kiernan kissed her when he knew I’d be looking.

He wants me to know they were there, so I don’t think this is a trap.

And if Prudence does decide to show up and confront me, I’m kind of okay with that, too. We have a few things to settle.

I pick up the key, lock in 9 a.m., and watch the whole thing again.

The kiss was apparently a goodbye kiss, because Kiernan’s guests, including Prudence, blink out a moment later. At 9:04 a.m., he glances around the room for a second and then stares directly at the stable point where I always enter, the spot he knows I’ll be watching. His expression gradually grows impatient. Finally, after about three minutes, he throws up his hands and walks out of the cabin.

I give it another thirty seconds and then blink in. The cabin is chilly, so I toss the last log onto the fire and kneel on the floor, jabbing at the embers with the poker to get it going. It sputters and then flares up a bit when the front door swings open, creating a brief gust.

Kiernan comes in, carrying an armload of wood. He deposits it in the bin next to the fireplace before setting another log on top of the one I added. His limp, which was still visible when I left him with Martha, is now completely gone.

I want to ask him about Martha, but I don’t know who’s watching or maybe even listening. So I just stand there, waiting for him to speak first.

“What, no good morning?” He gives me a quick kiss on the lips. I stiffen automatically, but he whispers, “Play along, Kate.”