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  This worries me.

  If it worries you, then I'm worried, too.

  We have to find D'slay before he spreads more of himself around, if you get my drift.

  "Thank goodness you are both here," Valegar arrived.

  Zaria's eyes widened at his appearance, while I gasped at his scent. This Valegar was roughly fifty or sixty years older than the one I'd seen in the past three months. He always allowed me to scent him. That's how I knew he came from the future, just as Zaria would know by looking at him.

  "I must take Zaria with me briefly," Valegar told me. "She will be back in five minutes or less."

  Both disappeared, while Quin came to stand beside me. "Nothing good will come of Irina's alliance with D'slay," she sighed.

  "Is it anything you can talk about?" I asked Zaria when she returned—in less than five minutes, as Valegar promised. There was no way to tell how long she'd actually been gone; like anyone who held the power she did, she could bend time.

  "No."

  I didn't point out that she appeared pale and troubled. "You need a drink," I told her, pulling her toward the door of the forensics lab. "Come on, let's get out of here."

  "Quin?" Zaria turned to her adopted daughter. Quin came and hugged Zaria.

  The moment we were out the door, I folded us back to Le-Ath Veronis.

  Desh's Restaurant, Tulgalan

  Vik

  Reah and Lexsi were both at the restaurant—sitting near Mom and having a conversation with her, Zaria, Nissa and several others. Reah, well, that door was closed, but I watched my daughter carefully. Was there any love left in her for me?

  Better not to think about that.

  Zaria was subdued after what she'd seen earlier—both in Teeg's forensics lab and in whatever future she'd visited with Valegar. I'd never heard of a Larentii coming back to warn anyone in the past of anything; they always let things play out. I doubted Valegar would make such a move without discussing it with his father, Chief Archivist Nefrigar. Nefrigar was one of Reah's mates, and probably knew all about my continued existence, because he considered Zaria his daughter.

  Does Nefrigar know? I sent to Zaria.

  Know what?

  That I'm me.

  He does. He hasn't told Reah, if that's what you're asking.

  Maybe he should. That way I might stop worrying about it. He could tell her I understand that the door's closed. I would like to see Lexsi now and then, though.

  Zaria was quiet for a several moments. The next voice I heard shocked me. Tory, I've known for a while, Reah informed me. Lissa told me.

  I'm sorry. I don't want to intrude on your life, I said.

  Stop worrying about that. Do you want me to tell Lexsi? I think she'd like to hear that her father isn't dead.

  I'd like that a lot.

  Come to dinner at the palace tomorrow night; you can tell her then. That is if she hasn't already figured it out for herself.

  She's really smart. She gets that from her mother.

  Lissa said things had really changed with you.

  You can thank Zaria and Quin for that. They emptied themselves healing me—of all sorts of things.

  Nefrigar explained that when I asked him. He said only Zaria could change some of the things that happened in your past. No ordinary Larentii would even try.

  So much of my life has been a waste, I admitted. Zaria, Quin and Randl found something to salvage. I'm grateful. I enjoy what I do, now, and the ah, connections I now have.

  I know that's secret—even Nefrigar won't talk to me about it, so I don't need to know. He says it will help keep us safe, and that's all that matters.

  Thank you for understanding—and for talking to me. I was worried things wouldn't go well if you found out. It's good to have a Lith descendant on the throne again. You're a good fit—not just for the Crown, but for the entire planet. And it's appropriate that you're the caretaker, when you're the one who saved it.

  Zaria saved it last time, Tory. You know that.

  Then I suppose it's a good thing she and I are related. That means Lexsi is related to Zaria, too.

  Did I miss something?

  She didn't know.

  I ah, I hesitated. Her father took DNA from three women to create Zaria. Lissa is one of those three. I'm related to Zaria through Mom.

  Are you kidding me? Really? Lexsi will be over the moon. Wait. Who is Zaria's father?

  I suggest you talk to Zaria about that. It's not my secret to tell. How are the older girls?

  They're fine. They barely blame us for Jaydevik's death any longer, although they're at Glinda's manor more often than the palace.

  Reah, they shouldn't mistreat their mother this way. They had all the best things, because you were putting money into the royal coffers with gishi fruit sales.

  What can I do about it, Tory? Force them to love us? They were never intended for us—not at the time. All of it was done without our knowledge or permission. There's no way to take that back, no matter how sorry Kifirin is now. He's a different person—like Edan Desh is a different person.

  Like I'm a different person, I admitted. I didn't know back then how many things were wrong with me—how much they'd managed to fuck me up. I'm sorry for all of that, if it means anything to you at this point. Zaria says it had to do with the many times they had to replace the controller, because I kept trying to break free of it—or my Thifilathi did. It—damaged much of my brain.

  They did that?

  Zaria says she saw nineteen changes of the controller. After she and Quin healed me, she asked if I wanted the scar on the back of my neck removed. I told her to leave it—as a reminder.

  A reminder of what?

  Of how lucky I am right now, no matter the circumstances. That Zaria was willing to bend time to pull me back, and then ask Quin to help heal me.

  Come to dinner at the palace tomorrow. Bring Zaria if you can. I'd like to see both of you.

  I don't want to disrupt your life.

  You won't.

  I'll ask Zaria. Anyone else you'd like to see?

  Denevik, if he's willing.

  Then I'll ask both.

  Zaria

  "Ilya and Tamp will want whiskey. Edden prefers wine and Bleek will have whatever's available," I said when Travis and Trent invited me to the palace library for an after-dinner drink. "Vik is coming too, isn't he?"

  Trent grinned, letting me know that all of my siblings would be there, with spouses or significant others in tow.

  "Reah's coming," Travis arrived after going to ask. "Lexsi and Kory will come with her."

  "She had a short conversation with Tory during dinner," I said. "So she knows, now."

  "Cool," Travis high-fived Trent.

  "You had a bet going, didn't you?"

  "Yep," Travis chuckled. "Only we bet with our dads. They just lost."

  "How late will this shindig last?" I asked, meaning the drinking in the library.

  "Maybe an hour or two. Why? You have someplace to be?" Trent grinned.

  "I do. I made a promise—to bring Irina home if she were found. That means a trip to the past."

  "Want company?" Vik asked. He and Ry had walked up to us as I answered Trent's question.

  "If you want to come."

  "I think we want to come, too," Trent said.

  "How about going now and having a drink here afterward. You can bend time," Ry pointed out.

  "I have to tell Teeg that I'm taking the body, first," I said.

  "You have to tell me what?"

  "Hey, bro. We're taking Irina's body back to her father. Want to come?" Travis punched Teeg on the shoulder.

  "Have you considered Changing What Was?" Teeg frowned at me.

  "Honey, I don't think that's wise. I think she'd be so messed up it would take a lot of power, and I get the feeling that D'slay would just come looking for her again."

  "He can bend time?" Vik asked.

  "I doubt it, but I think he's found someone to get around that for
him."

  "Who? And that sounds scary," Vik said.

  "It is scary, and I'm hesitant to tell any of my theories just yet. Some are more frightening when they're spoken aloud."

  Can you expand on that? Ry sent mindspeech.

  Larentii and Saa Thalarr aren't the only ones who can bend time and create a nexus echo, I responded. I'm feeling that sort of residue in places where D'slay has been.

  More rogue gods?

  I don't know, yet. If it is, it's not somebody we're aware of.

  "You're right not to say that out loud," Ry agreed. "Are you comfortable taking a crowd with you, to deliver the body?"

  "If you can't conceal yourselves, I can do it for you," I told him.

  "I've already notified Tybus to release the body, and told him we'll be there shortly," Teeg said.

  "Good. Damn, this day has been several decades long," I complained. Nobody laughed.

  "I'm expecting ah, visitors," Ambassador Bespalov informed me when I appeared inside his study. The coffin containing Irina's body settled in a bare space on the rug nearby.

  One look at his face, lined from years of worry and fear, told me these wouldn't be welcome visitors.

  "Have you ever considered relocation?" I asked him.

  "Where can I go where they will not find me?" he swept out a hand. "I can go quietly now, or wait for the sly poison, the hidden knife or the sniper's bullet from far away."

  "We can convince them that you're—not worth seeking," I sighed.

  "How do we do that?"

  "We can leave a body behind that will convince them," Ry let his concealment spell drop. Bespalov blinked; he had no idea he had hidden guests.

  "What body?"

  "I think Irina will commit a final, heroic act," I said. "I promised you I'd bring the body back. I never promised her father."

  "It will save your life and make some amends to what she may have become involved in," Vik said.

  "They're here," Travis warned, as headlights flashed the window in Bespalov's study.

  "Where would you like to go?" I asked him.

  "I speak Japanese fluently," he said.

  "Good enough."

  Ry was ahead of me with the body. He'd already positioned Irina's body on Bespalov's desk chair, then shrunk the coffin down to a tiny size that would fit in his hand.

  "Need a gun and a bullet hole," Vik said, as Ry worked his spells.

  "What, exactly, is he?" Bespalov whispered to me.

  "He's the King of Karathia, and my half-brother," I shrugged. "I'll change the likeness, the blood type, fingerprints and everything else, once he's done."

  "I can see that you'd work quite well together. Who are all these others?"

  "Also my half-brothers. Your guests are about to knock on the door. We have to hurry."

  "Ready for you," Ry turned with a grin.

  "On it," I told him, and employed power to change everything about Irina, until she looked exactly like Bespalov, down to the tiniest, well-trimmed hairs in his nostrils. Blood dripped down the replica's face, while the gun, with exactly one bullet fired, lay on the floor as if dropped by a lifeless hand. Even the powder burns on the hand were exact.

  By that time, our visitors had gotten tired of knocking, and were blasting the door with automatic weapons to gain entrance.

  "Anybody want sushi?" Trent joked as we folded space to Japan.

  "Why didn't you take me?" Ilya demanded when we returned to Lissa's library.

  "I thought it might be difficult for you to see Bespalov. He has to live out his life and be reborn, honey," I bumped my forehead against Ilya's chest.

  "And you used up a lot of clout to rescue my son." His arms came around me, then.

  "At least he won't die in some hellhole prison," I mumbled against Ilya's shirt. "I arranged to send Irina's father a letter with some proof of her death—as a last act of Bespalov's, to keep his promise."

  "I should have known you would leave nothing to chance, and give as much closure as possible," he murmured against my ear.

  "I'd have done the same," Lissa now stood beside us. "Teeg says there's a full report now in his forensics files. I assume that was the last loose end tied?"

  "Yes. It's everything Quin and I learned from Irina, that could go in the official records."

  "Leaving out D'slay and unscheduled pregnancies, I assume?"

  "Yes."

  "Come on, both of you. Come have a drink with me, then go to bed. I can see you're exhausted."

  We followed Lissa into the library, where Vik, Ry and the others who'd gone with me described what had happened, and what we'd done about it.

  "Wine or something else?" Lissa asked.

  Ilya and I looked at one another, then turned back to Lissa and said in unison, "Macallan twenty-five, if you have it."

  Lissa

  "I don't think we'll get much of anything out of her, unless she wants to tell us or we need to know," I answered Winkler's question as we got ready for bed.

  My werewolf was just as curious as I was about what Zaria had seen or done when she visited the future with Valegar.

  "Did you know that every last one of your mates has offered to act as her step-father-in-residence? It appears that she doesn't have much to do with her actual father, and, well, sometimes a father figure may be needed."

  "Merrill volunteered first," I sighed and unpinned my hair. "You'd have to fight Wellend, you know. He would have been her second father, had things been allowed to happen naturally and without the Lyristolyi drug's interference."

  "We know that. Here's what we've discussed—with Connegar and Reemagar weighing in, of course."

  "What have you discussed?"

  "Who her Larentii parent would have been. So far, nobody has come forward, and we're wondering about that."

  "Have they consulted the Wise Ones?" Now I was curious about this, when I hadn't considered it before. Charles might know, but he'd never tell.

  "Since Connegar is related to two of the Wise Ones, of course they've been consulted."

  "And?"

  "The information has been hidden, according to them."

  "Then Charles is right in the middle of that, I have no doubt."

  "That's my guess," Winkler agreed. "I think it's to prevent a Larentii from stepping forward to assert his claim of parenthood."

  "Because nobody needs to get into a rumble with the Mighty Mind," I shook my head. "What a mess. And for the record, I think it's unfair to keep that information from a parent, or even who should have been a parent."

  "I agree. I'd be pissed if I found out that somebody withheld information like that from me."

  "Zaria treats Wellend like her father. I think she'd treat a Larentii parent just the same."

  "Right again," Winkler grinned. "Aren't you ready for bed, yet?"

  "Look, if I could just drop my clothes and be ready, I would. I have to get this junk out of my hair and a bunch of other stuff."

  "Stop doing it manually, then. Time's wasting." He tapped his wrist, as if he wore a watch.

  "Says the horny werewolf. And you haven't worn a watch in centuries."

  "Sometimes I miss it," he grinned and walked around the bed to pretend-stalk me. "Now, take off those clothes or I'll do it for you."

  "I thought you'd never offer," I laughed and jumped into his arms.

  Zaria

  "We need more time together," Nissa told me as she, Lissa and I sat in Lissa's arboretum to have breakfast the following morning. "It's nice to do this now and then, without the guys hanging around."

  "You have that right," Lissa grinned and sipped hot tea with honey.

  "The kitchen did wonders with vegetarian biscuits and gravy," I said.

  "Reah taught them how to make the gravy. I showed them how to make biscuits," Lissa said. "Reah is really good at converting recipes."

  "Kiarra and Conner love it when Reah cooks," I agreed.

  "Do you find it strange that all three of Wisdom's daughters turned o
ut to be vegetarians?" Nissa asked.

  "Luck of the draw, I guess," I shrugged. "He isn't vegetarian, last I checked."

  "He's not," Lissa confirmed. "I think it has something to do with what all of you became."

  "I suppose so."

  "Sorry I'm late," Breanne arrived to take the fourth chair at the table.

  "I kept the food warm for you," Lissa told her. "The biscuits and gravy are vegetarian and come highly recommended."

  "I love them, and especially when they're paired with scrambled eggs," Bree breathed as she set the napkin on her lap and uncovered her plate.

  Ry tells us that you think someone has been implementing nexus echo around D'slay's comings and goings, and maybe bending time, Bree said as she cut into half a biscuit with the edge of her fork.

  It has that feel about it, I agreed. I just can't tell who did it. Larentii often leave a marker when they place theirs, so another Larentii will recognize it. With them, it's not hard to determine. This—it isn't Saa Thalarr and it isn't Larentii, not that I can tell, anyway.

  That leaves the Hierarchy, or someone powerful enough to place nexus echo, then, Lissa said. What about D'slay, or the Prophet?

  Since they're Sirenali, I can't pinpoint that about either of them, I replied. They're at the top of my suspect list, but how will we figure out if it's them or someone else, unless we stumble over them in our blind searches?

  "That's a good way to describe it—blind searches," Bree shook her head and took another bite of her food.

  "If there's any way I can help you, let me know," Nissa offered.

  "It may take all of us," I told her. "Like sending out all the ranch hands to round up strays."

  "Possibly the most evil and important strays," Lissa confirmed. "This isn't something we can let go, that's for sure. The ASD is dealing with six planetary uprisings as it is, and the Prophet and D'slay are likely behind all of that."

  "This doesn't include anything happening on non-Alliance worlds," I said. "Those have been ignored lately, so the ASD and CSD can tend to problems within their own Alliances."