Kye watched me. I had no idea what he was looking for. I wasn’t about to go back now. Seth, Dee, Ty, and my mother were already in the past. The only way to be with them was to go back. I just needed the bracelet off. Kye could do that. Kye would do that. I looked up to him, and he didn’t look as sure as when he was taking my family into the past. I hoped he would take care of everything. Did he have it in him to betray Logan?
“Are you prepared to deal with Logan?” I finally added. “He’s your family, after all.”
Kye took a breath in. “He’s not my family by choice. I can handle this.” Kye seemed surer once he said the words out loud. “Are you ready to live the life you were meant to have?”
I raised my eyebrows. I didn’t know what he was talking about.
“In every lifetime that Logan messed up for you, you were in Egypt. You were with your family. And you always ended up with Seth. That is your fate,” Kye told me. “That will always be your fate.”
I was even more certain now what we were doing was right. If every time Logan changed something this was where we ended up, I had to believe in fate. It was fate to meet Seth, but I felt, deep down, that my life was always supposed to be with Seth and no one else. Seth was my future and nothing Logan could do would change that. I couldn’t avoid it any longer. I couldn’t be apart from him any longer. We were doing the right thing.
Kye held my hand in his. I was reassured by his touch. His hand was warm, and it hummed just like when I touched my Seth. He might just be Logan’s family, but fate had put him on my side. He picked up the bracelet and the charm slid down to the other side. The lines on my arm sparkled more intensely at his touch, like they were just as ready to go on our trip as we were. Kye looked up at me one last time. I nodded to him. We needed to be gone soon. I couldn’t stay and let Logan make the future he wanted. It was time for Kye and me to go to the past. It was time to meet my father.
Kye pricked his forefinger on the edge of the charm. He glanced one last time at me before pressing his forefinger to his thumb with the bracelet between them. The bracelet snapped and the charm fell to the floor. I went to pick it up, but stopped at the look on Kye’s face.
“We’ve got to go now. He’s coming,” Kye quickly spat out. “He’s quicker than I thought.”
I grabbed Kye’s hand. We needed to be gone, and it was time to make our own future. The goddess encircled us. She began pushing us into the past. We faded from the room as a slight shimmer indicated that Logan had arrived. I was glad to be gone before he made it into the room, so I didn’t have to see his face. I might have been going against Logan’s plans and my plans, but I had no other choice. He would never understand the love I felt for Seth. It had to be done, but I didn’t have to enjoy causing him pain.
I didn’t have time to think more than that as time sped backward and I waited for us to get to the right place. I wasn’t sure where, or when, exactly, we were going, but I felt for the warm tingles of family. I searched for the father I’d never met. We sped past cities as we neared, and I didn’t have a chance to see where I’d call home. I needed to just find him, wherever he was. I closed my eyes and ignored the world as I focused on the warm fuzzies. I felt my mother and Seth as we passed them, and I followed the new thread connecting me to the past. Soon after that we reached the place. I still didn’t open my eyes when the goddess released the time travel. She faded away, and I hoped it wasn’t forever. Did she just spend her last bit of energy getting us to the past?
We landed as gracefully as we could, but with the rush, we kind of just plopped down onto the ground in front of the single man in the room. Kye landed beside me, and I could feel his eyes upon me, but I couldn’t take my gaze away from the man in front of me.
I had dreamt of meeting him my whole life, and now, he stood just feet away from me. He was stunned by our entrance, yet didn’t call for the guard I could see outside his room. He was watching me, and studying me, as much as I was him. He was intrigued, and I understood from Kye’s explanation that you couldn’t time travel into this man’s country without his approval. We’d just done the impossible in front of him.
The man stood and stared back at me, assessing me as I did him. I always thought I looked like my mother, as I have her pale skin, red hair, and grey-blue eyes, but now as I stood in front of my father, I knew that I looked more like him. I immediately recognized my high cheekbones and big eyes. I even inherited his smile, which turned down just slightly at the edges to make his relaxed face seem like he was slightly upset. I had no doubts whatsoever. The man that stood before me now was definitely my father.
The air hung silent between us. We each were trying to figure out the situation. I knew who he was, but did he know who I was? Could he recognize his own child? One he had never met?
I didn’t know what to say to him, so I glanced around the room. This was my moment, and I had no clue. I had many conversations in my head growing up, when I pretended that I could meet him, and now nothing came out. I was screwing up the moment I had imagined when thinking about meeting my father.
The room was larger than I had thought it was when we quickly approached him in our travels. Large curtains billowed at the side of the room letting in fresh air. I could smell water. We had to be close to some body of water. I remembered how Seth liked the water, and remembered he was on his way coming for me. Thoughts of him increased my strength. Doorways were on either side of the room that led to additional spaces. I tried to figure out what to say to the man in front of me, but the best I could do was keep looking around. This was where I was supposed to be raised. This was supposed to be my life. I’d never get that back thanks to Logan.
I turned my attention to my father and tried to muster the courage to talk. He wasn’t an overly large man, and it was strange to think of him as a military leader. His dark hair was shaved close to his head. His large, dark eyes seemed to be all-knowing, and I could see the leader behind them. The goddess had said he was a great man. I had a feeling it wasn’t necessarily physical strength that was his greatest asset, even though from what I could see of him in his lack of clothing, except for his little shendyt, he was far more defined than any father I had met growing up. He was still studying me intently. His eyes mirrored my confusion and uncertainty. I could faintly feel the same pull as I did with my mother. I was sure who the man was, but what was I expected to say? I gathered together everything inside of me and took a chance.
“Hello, father,” I said quietly, and with as much confidence as I could muster.
His passive face morphed to shock and then a smile. He didn’t doubt my words. I knew in that moment I was saved from my fate with Logan. This man before me was powerful, and he would protect me. He was my father, after all.
“You are Hepa’s child,” he guessed correctly. “Hello, daughter, and welcome back.”
Author note:
Thank you for reading AVENTURINE! Keep reading for the first pages of CHRYSOCOLLA—Book 4 in this series. Before we get there, I’d like to ask that if you enjoyed reading this book, please consider leaving me a good review on at your favorite online book retailer. It’s one of the best things that you can do to help me out so that I can continue writing and publishing. If you’ve already left a review, thank you very much! If you love to read books and can help support me by providing reviews for books as soon as they are released, e-mail me at
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SNEAK PEEK at the first chapter of book 4 Chrysocolla—coming summer 2015
Kye sat beside me in the lavish room my father provided. We were in my father’s apartment in his palace. Yes, my father lived in a palace, but he was giving us space to rest after the tale we told him. I could see that his mind was working on figuri
ng out the details. He was willing to help us, and that was all that mattered now. We came to him to try to preserve the past, and he was more than willing to go along with it. He seemed more anxious than anything at the prospect of my mother coming soon. She had been just as nervous when we left her with Paramessu and his army. She hadn’t seen my father for almost twenty years, but she was ready as ever to meet him again. I could tell how much he loved her, and how she loved him. It was strange after growing up without a father to find that my parents were just as much in love as ever, and I never knew about it.
My father gave me a few details of his own past. He had married after my mother left, but he never loved her the way he loved my mom. His wife had passed away during childbirth several years ago, and I was his only heir. He kept stressing to me the importance of being his heir, but I had yet to give him the details of the goddess. I didn’t tell him that he was just as important, and that we carried a bloodline she was willing to die for to protect.
Everything, so far, was working as we planned. Kye got my mother, Seth, Dee, and Ty into the past, and we now just had to wait. My father reassured me that if Seth told Paramessu to stay within Kemet borders, then that’s exactly what Paramessu would do. I hoped so. It would stink to come this far and not be safe.
As we relaxed and waited for them to arrive, I anxiously anticipated Logan’s appearance. He saw us leave, and would be livid. What would he do in response? How would he react? I took everyone back in time that knew about, or could time travel. The only one left was my grandfather, and I was certain that Mr. Sangre wouldn’t let anything happen to him. Their friendship went back quite a way in the past. There was no one else he could use to get to me, and Kye reassured me several times now that Logan couldn’t just pop in and take me away.
I rubbed wrist, now free of the bracelet that Logan had used to keep me in his time. It was strange to have my time travel powers back, and to feel the power within me. The extra three lines made a humming vibration I felt even stronger now. It was like I was connected now to everyone who had ever traveled. I could feel Seth, and could tell that he was still a day away. It made me home in on my father as he went about his business elsewhere in his house. From what I could tell, he spent most of his time sitting somewhere. I had no clue what his job was now. I kind of wanted to ask, but got the feeling he wasn’t going to tell me if I did.
I wandered back from the open doorway that led down to the water. I had guessed correctly that the house was built on a river. The waves lapped against the house. It was beautiful, but I was keeping my distance. Without a doubt this wasn’t just a river, this was the Nile. From what I could remember, the Nile had dangerous animals like crocodiles, and I didn’t want to see any of those close up.
“Then is that it?” I asked Kye. Seth had promised me that he would make sure my mother made it to my father. We had dropped them off inside the Egyptian border, so it was bound to work out fine, but I couldn’t help but worry. What if Logan found out? There was still the possibility he would go after my mother and the guys. I wouldn’t feel relieved until they were within my sight.
“What do you mean?” Kye was sitting on the window on the other side of the room, looking out at the city. My father’s room did have a great view.
I fingered the necklace around my neck. I was glad to be wearing something of my mother’s, it did help me worry less. I still found it ironic that I’d lost it years ago because Logan time traveled back to get me the exact outfit I wore on our date. Now I had it again I felt better, like my mother would be back soon, and everything would be fine. She would see my father again, and there was nothing to worry about. He didn’t have a wife now, and was just waiting for her to return. I could feel the love he had for her pour off of him when he asked me questions. They really shared that once-in-a-lifetime love.
“We made it. We’re putting the past back in order, the way it’s supposed to be. I was supposed to be here. I was always meant to meet Seth and fall in love with him, but here, in this time. I’m doing exactly what was meant for my life,” I said. I was beginning to appreciate fate, especially since it wanted me to be with Seth. “Seth is returned to his father’s side, and will be entering the city tomorrow with my mother. We put it all back in place. Wasn’t that what we were expected to do?”
Kye nodded as he continued to look over the city. He wasn’t smiling or happy about my assessment. The frown stayed on his face as he scanned the horizon.
“By being here we are restoring order, right?” Why wasn’t he happy? We did exactly what he planned. We were on the right track now. According to Kye, within the borders of Egypt we were safe. Why didn’t our making it back make him happy?
“We didn’t win,” he replied.
“What?” I asked. “But we did it. We changed everything back.” How could we have not won? The goddess was clear that we had to correct the past in order to correct the future. We did exactly that.
“I don’t know what went wrong, but this doesn’t change the future. Logan still wins,” Kye replied. He turned his violet eyes to me. He was serious. How could he know that Logan would win? Logan didn’t stand a chance. I had no plans to leave the past, and even if we did, I now had five stones embedded in me. There was nothing to do now but wait. I didn’t plan to give Logan the stones, and I wasn’t going to use them. He could never become a god now. Our history would be restored. How could it be that we still failed?
“Why? How could you know that?” I asked. I wasn’t about to give up. I had just gotten the life back that I was supposed to have all along. I had my Seth, my mother, and my friends. Everything was in place. We were living the past the way it was supposed to be. When Logan finally realized he lost and gave up, I could take Ty back to the future to live his life the way he wanted. Everything was fine. Everything was more than fine. We did exactly what we planned.
“If you’d won, I wouldn’t be here,” Kye answered as he turned his eyes back to the city. That made no sense.
“What?” I asked, standing and joining him. Was he serious? We had just executed a plan that he had made and that he thought would result in his disappearing. Kye was my friend now. He was part of my life. How could putting the past together make it so that he wouldn’t exist?
“I am the mistake in the future that changes everything,” Kye answered. “I failed you again. Somehow, Logan still wins.” He turned his eyes back to me. I could almost make out faint tears. “I’m still here.”
Look for the 4th book Chrysocolla in the summer of 2015… If you want to be notified of new releases like Chrysocolla, and be the first to hear about sales on all of my books, join my mailing list. Thanks for reading, and I can’t wait to get the next book out to you.
-BK
[Link] Chrysocolla
Acknowledgements
As with any work of fiction, there are many people to thank along the way.
To you, the reader. Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time to read this story and go on the journey with me. If you liked it, please leave a review on your favorite online bookseller (or all of them!) and connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, etc. The greatest help you can be to keep a writer going is to support them by spreading the word about their books, and leaving them encouraging words. If you are really inspired, join my mailing list to get updates first on my current and future writings, I announce all of my sales to my e-mail fans.
Also, I would like to thank my editor and cover designers. A good editor is essential to getting the story correct. Thank you so much, Kathie, for catching all those errors and making this a much better book. Thanks to Ashton Brammer for the second edit to make this book even better and catching those little glitches. A thank-you to my cover artist, Alexandria, at Gothic Fate for such a pretty cover. A great cover helps get people interested. They may say never judge a book by its cover, but everyone does! I greatly appreciate all those that can do what I cannot, like editors and cover designers. I’m grateful I was able to
find great professionals to work with on this book.
I’d like to thank my hubby for continuing to push me further down the writing road. He gives me time when I need it to work on my stories. He encourages me to keep going each and every day on this adventure. And he does all the behind-the-scenes effort to make this work (have you seen my trailers—he is awesome). This would be so much harder without his help. So thank you, B. for pushing me off the deep end (or the cliff as I see it sometimes). And a great big thanks to my little munchkins who keep me going from before the sun comes up ‘til long after it sets. Being a mom is probably the best job in the world. Love you AK, KB, and EM.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my novel!!
About the Author
Originally from Wisconsin, B. Kristin currently resides in Ohio with her husband, three small children, and three cats. A former cell biologist, she now does the mom thing of chasing kids, baking cookies, and playing outside while writing full time. Every day is a new writing adventure. She is a fan of all YA/NA fantasy and science fiction and continues to promote good indie books on her own website at www.bkristinmcmichael.com. You can find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads
Other Books By this Author
The Night Human World
The Blue Eyes Trilogy (Series One)
o The Legend of the Blue Eyes
o Becoming a Legend
o Winning the Legend
The Day Human Trilogy (Series Two)
o The Day Human Prince
o The Day Human King
o The Day Human Way [2015]
The Skinwalkers Witchling Trilogy (Series Three)
o The Witchling Apprentice [2015]
The Chalcedony Chronicles