Aventurine

  “Are you related to Logan--I mean the prince?” I quickly corrected. That had to be a reason for those violet eyes. Logan was the only person I ever met with those eyes.

  “Yes, I’m related to Logan,” Kye answered.

  “So you’re not really a guard then?” I assumed.

  “No, not in the least,” Kye answered, motioning for me to sit down. I finally got the answer I was looking for. “Please, sit down. This is going to take a while before Logan is happy with everything. He’s always like that.”

  Kye shrugged, pointing over his shoulder to where Logan was still talking with people running off in every direction. It seemed like there was nothing that could be done without him having an opinion. At least that didn’t change with the scenery. It looked like Logan was still Logan, even if he was called Prince Something-or-another now.

  “Always?” I asked, taking a seat and waiting for him to join me. What did that mean? How long had these two lived here?

  “Always,” Kye repeated. He walked under the shaded part of the tent set above the pillows behind me. He returned to my side and sat beside me, offering me a cup.

  I looked dubiously inside the cup. I was already on edge, wondering what Logan was up to now. It didn’t seem like the best time to be taking a drink from someone when I didn’t have the slightest clue who he was, and they did seem to like alcohol in these times. Getting drunk on strange drinks was not going to get me home any quicker.

  Kye laughed at my response. “If I wanted to do something to you, don’t you think I could have done that the moment I found you?”

  That did make sense. I sniffed the cup. More alcohol. What was with these people always feeding me alcohol? I got how Seth said it was a safe choice of drink, but when you could time travel by only a thought, it made no sense to be drinking something to loosen your inhibitions. Inhibitions were the only thing keeping me from disappearing right where I was and ending up somewhere I didn’t know.

  “Mari, I watered it down,” Kye explained, like he already knew me.

  My head snapped up at him using my real name that way. The tone of his voice made him sound very familiar. It was if he had used that name hundreds of times before. Did I know him? Did he know me? I was confused. Who was Kye really? Before I had a chance to ask, I saw Logan jump onto the ship I was seated on. There wasn’t a moment to ask when Logan came our way. He said a few more words to the men behind him before turning to me and Kye. His face lit up as he made his way around men busy at work, getting the ship ready to sail.

  “Sorry about that,” Logan said, flopping down next to me. He was very un-prince-like. With the attentive audience of servants at his disposal, all busy around the ship, it seemed liked Logan was back to being Logan. Kye stood and quickly moved away from us. “My job never seems to be done.”

  “Where are we going?” I asked as the ship jolted, and I watched us push away from the dock.

  “Back to my home, of course,” Logan replied.

  “And when do I get to go back to my home?” I replied, taking a sip of the watered-down wine. I was trying to ask casually, but I was sure Logan could see right through it.

  Logan grinned as he read me correctly. All I saw was the old Logan, the guy that was my boyfriend for two years, but in the back of my mind I wondered. Logan was different. I could feel it, even if I couldn’t see it. Could he be trusted still? He was supposed to come back and get me and Seth. I hadn’t told him about the extra stone in my arm. If I hadn’t sent Seth back, they probably would have blamed Seth for me leaving, and that wouldn’t have turned out well. Did Logan purposely leave us there? Time travel isn’t an exact science, but still, I thought Logan had a good grasp of it. Did he leave Seth with me, or was it just coincidence? Was there any way I would know? I couldn’t trust him, but what was I to do now? I couldn’t just disappear from the ship. Part of me wanted to just get Logan into trouble as he grinned at me, but luckily for him my powers still needed to recover.

  “We can head home after we get back to my palace. I can’t just go and take you now. Your cousin was determined to sell you off to the highest bidder. I needed to be sure that, if you ever came back to this time period, you’d be protected. By taking you home with me, you’ll always be safe in this time. You will be part of my family, and trust me, we protect our own,” Logan replied.

  He made complete sense, and answered like he knew what I was thinking. It was a very logical argument, but I still felt unsettled. My feelings of unease could have easily just been from the simple fact that I was separated from Seth again, but I was still too unsure about Logan in general.

  “Who is Kye?” I asked, as the boat moved into the middle of the river. Two large boats floated beside the one we were on. Kye stood at the railing, not too far away. I was unsure if he could hear or not, but I didn’t care. There was something off about both Logan and Kye.

  “Family,” Logan replied, as he also watched Kye. “I brought him from the future back with me. He comes from a time even further ahead than where you were raised.”

  “You just brought him with?” I asked. That seemed weird. Why would he do that?

  “He asked to come with me, and when he asked, what could I do? I’m supposed to protect him,” Logan replied. Still, the explanation was missing something, or maybe I was missing something.

  “Protect him?” I replied before I could stop myself. “He looks to be about the same age as us, and doesn’t really look like he needs protecting.” Kye’s upper arms were almost as big as my thighs. He looked like he was even more physically fit than Logan. He wasn’t some child that needed to be protected. I could tell then that Kye could hear us as his shoulders shook with a small chuckle.

  Logan smiled also. “He might not look it, but he’s much younger than us. I brought him here when he was thirteen. He’s lived here in this time for eight years now, so technically he’s older than us, but since we get to live as many lifetimes as we choose, he’s still much younger than I am,” Logan explained.

  It was hard to understand, but the basics I got of Logan’s time travel was that he had lived three lifetimes in three different periods. Each time he could live and age with the passing years, but as soon as he time traveled, he was back to the same age he was when he entered that time. The only time he aged physically, permanently, was when he was in his original time period. If done right, someone with time travel could essentially live forever if they only went back to their original time for a few minutes before leaving again.

  “But that doesn’t change anything. He’s still my responsibility. We share the same genes after all, or at least half the same genes.” Logan seemed to add the second part for more than my benefit. Kye was back to being a statue at the railing.

  “I didn’t know you had other family,” I replied as I watched Kye. Half the same genes made Kye Logan’s half-brother. I never knew that Logan had any siblings. That made me wonder what else I didn’t know. Logan’s father was a time traveler also, which could explain why Logan never mentioned a brother. They probably were born in different times.

  Logan shrugged. “He’s more of a new development that I didn’t know much about myself. But family is family, and he’s here now.”

  I had no clue what Logan was talking about, but I didn’t feel like asking more. Now Logan was just talking in riddles, and any more inquiries would just lead to more questions. Kye was strange, and he was a brother that Logan never mentioned, or maybe didn’t even know much about, was just as strange. I needed to get home and away from all the stuff in the past. It was all too confusing. Besides, I missed Seth already. I had just got him back, and now we were apart again. I couldn’t explain it, but I felt the need to be near him. I couldn’t help that. I hated to be on Logan’s ship, sailing down some unknown river to wherever, when Seth was in the future.

  “How long before we get to your home, and we can go back to my time?” I asked, getting back on point.

  Logan looked at the passing city on the sh
ore of the river. “It will take most of the day to get back to my home. Just make yourself comfortable, and we’ll be there in no time. Just wait until you see it. Coming from the river is the best way to see my city.”

  Logan’s eyes lit up as he spoke. He was proud of his home in the past. I had no doubt it would be impressive. Logan did nothing halfway. That, combined with the surreal feeling of the past in general, was sure to make it a good show, but I just wanted to get home. Every minute in this time was a minute longer without Seth. Logan had to see that much for me, and was ignoring it. He didn’t like Seth too much, but he promised to take me back home. He said that he just wanted me to be happy. Seth made me happy. Sitting on a ship going somewhere I really didn’t want to go did not make me happy.

  Logan stood and walked over to Kye. My eyes strayed to the stranger. That Logan had a brother was enough to make me wonder more, but the fact that Kye felt so familiar to me made me even more curious. Had I met Kye at some point before I could time travel? Now, when time changed, I could remember the past, but could I feel parts of a changed past if I didn’t have the ability yet? They spoke momentarily. The wind was blowing from behind me, and took their conversation the other direction. I wished it would turn and let me listen in. Kye didn’t seem to be happy with what Logan was saying, and I wondered what could make the mysterious half-brother that upset. Logan gave Kye one last stern look before walking further down the ship to what must have been the captain. My eyes wandered back to Kye. I watched him as the boat moved further down the river. I could see the resemblance beyond the eyes now. His stance at the side of the ship was exactly like Logan’s, and the defiant look on his face was one I had seen more than once on his brother. Kye’s frown turned around as he caught me staring at him. I had seen that smile before from Logan, also.

  Never once in two years of dating Logan did he talk about family. I never met his mother or father, and assumed he was an only child. Even after finding out he was a time traveler like his father, actually a gatekeeper to help people time travel, I didn’t consider that there could be more to his family. Watching Kye, who was back to watching the shoreline, I could see I was wrong. It made me wonder about how many more brothers or sisters Logan might have out there. Were they all in different times? What would it be like to have siblings raised in a different time? All the time travel stuff had been confusing, but now there was more poured into the mix. Was my family like that also? It had been my mother and me for so long that I never considered my father, or other family. Could I have siblings in the past? If I headed the other direction into Egypt instead, would I find long-lost family like Logan’s before me?

  Chapter 2

  Stuck in the Past

  I sat by myself for the remainder of the sail. Kye didn’t return to my side, and stood guard from the railing. Logan stopped by every now and then, but he was completely preoccupied with the men on the ship who all had more than a thousand questions for him. When Logan finally got a chance to beside me, irritation lined his face. He was constantly interrupted after only getting out maybe two words, but he quickly hid his frustration each time. The ride wasn’t as relaxing as he wanted it to be. I had a lot of time to think, but found more so that I had time to doze off. Being in the warm sun and surrounded by pillows after my long night sitting on the hard, cold ground waiting to be found made me realize how worn out I was. Getting a couple catnaps in actually put me in a much better mood, and filled me with the energy I needed to get to the bottom of why I was still in the past and not the future. As the sun began to set, I finally saw Logan’s city.

  Brick walls started to line the river as we began to pass smaller piers. Each dock offered a small glimpse into the city, but they were too small to get any real sense of where I was. Boats all around us moved out of the way as we progressed. The city line was dotted with buildings that had to be several stories tall. It was amazing. Bright colors and columns stood marking important buildings. As we neared the city, each wharf grew wider to allow bigger ships into the port, and it gave us more of a view of the city. People bustled about on each dock and behind the city walls. It was still hard to fuse the images in my head of the ancient cities I had been taught about with what I was seeing now. I had traveled extensively with my grandfather. I had been to archeological sites and seen the remnants or buildings from the past. Their collapsed, decaying remains being the only things that survived into the future. I had seen the broken pillars and fragments of walls. To me, this was nothing like the run-down and crumbling building I had seen. This was whole and intact. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to it.

  I stood up and walked next to Kye. He was still watching the shoreline.

  “This is home?” I asked. I sure hoped it was. I already spent a day waiting to see Seth. The sooner I could corner Logan alone, the sooner I could get home.

  Kye shrugged. “Not my home, but one of Logan’s, yes.”

  I nodded, forgetting for a moment that Kye wasn’t from the past. His short-cropped military hair and uniform made him fit in seamlessly with the guards that remained on our boat. “Where’s home to you?”

  “A long time in the future,” Kye replied, not completely talkative.

  “Any specific time?” I asked, trying to draw it out of him. Kye seemed in a bit of a slump after talking to Logan. He had been cheerful when he had spoken to me as we first sat on the ship, and now he was remote and obviously far away in his thoughts.

  “I’m not allowed to say,” Kye replied, nodding to Logan down further on the ship. Logan was busy talking to another guard, but his eyes were glued to Kye and I. “I’m not allowed to say much.”

  Kye completely ended my questioning, but I wanted to know more. Kye’s cold shoulder and the look coming from Logan told me not to push it. Why couldn’t I talk to Logan’s brother? Jealousy? It wasn’t like I was looking for a new boyfriend. I already had Seth, and I made sure Logan understood that. What other reason could Logan have? Maybe Kye knew some deep, dark family secret. If that was the case, then I’d want to talk to him. I looked back at Kye, and he ignored me. He was focused on the piers that we were coming upon. Logan appeared at my side before I could say anything more to Kye.

  “We’ve made it back. I can’t wait to show you the where I live. You’ll love it,” Logan said warmly as he placed a hand on my back and steadied me as the ship docked. I wanted to push his hand aside, but I wasn’t used to the boat, and standing on it, I found I needed the extra support.

  The pier full of dock workers and sailors bustled below us. Men pushed carts to load onto waiting ships and wove between everyone as several people ran up and assisted our boat. I watched as they worked to steady and tie us to the wharf. It took only minutes before a walkway was efficiently being set up to the level of the boat we were on. I wanted to just stand and watch. When in my life would I ever again be watching an ancient civilization work in real life? The historians my grandfather worked with would have given their left arm to be able to see what I saw now.

  Logan stayed right next to me as he ushered me off the boat. I didn’t get my wish to watch more. Kye was only two steps behind, but refused to return any glance I threw his way. I couldn’t help but wonder about him. I was going home as soon as we could get away, but I was still curious. Would I ever see Kye again? Had I ever seen him before? Why was Logan still staring daggers his way? Why didn’t Kye seem to care or mind? It had to be a brother thing.

  Logan’s chariot was rolled down the ship’s ramp and onto the ground in front of us. I waited beside Logan as the horses were attached. It didn’t look like the safest setup, and I was glad I hadn’t seen that before Logan took me on my first ride through the city. Now I was a little terrified to get up next to him. I was a bit too used to the twenty-first century and all the safety attached to it. Heck, I had never even ridden in a car without a seat belt, and this was a bit more terrifying now that I saw how little held the cart to the horses.

  “Wait here,” Logan told me as he looked ar
ound a bit at the other ships that were also unpacking. I shot him a look. Like I was going to grab the reins and give the chariot a try? Was he crazy?

  Kye stood beside me as Logan walked away. He didn’t seem to need instruction as he moved about, and Logan didn’t even look back to see what Kye was up to now. It seemed that I had my own personal guard in Kye. A boring guard at that, he was even giving me the cold shoulder.

  “Why, exactly, can’t you talk to me?” I asked Kye. Kye stared at Logan for such a long moment, I thought I’d have to ask my question again.

  “Because,” Kye began. He paused as Logan looked our way. His eyes never left Logan while he waited. As soon as Logan looked back to the men around him, Kye continued. “First off, he’s the prince here. I can’t go against what he wishes without him being justified in punishing me. And trust me, he would punish me.”

  “For talking to me?” I asked. Would Logan really punish his brother for talking to me? That seemed a bit extreme, even for Logan.

  “Yes.”