“Why did she bring up Gregor?” James stared at the place Ainsley had disappeared through. “Of all things to bring up before she disappeared?”

I was not entirely sure whether he was talking to me or himself. He was speaking out loud, but the faraway look in his eyes suggested something different.

I understood why he was upset, but we were too short on time for me to placate him. He was going to have to handle that part on his own. I only hoped it would not set off the darkness in him any further. “You know why she brought it up.” This was not the appropriate time for him to feel sorry for himself. He could do that later when our work was done.

I had no interest in thinking about Gregor either. I was unconvinced that Gregor was as human as he appeared on the outside. I was unsure of what he was, but something about him was off.

“I know he is dangerous and must be stopped. I will take care of it, but not until we found out what the Elders have to say. That is the plan, and we need to stick with it.” James paced back and forth.

“What if we lack that kind of time? What if it is impossible to do it later?” I needed to get through to him. We did have a plan, but we could not stick to it if doing so meant we failed at our end goals. It was time to deviate from the plan. “We may be so short on time that we need to do it now.”

“I will not leave her.” James’ eyes darkened. “I cannot leave her.” There was something menacing about his expression that made me doubt his hold on the darkness. He needed to be strong.

“I know you cannot leave. I understand you two cannot be apart for long.” And because of that I knew what I had to do. “But Gregor must be stopped.”

“Are you suggesting that you leave to find him?” James rubbed the back of his neck. “You plan to leave us here?”

“Have you listened to a word I said?” I gritted my teeth. “We have no choice.” I had no interest in leaving Ainsley with James now that he was clearly changing, but I saw no other options. Time was running out.

“If finding Gregor is of the upmost importance, then why is this the first time you are mentioning it? Why wait for her to bring it up first? You expect me to believe you were just waiting for the right time?”

“I understand your skepticism, but it doesn’t really matter why I am telling you now. We have to destroy the darkness. Completely. Forever.” My hesitation had been out of reluctance. I wanted someone else to take care of the Gregor problem, but there was no one else we could rely on.

“You think I do not know that?” James’ eyes blazed. “You doubt I understand what is at stake?”

“I know you are blinded by your feelings for Ainsley. It is through no fault of your own, and I only wish I had understood the intensity before I returned in time. I should have been more prepared.”

“It is strong enough to transcend time…” James got the faraway look in his eyes.” And I am sure it can do a whole lot more.”

“I agree. There is more to the bond than any of could have imagined.”

“I will resist the darkness for as long as it takes.” He straightened up and met my eyes.

“I know you will.” I was not as confident as my words made it sound, but we had no other choice. He needed to be strong, and hopefully his love for Ainsley would be enough to keep the true James here. The problem was it might be his intense feelings for her that pushed him over the edge.

“But how do we find our way back to the true time? Or the other time?” James’ forehead furrowed.

“You know how. You said it yourself. Your bond can transcend time. You need to return to the same spot, and everything should work. I will try to meet you, but if something stops me you need to do it.”

“How long do we wait?” James was not one to turn to others for help or advice. His doing so gave me hope that he still had enough rationale thought. He turned back to the direction from which Ainsley left. He was worried, and I felt the same way. But Monty had sent her here for a reason. He had to have had faith it would work out. “Where will you go to find Gregor?”

“The lake. That is where he called Ainsley to in the beginning. It is where he is building his army. It is my best guess of where I will find him.”

“I agree.” He tensed. “This is really my fight.”

“No, it is all of our fights. One of us has to go, but you need to stay. Ainsley needs you.”

“She will be upset when she returns to find you missing.”

I shook my head. “No. She will be fine when she sees you. She needs only you.” And my words were true if he managed to contain the darkness. Still, the sad truth was if the darkness consumed him completely, my presence would do nothing to protect her. So much depended on James fighting the darkness.

“But she trusts your judgment. She no longer trusts mine now that the darkness—”

I interrupted before he could go any further with those thoughts. “She may worry about the darkness, but do not confuse that with her no longer trusting you. She will still follow you anywhere. We both know that.”

“Because the bond blinds her, it would push her to head directly toward danger if it means staying with me. The poison takes precedence over everything else, and it means we cannot separate even if it is the right thing to do.”

“You must stay together. It was a mistake when she ran from you last time.”

“You mean when you took her to North Lauriet?” James frowned.

“I did not take her from you. She was already lost in the woods fleeing.” Something suddenly occurred to me. “She fled because of a warning from Monty…” I let my words trail off.

James nodded. “It is obvious. She needed to meet you. Monty needed us to back in time. That is the clearest possibility.”

“Would he do that only to meet her? Or was there more?” I did not know Monty, but I wanted to believe he only did things for the right reason. It would not have been out of the realm of possibilities for a father to go to great lengths to meet his daughter. Would I ever do something like that?”

“Monty would never put Ainsley in danger unless he had to.” James spoke with a seriousness that was unusual for him. “I can promise you that. So whatever he told her in the realm of the dead had to have been important.”

“Funny that you are the one doing the convincing when earlier I was the one convincing you to let her see the Elders alone.”

“Allowing her to face a grave danger without me goes against everything I know and care about.” He turned once more toward where she left.

“Can you see anything beyond the bond? Is it possible?” How all encompassing with the connection? Did the blinding natural of it lessen at all when they were physically apart?

He nodded, and a deep sadness seeped into his eyes. “I can see the darkness. I can feel the darkness. It is everywhere inside me spreading throughout my body, and it is outside almost everywhere I look.”

“Yet here you are doing the right thing.” It was my turn to decide what the right thing was. Did I leave James here, and effectively leave Ainsley in his care? That is not to say she was incapable of caring for herself, but the darkness was a grave danger. But staying meant I gave Gregor a chance to build the army. The real question was where Blake was in all this. He was somewhere in the darkness. Either decision was dangerous and could be the wrong one, but a decision had to be made.

“Meet me back where we met the army.” I nodded to James. “Stay strong for Ainsley. You can fight off the darkness.”

I turned before I could doubt my decision again. Seeing James’ condition, I knew further time travel was out of the question. I had to use every moment of this time well.

I headed toward the nearest forest, bound and determined to find Gregor at the lake before it was too late.