Rend’s lab looked almost exactly as I remembered it, which was strangely comforting. I’d been surrounded by so many unfamiliar things, it was nice to be in a place that reminded me of home.

As he worked to create the antidote to the poison concoction Azure had put on her dagger, I told them both the story of the emerald priestess and of the people who were waiting on me back home.

“You’re telling me that in the future, you’ve managed to not only kill two priestesses of the Order, but you’ve also set all of the demons from the sapphire gates free?” he asked.

“Every last one of them,” I said. “And we won’t stop until every demon and witch is free. But right now, the people who are fighting that war are in danger.”

He stared forward for a long moment, as if letting that news sink in.

“If that’s true,” he said, “why not surprise them now? If you know how to get to them and how to kill them, we could put together a small group and kill those priestesses right now. They would never know what hit them. Just think how many demons we could save.”

I shook my head. “We can’t do that, Rend,” I said. “Messing with the past in such a huge way could have catastrophic consequences. And besides, if we killed the sapphire priestess now and let all of those demons go, I would most likely never be born. And if I was never born, I wouldn’t be here right now. Who knows what would happen to the world if we messed with the timeline in that way?”

Rend slammed a hand against the table and stood.

“I understand what you’re saying, but dammit, it makes me feel so helpless,” he said. “With the knowledge you have, we could change everything.”

“Which is exactly why we can’t do it,” I said. “Please, you have to understand. There are so many things I wish I could change. In the future, my own mother and father are both dead. You think I wouldn’t do everything in my power to bring them back? But any changes made to this timeline could keep us from winning this war. We have to trust that everything is happening the way it’s meant to happen.”

“Then why risk coming here in the first place?” he asked, stepping toward me. “You’re changing the timeline right now by telling me all of this.”

“Am I?” I asked, my stomach rolling as my nerves got the best of me. Rend was kind of terrifying in the fifties. “Or was I always meant to be here? I haven’t done anything yet that’s changed the timeline as far as we know.”

Rend took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair.

“Okay, so tell me what you need me to do,” he said.

My shoulders relaxed slightly. I hadn’t realized I’d been carrying so much tension, but the lives of most of the people I loved depended on Rend helping, and now that I knew he was at least willing to listen to me, I had hope that it was going to be okay.

“In the future, the emerald priestess left a trap for Jackson,” I said. “It’s very possible you’re a part of the group that will activate that trap and be captured.”

“What’s the trap?” Azure asked.

I explained what the ruby priestess had told me about the emerald ritual items.

“The moment Jackson uses those items to free a gate, he’s going to trigger a portal,” I said. “At that point, an army of witches will come through to capture or kill anyone who is there with him, which may very well include both of you.”

“But what can we do from here?” Rend asked. “That’s decades in the future.”

“Yes, but when the time comes, you’ll be there,” I said. “You’re both still alive and close to Jackson. I need you to warn him not to use those ritual items.”

Rend shook his head. “This is a lot of information, and while I’m glad to know these things are possible in the future, I’m not sure I can keep this to myself,” he said. “Some day in the future, I’m going to meet you. I’m going to meet Jackson. Why not just warn you about the kidnapping when I first meet you? We could save you from the torture you’ve endured at the priestess’s hands.”

“No,” I said, my voice trembling. It was such a tempting thought, but I couldn’t change things too much. “If you do that, it could alter the other events and we might never get close enough to the emerald priestess to kill her. I can’t risk that, no matter what danger we’re all in right now.”

“I can understand that, but what else do you propose?” he asked.

“I have an idea,” I said.

They both looked at me and listened as I explained the plan that I hoped would save the people I loved most in this world from certain death.