Chapter Thirty-nine

William recognized the exacting change the moment it washed over the world. It was the split second it took for the bubble of existence to finally and completely shatter around them, the half a heartbeat in which the alternate dimension was no longer entirely safe from the outside influences of his own reality.

The walls of the bubble had been weakening all along. He knew that now. Time had been right; the universe would find a way in. That was what it did with Helena’s car – just like the one he himself owned and loved. That’s what it did with the First Vampire, so like the First Born and just as evil and determined to obtain Helena. That’s what it did with Liam, with his name and his tattoos and his green eyes. The parallels were endless because the universe was a parallel, and once the glass between them was broken, it was easier to see that.

The biggest crack in the glass was Helena herself.

She had the same name, the same face, the same voice. She was so strong of spirit, so embedded in Fate’s ultimate design, Time had not been able to mask her identity any more than it had Cain’s. And from the moment William had laid eyes on her in the guardian’s scrying pool, the Time’s illusion had begun to weaken.

Cain was still Cain, and though he had gone by different names over the years, who and what he was had never really changed. Even here he was powerful and filled with Death. Helena was still Helena. A candle’s flame in a dark and drafty room.

Now he knew why the tattoos had begun to show up on his arms. He knew why his cousin’s hair was just a little longer than it had been and his form a little taller. He knew why Helena had seen Will’s eyes flash green, and he understood the miasma of magic that had surrounded them when he’d taken her to his bed.

Helena was right. William was Will and Liam put together. Time had split William in two and given him the family he’d yearned for his entire existence. It had created a world for him that was so perfect, of course it couldn’t last. The wall between their worlds was collapsing and the cousins were gradually becoming the same man: tall, shoulder-length dark brown hair, stark green eyes, inked spells of magic carved across his body, a love of ancient and timeless things like classic cars, music, and literature. That man was William Balthazar Solan. The Time King.

The bullet had hit him. Helena was right about that too. When Time split him in two, it had also divided his immortality. Will had become immortal. Liam wasn’t. It was why Liam had had to be resurrected by Darryl years ago.

When Helena’s bullet had struck home, it hadn’t even messed up Will’s clothing. But if it hit Liam, it would kill him. The two men were still mostly separate. William would lose half of himself then and there.

William knew why Cain was doing what he was doing. Cain was in the other half of William’s physical form, and he had a firm grip on it. He wasn’t going to let go. The world would crumble around them, mixing and mingling with the one they’d left behind, but Cain would be damned if he would allow it to slip away completely without making the most of the advantage he’d been given here in this existence.

Here he was not only Fate’s dark side, he had a veritable army of Dark World monsters at his command. And at the moment, he even had part of William at his command. He would never have another chance like this, and William knew it as well.

When Cain put the gun to Liam’s head, William heard Helena gasp. He felt her fear spike. He reacted fast, diving full-force into her mind. Flashes of her father’s bloody hand putting the gun in hers moved through her thoughts. She heard her mother’s laughter. And then she saw brief glimpses of everyone who had suffered or died in the years to follow – and she fully believed it was all because of her. Worse, she was beginning to remember her other lives. And all of those who had died at Cain’s hand then as well. And her guilt and regret became palpable.

She was beginning to realize who she really was. Out of the need to preserve his life, she began to move forward without even realizing it. She was halfway to Liam when Will came to a decision. He knew what he had to do.

He turned to fully face her. “Don’t take another step, Helena.”

There was a spell woven into his words. They wrapped around her with timeless power and locked her in place. It was not a request. It was a command.

Helena froze. She looked from Liam to him and more images assaulted her, memories she didn’t even know she had. He felt her confusion; he could sense it running rampant through her as he rode the waves of her mind, and the world felt so very wrong to her in that moment.

He heard her mentally screamed denial. No! I have a past. It’s solid. It’s real! I remember it! She was a warden. She’d lost her parents to Night Terrors. She could move things with her mind and manipulate time. She was not that helpless, happy, witless, past-less woman that history and Fate had always drawn Helena Bonaventure Dawn out to be!

No, she told herself again. Please, no. She begged for this to not be happening. She begged for a return of control. She feared to a witless level that Liam would die because of her. Just like everyone.

But her pain was so very real, it was clear she knew the truth. William would have given anything to take that pain from her in that moment. Anything.

Unfortunately, all he had to give was himself.

“Solan,” said Cain softly. “I truly will kill him.” He wasn’t hissing the words, wasn’t spitting them in fury. It was a simple revelation of fact.

William slowly turned to face him.

“And you will cease to fully exist,” Cain said. “He’s a part of you. And I think everyone here knows it.” His blue eyes burned powerful and bright, glowing with as much unnatural magic as William’s.

Helena looked from one of them to the other. She touched her forehead and in a shaking voice whispered, “William… please.”

But he maintained his hold on her. Not this time, he thought. This time I go first.

“Time’s up,” said Cain. He squeezed, and the bullet left the chamber.