~Faye
My entire body is slumped against the wall, head in my hands.
“You’re lying to me.”
Alden sits across the room, slumped against the other side of the room to me. But the thoughts and emotions being processed in our minds is utterly different. He doesn’t seem fazed, simply waiting for me to get my bearings so we can move on with our conversation. And yet here I am, still not believing him.
“I’m not,” Alden says softly. “And I think you are already aware of that, Faye.”
Do I? A part of me thinks I am. The disappearing acts, the reaction of the Gaze Reader, the ominous aura that surrounds him. It makes so much sense, yet at the same time, I don’t want to admit it. He’s my mate.
“I still need to see him, regardless of if this is true,” I tell him, removing my head from where it was buried in my arms.
Alden nods his head. “Tomorrow.”
***
Sleep doesn’t come easily.
A deep set pain, right in the centre of my stomach troubles me for hours. As much as I don’t want to believe that T lied to me all this time, it makes too much sense to not be somewhat truthful. Alden has no reason to lie, either. And I saw how afraid T was of the Alpha of Wisdom. Everything just seems to align so easily.
By the time sleep came to me, it was sometime in the early hours of the morning. And what it created, was a horrifically vivid nightmare.
T appeared.
I was jostled awake by my arm, my eyes fluttering open to find my mate looming over me, looking frazzled, sick. His skin is devoid of any healthy colour, shadows are dusted under his eyes, which look distant and solemn. However, around the rim of his irises, is a silver ring the glimmers subtly.
I jerk away from him. “What are you doing? Is this a dream?”
He doesn’t allow my rejection of his touch to bother him. He sits beside me, the feeling of his weight sinking into my bed seems to real, but there is a haze around my mind that has me considering otherwise.
“Not exactly,” he breathes, running his hand through his tousled curls. Something about him seems so different, with cements that maybe this is a dream state.
He looks beyond sick. His limbs are slightly shaking, but it’s not as terrifying as the look in his eyes. I’ve never seen T so out of control of himself, or the situation he is in. The part of my mind that believes that this is real, is erratic. Alden has done something to him, taken something away from him. Whether he is Time or not.
“What is going on?” I question, sitting up. My body feels detached, but my mind is in full concentration mode. “I need answers right now.”
“I understand that, and I’m ready to talk,” he admits.
“Are you really Time?” I question. I’m taking this as if it’s real. I’m trying to believe him, as his mate. And in doing that, the idea of him being an all powerful immortal makes me nervous. Especially since he is sitting right next to me. “Actually, if this is real, then how are you even here?”
T physically flinches. So much so, that in his weak state, I’m surprised he didn’t fall over back onto the bed.
“Who told you that?”
“Told me what?”
“That I’m Time.”
My eyes narrow on him, and my arms fold over my chest. I’m assuming he’s about to feign innocence, and claim he isn’t. I would love to hear his excuse so I can come to my own conclusion about whether or not he is Time.
“I’m not necessarily Time,” he tells me, cringing slightly while he rubs the back of his neck. I don’t let my doubt cease at all. “I’m also not necessarily not Time, either.”
“Okay?”
“This is extremely hard to explain,” he tells me. I already assumed that would be the case.
And I know this won’t be easy to understand either. This isn’t something small. This is bigger than my realm of thinking. T seems equally as troubled, a frown etched into his features. I’m not going to let him talk his way out of this one. I won’t be satisfied until I have all the answers. If they are real or not.
“I think you should start with how you are here right now,” I say. I noticed he avoided that earlier when it was mentioned. “Since you are convinced this is real.”
“I used a friend of mine’s abilities to appear in front of you like this. In a vision,” he tells me.
My eyes narrow. “Time?”
“No. Thought.”
I’ve never known much about the immortal Thought. Not that I know much about any of the immortals. I know he’s dangerous. When someone can claim complete control over your conscious and subconscious mind without you being aware, and manipulate your decision to the point where it can ruin your life, and perhaps even kill you. I’ve heard that noone has ever seen him in person. And that he lives in your head. How much of that is true, I don’t know.
“You know Thought?” I question nervously. How can anyone possibly know him? I would constantly be walking on eggshells around someone so powerful.
“I do. Very well. He’s as much a part of me as Time is.”
My jaw goes completely slack. “Did you just say a part of you?”
T shuffles back, falling onto the bed. I don’t care if this is exhausting him. I sit up and jab at his side, making him sit up again. He shoots me a bothered look, but it doesn’t faze me. This isn’t over to I have my answers.
“Yes, a part of me. And not by my particular choosing,” T informs me. His eyes are closed as he recounts the details of his explanation. “I’m my own person, and I control my own decisions. For the most part.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I question. I’m demanding at this point.
“It means that I’m myself, however, there are two other minds within my own. They are their own people, their own conscious. And there is little I can do about it. One of those minds belongs to Time, and the other belongs to Thought,” T explains, staring directly up at the ceiling.
I’m too stunned to say anything for a moment. Instead, I just sit there, back against the wall, legs still shoved under my duvet. This is so unbelievable, it must be a dream; my mind compensating for all the confusion T has given me in the past.
“I don’t have much time to talk to you about this,” he says quickly, almost as coming to his sense.
I reach out and snatch his arm. “Don’t even think about leaving. How did you get here?”
“Thought allowed me a small portion or power to appear in a vision of yours. Hence why it presumably feels a lot like a dream. And that is also why you can see the slight ring of silver around my eyes. It means Thought is present,” T explains, turning to face me so I get proof of that ominous colour around the rim of his iris.
“Why are Time and Thought in your mind?” I decide to question.
“That’s a longer story,” T says.
He’s standing now, shadowed by the darkness in the room. Again, I didn’t close my curtains, so the moonlight is the only thing keeping him in my vision. I want to stand also, however, it’s almost like I’m pinned to the bed.
“Tell me,” I almost beg.
I can’t see his face, but I know he is contemplating. Keeping quiet, I silently hope he will tell me everything. That way I will want to bring him back. My mate back. He seems to sigh, before he slowly sits beside me once again, placing his hand on my ankle.
“Something happened a long time ago. Time needed a immortal body to take refuge in and to complete a plan through, without being noticed. Thought, who is Time’s brother was wrapped up in it. And now I have them both in my head,” he explains.
I swallow uncomfortably. “How is that even possible?”
“That’s another story,” he tells me gently. “I have to go Faye. I’m sorry. Promise me you will come and get me, otherwise Alden will kill me.”
“If this is real, I need something that can prove it when I see you tomorrow. That way, I know for sure. And I will get you out of there,” I say firmly. Otherwise, there is no way I will believe any of this way real when I wake in the morning.
“Alright,” T says gently, squeezing my hand. “Ask me tomorrow, if I have ever kissed you, and I will answer yes.”
“But you haven’t.”
He smiles softly, and just as it resonates in my mind what he meant, he leans forward, grabs my chin within his fingers, and kisses me.