“Illyria, think about what you’re doing. You have to pull back.”
“No,” I shout into the wind. “That’s exactly what I can’t do!”
I lift my hands out to the sides, my toes rising off the ground. A warmth begins to rise up from my extremities, drawing lines of gold along my veins, glowing beneath my clothes as they converge on my heart.
“What is she doing?” Eamon shouts, but Kyan doesn’t answer as he begins to back away. The instant the lights connect, my entire body jerks and the winds stop. A brilliant light fills the room, so bright it feels like I’ve harnessed the sun. I’m vaguely aware of the air rippling in front of me, a protective shield I subconsciously threw up before the blast. Glancing down I see Eamon and Kyan cowering on the floor but safe within my protective bubble.
I can no longer hear the screams or the sounds of laser fire in the palace yard. All I hear is pure, unadulterated silence.
“What have I done?” I stare down at Kyan.
He rises slowly, his hands visibly shaking. “I don’t know. I think… I think you’ve somehow stopped time.”
I look around me in amazement and realize he is right. I can see glass hovering in the air just beyond my shield. The flames mounting the curved headboard of the bed stand still. I look up to see the white curtains that drape from the ceiling have been blown sideways and hang motionless in the air.
Stepping lightly over the glass-strewn floor, I peer out the window and gasp. “It’s not just in this room. The men below are frozen too!”
“How is this possible?” Eamon asks, rising shakily to his feet. He brushes his hair back from his face, revealing a deep cut along his right cheek.
“I have no idea,” Kyan mutters, sounding out of breath. “I’ve never heard of such a thing before.”
“Why are we the only ones not affected by this?” Eamon rises onto his toes to look out the window nearest him.
Kyan glances around and then rises to meet my gaze. “Because she’s shielding us from it.”
I turn and walk toward him, showing no sign of pain as the glass slices into my feet. “If I stopped time, does that mean I can reverse it as well?”
Kyan blows out a breath, shrugging. “I honestly don’t know. It would appear at the moment that you can do anything you want.”
I glance down at Bastien. I will save you.
“Hold on tight,” I whisper aloud.
“To what?” Eamon says, but I ignore him.
Closing my eyes, I wrap my powers about me, feeling them cocoon me, fluid and deadly. This time, the darkness is different. There is a light, vivid in its intensity. I open my eyes and realize I can still see it.
I gasp, stretching out my hand. Like specs of dust floating in the wind, my hand passes through the bronze-colored particles. They feel gritty against my fingers, and I laugh.
“What’s going on?” Kyan asks.
“It really is like sand.” I grin as I turn to look at Kyan. “Time. I can see time.”
The line fluctuates, weaving among itself like a curtain being held together by an infinite darkness, illuminating each tiny grain. Kyan moves forward and I gasp as he steps right through the curtain. I realize by the way his brow furrows that he is confused. “You can’t see it, can you?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean it’s not real. Try pushing back on it and see what happens, but for goodness sakes, be careful, Illyria. You have no idea what you’re doing. One wrong move and you could kill us all.”
I bite on my lip and refocus. I stretch out my hands, taking a step forward until I can feel the glistening particles and gently push back. The curtain recedes ever so slightly.
“Oh my gosh. She’s doing it!” Eamon cries a moment later. “Keep going!”
I take another step and push again, this time with a bit more pressure. All around me things begin to shift, slowly at first, but there is definite movement. I can see a ghost of Eamon and Kyan as they burst through the door. I watch the crimson glass shard fly back into my hand, watch as my muscles uncoil and the line across Aloysius’s neck diminishes until it is completely gone.
Eamon and Kyan turn in amazement as the blood rises from Aloysius’s clothes, watching as the glass knits back together in its frame.
I grit my teeth and close my eyes, feeling my arms begin to quiver with effort. Time may be reversing, but it is going much too slowly. I push with all of my might, feeling sweat cling to my brow as my knees begin to feel weak. “I’m losing it!”
“Just a little more,” Kyan says, rushing to Bastien’s side. “I only need you to get to him to the moment his heart last beat to save him. If you can give me that, I think I can save him.”