Prologue #3
As he stood beside her, she was slightly distracted by his comforting smell.
She had noticed the same thing whenever she was near Noel, so she appreciated it for the few moments while the teen stood near her.
After the way the rest of the day had gone, she appreciated a few moments of relative peace as she focused on a task she had feared might be missed with the amount of time remaining.
When she finished the drawing, Maya turned the tablet around and held it against her chest as she pointed at the studio behind her home.
The teen watched as she directed him. “This is my shop, where I put together a lot of the decorations. And right here,” she pointed to the corner, “this is my fire-working area. For things like glasswork, my kiln, things like that.” She looked up and paused, giving the kid time to ask questions.
He looked up at her, and his cheeks were a little pink.
When he didn’t say anything, Maya looked down again and tapped on the area, enlarging it a little.
“I need you to go there and run through my checklist. When I get there, I’ll have you help me make the piece that will be the centerpiece for the gift table. ”
His cheeks were a bit rosier as he looked at her.
“Any questions?” she asked him.
“How do I get there?”
“May I?” She pointed to his hand. He frowned as he nodded, not sure what she meant. Maya reached out and took his hand, then she pressed his fingertips against her forehead and closed her eyes. She showed him the way to her place, and where the key to her studio was.
His eyes were wide when she opened her eyes. “You are one of those!”
“Yeah,” she gave him a half smile. “But I have no interest in power. Beyond being good at my job. Don’t worry, Mr. Honeysett, I’m not interested in creating any more upheaval. Far too many people to control.”
He blinked at her, his mouth slightly ajar.
Her smile widened. “It’s a joke.”
Finally, he smiled. “It’s hard to tell. You always look so serious.”
“That’s because I’m working. Why don’t you get going? Bring any siblings who want to learn some new skills and experience a bit of time bending.”
“Really?”
Maya nodded. “I’ll have to work with time if we want to get the project done in time for the reception.”
“What about the wedding?”
“You guys won’t miss it at all. I’ll be there as soon as I can, and I’ll fix the timeline so you can be one of the groomsmen without any issues.”
The kid looked absolutely thrilled as he took off at a run. Maya watched as he darted out the door, and she caught a slight glimpse as he shifted and took off. Of course, no one around him noticed—they never did when one of the Honeysetts shifted.
“Well, you handled that well.”
Maya turned to see a tall shifter with perfectly styled, blond hair watching her. He looked like he was dressed for the wedding.
There was something about him that set off slight alarms in her mind. Instead of her usual cool response, she asked, “Can I help you?”
He pointed toward the door. “I was actually told to get Cullen since he’s been running around trying to help. It seems you took care of it, though.”
“That’s what I do.”
He gave her a guarded smile. “That’s not the reputation you have, Maya.
I guess my job here is done, though, without me even having to lift a finger.
” He gave a slight bow, but while his face was slightly down, he said in a low voice, “You may want to keep your magic a bit more guarded. Four times in an hour,” he made a disapproving click with his tongue.
“Sasha’s the only person I know who’s been able to get away with that without serious repercussions. ”
Before Maya could respond, yet another voice cut into events. “Mr. Hart! You’re being summoned.” Another tall shifter appeared, his jet-black hair framing a chiseled face with stormy eyes.
Ah, a storm dragon. Just what we need, unmitigated chaos. Maya disapproved of the stranger, but he was focused entirely on the shifter in front of her. Turning back to the blond shifter, Maya said, “Sounds like you are needed to help your distant cousin.”
Half of his mouth curved up and the opposite eyebrow rose. She knew he wanted to ask how she knew, but the urgency in the storm dragon’s voice made it clear there was no more time to talk. After another quick bow, he disappeared, following the storm dragon away from the main area.
That was the end of the interruptions, and Maya was able to guide the staff through the rest of the tasks.
A little over an hour later, she was helping line up the groomsmen when the teen beamed, his clean hair and tuxedo making him look a lot older.
He leaned over and whispered to her, “I really hope he likes it.”
Maya gave him a wink and said, “Oh, he’s going to enjoy it for the rest of their lives together.”
“Can we do that again sometime?”
With nearly everything done, she was feeling much more relaxed. “Of course. I have two more weddings over the next few months, but things will slow down by fall.”
He bit his lip, then blurted out in a low voice, “What about tomorrow? There’s someone … I want to make a Valentine’s Day gift.”
Initially, Maya was surprised, then she smiled.
“I can make a little time. Just for you tomorrow. It will have to be early afternoon, but if you ask the special someone to a cafe around 6 pm, we can have a fantastic Valentine’s Day present ready.
Just think about what your person likes, and we’ll make something special. ”
The teen beamed. “Thank you … um, I don’t know your name.”
“You can call me Maya. And you are Cullen, right?”
He looked surprised, then he smiled. “Apollo told you, right?”
Maya paused, unsure how to answer that. She hadn’t gotten the name of the blond shifter, but it was possible he was named Apollo.
Instead of answering the question, she just smiled.
“Focus, Cullen. And go get lined up so that you can be there for your brother. There’s time for the rest of this later. ”
She smiled as Cullen moved away with several of his brothers and the rest of the groomsmen. It was good to see that things were going to go well, especially since the kid seemed so pleased. Should be a nice payoff once I leave here. After everything I’ve accomplished, I could really use a break.
Maya slipped into a bathroom and shimmied her body a little. An elegant blue evening gown formed around her body, and some uncomfortable high heels pushed her up. “I really hate heels,” she muttered.
It wasn’t long before the ceremony started, and apart from a few minor issues, Maya was pleased to see that things ran much more smoothly than she had hoped.
An hour later, she finally relaxed a little as people took off to the reception venue.
Walking outside, she was finishing up the last of the items on the cleaning checklist when an older woman approached her.
She wore a knowing grin on her face as she hailed Maya with the kinds of words the wedding planner hated.
“Maya Strife, it’s your lucky day.” The woman was slightly taller than Maya, with white streaks in her dark brown hair that was brushed up into a loosely styled bun.
Without any emotion, Maya replied, “I’m rather certain it’s Sasha and Noel’s lucky day. One of many, but decidedly theirs."
The woman blinked, clearly not expecting that kind of response. “Yes, well, of course. But,” she hitched her smile back in place, “you now get to start your own love story. You’ve been chosen.”
Maya looked at the woman, her expression unreadable. “I have things to do, Mrs. Proust, so you will have to accept my sincerest—”
Again surprised, the woman frowned. “How did you—”
“You are wearing a name tag,” Maya pointed at the woman’s chest. “And I have been literate since I was two years old.”
Flustered, the woman smiled uncertainly. “Ah, of course, yes. I should have realized that.” She laughed awkwardly. “Now, you need to leave your tablet, and if you will please accompany me, we will get you—”
“As I said, I have other urgent obligations, so you will have to find some other guinea pig for your island.” Since she had already talked to Cullen about the gift, she knew that she had to go to her shop and take herself back to the time when he arrived.
There would be serious repercussions if she didn’t.
The woman looked offended. “You do realize that there are hundreds of shifters that would kill to be in your position, don’t you?”
“Then help prevent bloodshed and take any one of those. I am not interested.”
She turned to leave, but the woman’s curt voice cut through the dusk, “Our new king said the same thing. And he was still taken there.”
“Indeed he was,” Maya said without looking back. “But I know that you use portals and objects, so it will be much harder to dupe me into—”
Her words died in her throat as the tablet was ripped from her hands, and the world seemed to fall out from under her.
The next thing she knew, Maya’s knee slammed into a chair located in a quaint-looking kitchen.
Reaching out, she caught herself by grabbing the table.
A deep scowl creased her brow as someone near her spoke.
“Now, that is one way to make an entrance.”
Her head whipped around, and Maya found herself looking up at the storm dragon she had seen earlier in the day. “Oh, fantastic. As if banishing me to this hellhole wasn’t bad enough.”
The shifter’s eyebrow rose. “I beg your pardon?”
She sat and rubbed her knee. “You are a storm dragon, and clearly they think that we are mates. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there’s no chance in hell I will ever allow that kind of chaos into my life.”
To her surprise, he laughed. “The next thing you’ll tell me is that you hate romance and the idea of marriage.”
“Thank you for saving me that trouble.”
“Are you always this joyless?”
“Always,” she shot back without a hint of irony.
“Then you need not worry, my dear, because the last thing I need is someone else trying to suck the joy out of my life.”
Maya walked past him, ignoring the pain in her knee as she said, “I’m not at all worried.” She walked to the front door of the far too quaint and manicured room, almost as if it were a set for some terrible, cheesy rom-com. But when she pulled on the door, it wouldn’t open.
The storm dragon was leaning against a doorframe, a smug look on his face, but he didn’t say anything.
“Are you the one keeping it from opening?”
He held up his hands. “As flattering as that is, I’ve no control over this place.”
“Ahhh,” Maya nodded. “Of course you don’t. Shocking they would actually let one of you come here.”
“I’m half inclined to be offended by your words.”
“But you are ruled by the other half because life is here for your amusement.”
A huge grin spread across the handsome shifter’s face. “It’s like I’m a book you’ve already read.”
“I don’t read books,” Maya said, hoping to shut down any hint at flirtation. She moved into an open doorway and spotted a desk. Gracefully heading toward it, she pulled out the seat and started looking through the drawers for anything she could use to start making lists.
“Is it because you won’t spare time for fun, or are you afraid that a good story might make your life feel hollow?”
Maya didn’t even look up at him as she said, “Stop trying to start a fight. I’ve no interest in flirting, fighting, or in any way engaging in conversation.”
“In other words, no time for romance?”
“Bingo,” she said, pulling out some paper. “Now, if you’ll excuse me—”
As she was talking, the sound of a door opening attracted their attention.
A pair of voices were speaking, and she noticed the storm dragon perk up, and he hurried out of the room.
Not caring what was going on, Maya put her attention back on her work.
There was a mild sense of comfort in knowing that she would teach the Honeysett children that evening, but the question was how long would it take before she would be able to do that?
She could bend time, but her powers weren’t limitless.
If too much time passed, it could create a serious problem that she might not be able to fix on her own.
I am not like my grandmother. I will not destroy lives with a time paradox.