I'm not a victim. I'm the villain. The bad guy that killed millions. Controlled and manipulated thousands. I stained my own hands with blood of innocents. I may have become one of Morgiana's puppets... but that doesn't give me a pass.
Even if she sa...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Slow down... You mean the leopard that talked to you?"
I nod as Tamir tries to wrap his head around everything. He paces my floor, Amawa-na standing in the center of the room, staring at me like she's looking at a puzzle. They're supposed to get married tomorrow, but they've decided to postpone it until I get my stuff together.
I hadn't asked them to.
"And she's something called a One-Hundred."
"Yes, but she's also a Chosen. She was chosen by the sea."
"And she has magical powers."
"It's more like energy control, but yeah," I say. "Come with me to the beach. Tamir, you've already touched the water once, so—"
Tamir's eyes lock on mine, his gaze sharp.
"How do you know I touched the water?" He asks. Then, "And why does it matter?"
"Because I pushed you off and you feel off with Cr—a girl," I correct. He doesn't know her name yet, and I shouldn't, either. I didn't come out and say I came from an alternate timeline, and I'm going to keep that narrative. I'm going to pretend like this is my first time through. "She got torn up and you helped her clean off her wounds in the water."
Amawa-na slowly turned to look at Tamir, her eyes drifting over him once. His tan face turns reddish and embarrassment floods his features and she slowly turns back to me. I almost want to laugh. He's getting in trouble with his current fiancé because he helped his future wife. If that isn't comedy gold, then I don't know what is.
I suppress the laugh and breathe instead.
"And she's been training you... for what?" Amawa-na continues, getting right back to business.
"My quest," I say, the word sounding absurd on my lips after everything.
"And your quest is?"
"To punish the people who cast out, tortured, and killed the one-hundreds."
"The children born with feet or the children who are born with the gift?"
"Feet,"I respond.
"That's confusing," she mutters.
"Yeah, whoever came up with the terms didn't really think it through," Tamir agrees, finally over his embarrassment. Amawa-na gives him a look at he smiles sheepishly. They turn back to me.
"So what do you want us to do?" Amawa-na asks.
"Come to the beach with me," I respond, standing from my position on my bed. "The both of you are gifted. You're One-Hundreds. Both of you need to be touching water to use your powers, so bring a canteen or something with you."
"Wait, how powerful did you say she was?" Tamir asks, caution in his eyes. He never was one to confront anyone or anything. He was more prone to playing it safe and running when the odds are against him—which isn't a bad tactic.
