LOGINChapter 104The baby opened its eyes.Silver.Not the soft silver of Hope's eyes. Not the strange shifting silver that sometimes appeared in Benjamin's.These were Rei's eyes.The exact shade she had seen in the mirror every morning of her life.Dominic stepped closer, keeping the little girl safely in his arms.“Who is that baby?”The woman with black hair smiled.“Your daughter.”Rei felt Dominic's hand reach for hers.“We have daughters,” he said.“I know.”“Then explain yourself.”The woman tilted her head.“You always were impatient, Dominic.”He stiffened.The woman took another step.“You held me once. Before the first world ended. Before the Between learned how to separate memories from possibilities. You promised you would never let anything happen to me.”Dominic stared at her.“I don't remember you.”“You weren't supposed to.”Her smile disappeared.“You weren't supposed to remember any of us.”Rei looked at the baby.The child was awake now, watching her.She didn't cry.S
Chapter 103Dominic didn't move.A small hand was wrapped around his.The fingers were cold.Far too cold for a living child.Rei dropped beside him, reaching for the little girl's wrist.“Don't pull her!”Dominic looked at her.“I wasn't going to.”The ground cracked again.A child's face appeared beneath the roots.Dark hair.Silver eyes.A small scar above her eyebrow.Dominic stopped breathing.“Seren?”The girl looked up at him.Her eyes filled with tears.“You remember me.”Dominic's expression broke.“Of course I remember you.”“No, you don't.”Her grip tightened.“You remember the other one.”Rei felt Dominic go still.The little girl looked past him, straight at Rei.“You got to keep her.”Rei swallowed.“Sweetheart, I don't know who you are.”The girl shook her head.“You do.”Her voice trembled.“You just don't remember.”The silver roots began twisting around Dominic's wrist.Rei grabbed his forearm.“Let go of him.”The girl looked at her.“I don't want him to leave.”“I
Chapter 102“DON'T LET HER WAKE UP!”Benjamin's scream ripped through the garden.Dominic instinctively pulled the baby against his chest, turning his body to shield him from the hospital room.But the woman on the bed was already awake.Her silver eyes moved slowly across the garden, studying the children, the broken branches, and the faces gathered around the staircase.Then her gaze settled on Rei.A faint smile touched her lips.“There you are.”Rei felt Dominic's hand tighten around her arm.“Who are you?” he demanded.The woman ignored him.She looked at Benjamin.“My goodness,” she whispered. “They brought the little one back.”Benjamin began trembling.Rei stepped closer to Dominic.“Ben, sweetheart, look at me.”The baby's eyes remained fixed on the woman.“She knows,” he whispered.Rei froze.Dominic looked down.“Ben?”“She knows what happened.”The woman on the bed slowly sat up.The white-haired entity stumbled backward.“Don't,” she whispered.The woman smiled.“You've m
Chapter 101The tiny hand curled over the edge of the cradle.Rei couldn't move.It was impossibly small, pale fingers gripping the old wood as though the child inside had been waiting for someone to notice.Behind Anna, the second Jonah stood perfectly still.Below the garden, the first Jonah clung to the ledge with one arm while Hope held him around the waist.Two boys.Two identical faces.Two versions of the same child.And somewhere between them, a cradle bearing Rei's name.“Mom?” the boy behind Anna repeated.Dominic moved closer to Rei.“Don't answer yet.”Rei glanced at him.“I wasn't going to.”“Good.”His voice was quiet, but his eyes were fixed on the child.The second Jonah looked down at Benjamin.“Is that him?”Dominic tightened his hold on the baby.“Who are you?”The boy hesitated.“Jonah.”The Jonah below them looked up sharply.“No, you're not.”The second boy's expression fell.“I am.”“No!”Hope looked between them.“Jonah, wait.”The boy below shook his head.“He
Chapter 101The tiny hand curled over the edge of the cradle.Rei couldn't move.Its impossibly small, pale fingers gripped the old wood as though the child inside had been waiting for someone to notice.Behind Anna, the second Jonah stood perfectly still.Below the garden, the first Jonah clung to the ledge with one arm while Hope held him around the waist.Two boys.Two identical faces.Two versions of the same child.And somewhere between them, a cradle bearing Rei's name.“Mom?” the boy behind Anna repeated.Dominic moved closer to Rei.“Don't answer yet.”Rei glanced at him.“I wasn't going to.”“Good.”His voice was quiet, but his eyes were fixed on the child.The second Jonah looked down at Benjamin.“Is that him?”Dominic tightened his hold on the baby.“Who are you?”The boy hesitated.“Jonah.”The Jonah below them looked up sharply.“No, you're not.”The second boy's expression fell.“I am.”“No!”Hope looked between them.“Jonah, wait.”The boy below shook his head.“He's n
Chapter 100“I'M NOT LETTING YOU TAKE MY SISTER!”Jonah's small hand tightened around Hope's wrist.For one suspended second, everything stopped.The silver fire climbed the first branch, twisting around its ancient limbs like living lightning. The ground beneath the garden cracked open, revealing a darkness filled with thousands of flickering lights. Each light was a memory. Each memory held a face.And at the center of it all, a little boy stood with one hand wrapped around Hope.He looked terrified.He looked determined.And he looked so much like Dominic that Rei felt something inside her chest split open.“Jonah!” Dominic shouted.The boy's gray eyes snapped toward him.“Dad!”Dominic took one step forward, Benjamin held securely against his chest.“I'm here, buddy.”Jonah's expression crumpled.For just a moment, the brave little boy disappeared, and Rei saw a frightened child who had been waiting a very long time for someone to come back.“Dad, I tried,” Jonah cried. “I tried t







