The more I saw of Ashton's life, the worse I felt about peering into her past without her permission, especially given that Elias expected updates. I refused to tell him any details and promised only to share with him what could help us protect my world from his guild and defeat their corruption in this one. So far, I had gained little, because I had only seen Ashton just starting to open up to Jaxon.

I knew so well where her story would lead next, though. They were as drawn together as Nash and I were in our world, in a bond that defied time and the boundaries between worlds. My heart ached thinking that their story would not end the same as ours had and that while I started a life with Nash, Ashton had continued hers alone. While I felt like Nash and I hadn't had the time we needed together this past year, seeing another version of ourselves made me so thankful for what we had that I was desperate to return home to him. I wanted to tell him, hold him, promise that nothing would ever get between us because I'd seen a world where we were torn apart.

"You really don't have anything yet?" Elias asked.

"No. It's not easy to travel around someone else's life. I don't have her memories. I'm trying to find a time when she felt close to him."

Elias groaned and hearing his frustration for some reason broke the last of my self-control for my own. "I'm the one who should groan at you."

He sat back, having the audacity to look surprised.

"You don't get to be annoyed. I'm meddling in someone else's life and now I have to go meet your leaders pretending to be Ashton. There's the potential for so many problems, especially if I go through with your crazy plan to try recruiting Jaxon. You realize that if Ashton and Jaxon meet again, she might try to kill him, right? He's going to be so confused and devastated."

"It's the only way."

I thought back to Ashton's memories of fighting at Jax's side. "I think we should be honest with them."

"You haven't seen what I have. Keep watching Ashton and you'll see. Things are different here. In your world, Nash had no loyalty to the Prophet because he basically enslaved him. Jaxon is loyal to his guild. You also completed your training at the Sacred School and chose your guild. You guys grew up with these people. You're very close to your people and you believe in what you're doing. I'm telling you that it is way too risky."

"You and Piercey do have one thing in common. You always imagine the worst case scenario when it comes to risk."

"And you never imagine something bad enough. That's how you and Ashton get caught up in messes that Piercey and I have to clean up."

I drew back, brows raised. "Who asked you to clean them up? I've been cleaning up your mess."

Elias heaved a sigh of frustration and ran his hands through his locks. "Look, at the end of the day, you got power for your friends. Be happy for that."

Annoyed with Elias, I closed my eyes before continuing. "Let's just get this meeting over with."

As we left his apartment and traveled down the paved sidewalk, small between the tall buildings, I thought through Elias's plan so far. He wanted to keep Ashton in the dark and secretly recruit Jaxon to fight with me, while I pretended to be here. We'd assassinate Lote and take the entire guild out of power. The pieces did not add up for me. Ashton needed to be a part of this battle. I'd felt how she saw Elias and I truly didn't believe she would betray him. Even if she didn't fight with him, wouldn't she help him? Surely, she cared about whatever had turned Elias against his own people.

I wanted to see the rest of what had happened between Ashton and Jaxon and witness what Elias had done to betray her. I needed to know more, though. That was all that Elias wanted me to see. What was he hiding? I needed to peer through more of Ashton's life to see what had happened after she and Jaxon separated. Elias had connected with Piercey, but Piercey didn't know Ashton. He could have missed the implications of something Elias had done and I would understand now that I'd lived through so many moments of her life.

"You promised to tell me the truth." I spoke quietly as we walked. "You said we returned to your world, after you gave my friends the implant, you would fess up, because we wouldn't be able to just get mad and abandon you."

"You'll see soon enough what I did."

"Why are you being cowardly? Tell me yourself."

Elias stopped walking and faced me. "The truth is that my own guild killed my parents and Ashton continued to serve them."

Realization gripped me as I remembered Elias throwing the necklace at Jaxon and telling the man that he'd been right about what the guild did to his mother.

"Elias–"

"They learned the truth about Lote's corruption and when they tried to stop them, he had them killed. He made it look like it was the Silver Moon Guild, but it wasn't. So, don't talk to me again how we need to be honest with Ashton, or how I'm being cowardly for not wanting to tell you. This has torn my life apart."

"I'm sorry." My heart beat wildly at the raw emotion on his face.

"I just… I think you should see it all for yourself. It's better that way since you don't really believe me."

"I never said I don't believe you."

"You're suspicious. I would be too." He started to walk again, carrying an air of darkness that I'd never felt from Piercey.

How could Ashton continue to serve the guild after learning about what they had done to Elias's parents? She would never do that. But then, she had. I had to travel again and see this for myself. To get in her mind and understand what she was thinking. Was she trying to protect him? If standing against the Guild had killed his parents, Ashton may have wanted to secretly rebel without him.

What Elias said left me feeling dizzy. I'd never understood why he didn't want to tell me the truth until now. I wouldn't have wanted to tell my story about my father using me to kill my village. Compassion melted the resentment I'd been feeling over Elias dragging me into the chaos in his world when I had enough in my own.

I caught his wrist, expression soft. "I really am sorry."

----------------------------------------

Lote's office looked like it belonged to a man who spent too much time decorating when he supposedly helped to run one of the most successful guilds in Skia Hellig. His cobbled stone walls stretched high up to the tall ceiling. Paintings and even shelves lined with books filled the room. The largest desk I'd ever seen dominated the room on the other side of the seating area, where Elias and I both sat on separated leather couches. The furniture was so huge, it felt like I'd sink into it and never find my way out.

Fortunately, I'd lived through enough of Ashton's days to impersonate her shockingly easily. With us sharing the same consciousness, it all came very naturally. She always worried about Elias and would see this meeting as a chance to help him. She'd also be afraid for him that it wouldn't go well. It was protective skepticism that I tried to make myself feel.

Lote reclined in an impressive leather chair with his ankles crossed on the glass table sitting between us. Tattoos crawled up his fingers like a thorny vine and wrapped around his wrists. His long auburn hair was pulled together over one shoulder. "It's time, don't you think?" His hazel eyes drilled Elias.

Elias appeared unfazed. "You said two weeks."

"The guild said two weeks. I never agreed to that."

This man seemed to think that it was his duty to operate beyond the guild.

Lote crossed his fingers over his midsection. "Your time has run out. It's that simple. We have no more patience to offer you, Elias. The only reason that we are speaking today instead of throwing you into a cell to await your trial is because Ashton has sworn to us that it will all be worth it in the end." Lote pointed a long, thorny finger at him. "I remember a time when I would have trusted you with anything. You've squandered my trust with this stunt."

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Elias didn't appear remotely nervous. I had seen Piercey get this way, but not often with someone threatening his life. "Do you know why I needed privacy?" Anger tinted his voice, something I was not used to hearing in Piercey. It shook me. "It's because of you."

Lote's eyes narrowed.

"Elias," I said with warning.

"You've become greedy and you've started reaching too far. You've opened us up to extortion and–"

"You don't know what you're saying," Lote said.

"I do. Don't worry, I haven't told anyone. I see now that it's dangerous to open your mouth around here these days."

"What the–"

"You wanted to get at the Silver Moon guild so badly that you made us vulnerable. You've been secretly working with operatives for years. If I had told you and Ashton what I was doing in this other world, you wouldn't have been able to help getting involved, and the operatives you are working with would have reported on you. Because they have been for a long time."

This silenced Lote.

"So you want to yell at me for keeping secrets?" Elias asked. "I had to until I had everything settled and lined up because Ashton cannot help trying to save me and you cannot help your damn greed."

"I should crush your fucking head." Lote's tone did not change, nor did his expression expose his anger. It was chilling how calmly he said it and that only made me take the threat more seriously.

"I suppose you can," Elias said, "if you don't want to know the secrets stored inside."

Lote shook his head. "You're brave now, Elias. Brave and stupid. What's happened to you?"

"What happened is that I discovered a power no one else has and it opened worlds to me that you cannot imagine. My horizons have been broadened, Lote. I can see beyond you now."

The way that Lote quieted reminded me of a snake waiting to strike. Did he suspect that Elias knew the truth about his parents?

"So are you going to come clean now?" Lote asked.

"I've come to realize that the power I have should never have been discovered. It's dangerous and has the potential to end entire worlds. I thought that we could use it to learn and grow. Then, after you demanded to know about what I was doing, I realized what I'd done. No one can ever travel like I have."

I closed my eyes and lowered my head, imagining that Ashton would have been overwhelmed with fear at his statement.

Lote clasped the armrests of his chair and took his time rising to his feet. He stared down at Elias for a long while before speaking. "It's not up to you whether you share."

"Lote–" I started.

"This is not up for discussion. Ashton, you'll bring him back here tomorrow evening once I've had time to assemble a team for the questioning. If he doesn't show, then you'll both be placed under arrest. This is a matter of kingdom security. He is hiding information and we need to know why."

"You'll arrest us?" I asked.

"I want Elias to hear the consequences of his actions, so he understands that his relationship with us does not mean that we will tolerate his disrespect. I trust you to watch over him in the meantime and keep him out of trouble."

Knowing what Lote had done to Elias's parents and having been exposed to corrupted leaders before, the manipulation seemed obvious to me. He didn't trust Ashton. He'd have spies watching us. This was a ruse to keep his hold over her.

"It's okay, Ashton." Elias hadn't moved from his place on the couch. "I knew what would happen if I refused. This is not your fight. It's mine."

I genuinely hurt for him. My fists wanted to curl tight and slam into Lote's face. If I met his eyes, he might see it in me, so I averted my gaze, pretending to be too upset.

"Leave us," Lote said to Elias. "I have nothing left to say to you. I hope that you'll change your mind before we're forced to question you and seek approval for an involuntary connection."

"You don't belong in other worlds, Lote." Elias's resignation to his fate made his voice sound flat. "Leave this alone."

Lote said nothing and watched as Elias exited to the hallway. The man sank back into his chair and held his head, kicking his feet back onto the table. "What a disaster. I never knew he could be so stubborn."

I remembered enough from living Ashton's life to instinctively know how to talk to this man, how to look at him. I needed to calm down so I could do it properly. Ashton believed he was her mentor. She actually thought that she owed him something and had no idea what a bastard he was or how little he cared about her.

"I knew he wouldn't say anything," Lote said. "What did you find out from him?"

"Is what he has to say as important as what he chooses to hide?" I asked. "I've seen enough to make assumptions about his misdirections."

"Explain."

Ashton would want to see the glow of his approval and would hope that it would garner favor with Lote so she could get him to leave Elias alone. I needed to pretend to be hungry for his approval. "I don't think he ever planned to tell us about that world. It's not just that he changed his mind."

"You don't think he was trying to come up with a strategic advantage at first? It would have greatly increased his standing within the guild. Truthfully, his refusal to speak makes me wonder if he's already working with another guild. A year ago, I would never be able to imagine saying that about him."

"No, I'm confident he's not betraying us for another guild. Elias is convinced that our guild will enter the other worlds and take their resources for ourselves."

Lote raised both brows. "He really believes this is our plan?"

"Yes. I'm certain he believes that. Here we have so many guilds to contend with whereas over there we don't have any of our usual enemies."

"We would have new, unknown enemies. They could be more powerful."

I didn't want to disclose to him how helpless we would be against him and his people. "It's an opportunity, though. Something new. Would we pass that up?"

By the way he eyed me, I thought that he was trying to gauge my willingness to engage in his plan.

"You did say before that he took you to a remote area in the world and that you couldn't feel even an inkling of power from anywhere. I don't think they have the kind of power we have. No matter where you go in our world, you feel it. It sounds like an opportunity to me."

Dangerous and hard to control warning stormed through me. I struggled to keep myself in check. "It's not our world, Lote. What business do we have there?"

"Don't be naive. If they don't have power or if they don't have as many people with power, then their resources won't be overly mined or controlled by others. Think of what we could do with more at our disposal."

"You think that they'll let us come from another world and take their resources?"

"Do they even have a use for them? We can trade. There's plenty that they would surely need from us and we have great use for them."

"What about Silver Moon?" I asked. "They'll want in too. If we start traveling worlds, they're going to figure it out and learn to replicate. It's a matter of time. The war we have will spread to the other world."

"If the Silver Moon cannot be trusted not to invade and war in other worlds, then is that our fault? This is even more reason for us to gain control now."

This was not a trustworthy man. Gael had struck a mutually beneficial deal with my people and I wouldn't be here today if not for that. I was quickly learning the power of allyship. Lote was not a man who had allies. He had underlings. "It's our fault if war spreads to their world. Imagine how devastating it could be to that world. Here, we want to protect our resources and our people. We work incredibly hard not to let our fighting hurt our people. It's only natural that we won't have the same respect for another world. This is opening the door to horrors we cannot imagine."

"You're being dramatic. We're not going to destroy their world. We have the power to keep the situation from turning ugly."

"An imbalance of power will always lead to unfairness when unchecked. I don't trust the kingdoms of our world to responsibly negotiate with a less powerful world when we cannot negotiate here. It will be war and the people of that world will be dehumanized. People may even want to start living there. We'll become invaders. Destroyers. It'll be genocide."

"Genocide?"

I almost lost control of my tone. "I have no doubt."

"Where is your trust in our guild?"

"My trust tells me that we'll be responsible and leave their world alone. Let's deal with our own land first. We need to fix our problems in our kingdom, not create new problems in new kingdoms."

Lote waved his hand at me. "You always have wise words. I'll consider, though our leadership is very set already on working out an agreement with this other world. Elias is right that we plan to do this. He's just wrong about taking a stand against it."

I couldn't let that happen. I'd seen enough from this world. We weren't ready for a war like the ones waged here. Multiple guilds or multiple kingdoms fighting over resources, or even land, in our world would be disastrous. I had to put a stop to this.

"What if Elias continues to refuse?" I asked. "What if the questioning fails?"

"He'll help us."

"He said he refused."

Lote leveled his look at me. "Elias has been making terrible decisions. If he wants to remain a member of this guild then he'll have to follow our leadership like everyone else. We cannot give him anymore grace. If we take this beyond our guild to the kingdom level, then he'll be imprisoned if he refuses to aid us. We still have conflicts over our borders. We need every advantage. He would be a traitor if he refused to help our kingdom. The questioning is to show him how serious we are. He won't let it go beyond that. Elias might be feeling rebellious, but he is no traitor."

A traitor. That was it then. Lote had certainly made up his mind.

Elias had told the truth when called Lote a dangerous man. I didn't need to know him well or long to see what had been apparent about the Prophet and Dr. Henderson. Lote needed to lose his power. It shocked me that Ashton had yet to see that.

"I'll talk to him," I said. "He's going through something. He's probably a little scared about the power he uncovered."

"Then go. Convince him."

"I will. Thank you, Lote. I trust you that we'll be responsible with this new world."

"I've never let you down before. I won't start now."

I sincerely doubted that.