Nothing changed between us after that. It was weird. Rex was as cordial as before but more persistent in being near me. On the other hand, I created as much physical distance between us as possible. I also refused to dwell on why I needed to avoid too much alone time with the man.

This boundary was as silently upheld as it was created. And the tension that its creation crafted was palpable. Rex didn't ask any more questions regarding Adam, and he didn't touch me. But he didn't need to to set off my flight or fight response.

The questions he did ask were strangely innocuous. He wanted to know what I could cook, and he would sit and watch me cook. He questioned every herb or seasoning I pulled from my space. It was like he suspected I was poisoning him. His diligent questioning, coupled with an unbroken gaze, showed he was watching my every move. I couldn't tell him to buzz off, either. This was his boat; everything I used, including the comfortable bed, belonged to him.

Two weeks passed in this manner, and although I wasn't as close to Rex as I was to Adam, we were a bit more comfortable with each other.

A bit too comfortable. It was weird that I'd spent two and a half weeks alone with this man.

I was staring at him at him as he ate the fish he caught and I had cooked. I'd never had the chance to spend this much uninterrupted time with Adam. A part of me was sour, and I didn't have Adam here instead.

I stabbed at the fish, and my stomach was also unhappy with what was in front of it. It hadn't gotten better in the past two weeks, only worse.

I didn't peg myself as someone who'd get seasick, yet here I was, unable to go a day without a dizzy spout that led me to vomit at least once a day.

"You're not eating?" Rex said.

I shrugged, opting not to meet his hypnotic gaze. I didn't want to spill how frustrating my body was making me. He wasn't Adam, and drawing a line needed to happen. "I'm not really hungry," I said instead of any of this.

"Are you still vomiting?"

I nodded before sighing softly. I was taking some of the homemade gummies in my space, but I was losing weight I didn't have to lose.

"We'll get to Alcom's Cove soon," Rex said, and I met his gaze as a shot of happiness went through me. I'd never thought I'd be happy to hear of that place. I'd been too distracted to ask him where we were going, and I figured no matter where we'd end up, I wouldn't stay for long anyway. I'd call one of my powerful ancestors and fuck off into the sunset. However, if we were going to Alcom's Cove, that changed things a bit.

"You know it?" Rex said correctly, reading my response.

"I live in Green's Mountain. Well…” I stopped myself from finishing that sentence. Rex had been silently accepting of all my verbal mistakes, but there was a limit I needed to invoke.

"Is that where you met Adam?" Rex asked me. I gave a jerky nod. This was the first question he'd asked about Adam since the ring incident.

I told the story, unable to stop myself from talking. No matter the world, Adam Rexford III, had such pull over me. Telling Rex this information in the second timeline could be how I got my Adam in the third timeline. Maybe I was supposed to say to him.

I left out that I slipped back to my world to pull from the acquisition room thanks to that accident. I did tell Rex that this was the start of our friendship.

"I've never heard of the Unruly Forest," Rex said, and I blinked at him. That was his take away from it all?

"That's not the official name. The locals call it that." I said before stabbing the fish. My stomach recoiled at the smell of it, and I set my fork down. Yeah, there was no way I was going to eat this.

To my surprise, Rex took the plate and ate the fish instead. I made a face as my queasy stomach made more unhappy noises.

I looked away from him as he finished off the plate. He thanked me curtly, then went above deck to deal with the boat stuff.

I watched him go, then looked down at the dishes. It was good food. I scolded my stomach as I cleaned up after the meal. I had to plug my nose because it didn't like what was in front of it.

Inappropriate joy took root in my heart as I recalled our upcoming destination. We would be on land soon. Not just any land but a town I knew. I was familiar with how to make my way to Green's Mountain.

The water was choppy as I finished hand-washing the dishes. My stomach grew unhappy, and I had to lean on the counter to stabilize.

An all too familiar hand came down on my back, and the gentle massage eased me through the worst of the nausea. "My neck instead, like usual, Adam, please." He obliged, and the intimate touch brought unabashed joy and comfort.

When I could finally breathe without wanting to hurl, I turned to kiss Adam in thanks and found Rex in his stead. I could feel my smile fall off my lips as I hiccuped with surprise. When was my nativity going to go away? This was my new reality, far from him. My eyes pricked with pain as hot tears tried to activate.

He ignored my expression and the implication of any words that might have slipped out while I decompressed. "Do you need assistance getting back to bed?" He said with his all too familiar crisp voice.

I shook my head mutely, not trusting myself to talk. He took a step back, and what little warmth his body had put out was gone. I massaged my throat as I stumbled past him to the bed. I lay down, and instead of crying, I passed out.

Neither one of us acknowledged what happened. I used my seasickness to hide away in bed. I still prepared meals for Rex and did the chores around the boat. I avoided him and any eye contact whenever possible. Cleaning and cooking was the least I could do while he directed the vessel and lent me the big bed. So, I ventured out of bed to do things before lying back down.

I avoided Rex more out of habit than anything else, but it soon became another reason. I was starting to suspect that I wasn't seasick. It all started when I began reading a particularly steamy book while hiding under the covers.

There was a certain humor to reading a romance book while literally living in one. This one was a basic Victorian romance. A lady had a tryst with a prince. No magic, no world-ending events, just smutty drama. The ups and downs of the relationship were fun to read. It became harder to live vicariously through the girl when I felt too much of her reflecting on me.

Her lover was connected by the past and by rumors to a princess. Well, technically, Rex and his step-sister were the same. I bulldozed past that to keep reading.

The female lead was obviously pregnant, but she utilized every denial possible to avoid that simple truth. My third snort at her stupidity became a coughing fit when I thought of my circumstances.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

A nervous laugh bubbled out of my chest as I set the book down and shook my head. "I'm not pregnant," I said like I could will that into being. I had to, though. "I was only with Adam one day…" I rubbed my flat stomach, and it gurgled in response. "This is just seasickness. I've never been on boats before."

I held my fingers out as I counted the days and weeks. It had been almost two and a half months by this point. Time sort of blended into each other, which was good and bad.

My budding joy was plucked before it could bloom as dread settled in my heart. I was on another timeline and in a world apart from Adam. If I took it a step further, there was no way I could have this baby forever. When I went back to my world, what would happen?

I grasped my neck as my nose stung and my eyes overflowed with tears. I needed to get back to Adam as soon as possible. Acuzio said he would grant me any wish I desired the next time he saw me. The scale Acuzio gave didn't count because that was supposed to be for the meteor. Besides, he made it sound like I was getting another wish regardless of the meteor affair. I would see him one way or another and demand my future with Adam.

Without thinking, I started planning out loud how I could leave. There wasn't much to do for Rex; I had already finished the evening chores and was lying down reading smut.

"I should have left sooner, but I wasn't sure if this would work…Adam said I met him in his second life, but I don't think I've made anything better…just worse." I wish I were speaking to Mordecai. Since he left me, I have talked to myself more than ever. It certainly helped me to pass the time and not feel so alone. On the farm, I could talk to the animals or plants, but on this sterile boat, I was afraid to decorate; I had only myself, just like in the old days.

I pulled out Acuzio's scale and compared it to my ring. "Maybe you are the same." I didn't care about that; I just needed to focus on escaping.

It was dark when I snuck up to the top deck. I've been up here sparingly over the past month. I could swim in a lake or splash in a stream, but the ocean was deep. I didn't have the power to prevent my drowning. And who knows when the acid-spitting frogs will appear again.

I needed to use the scale above the deck to call for Acuzio. I didn't trust that my explosive uncle wouldn't puncture a hole below deck. At least if the sky was around, he could take off into the air if rage brewed.

I fondled the scale, not admiring how the moonlight played with it, showering off different radiant lights. Okay, that was a lie. I did take a moment to admire it. These were colors I don't think I've seen before. I could see new shades of blue, silver, and black. How could these colors have endless variants? Okay, I took my beat to stare at it, and now it was down to business.

I needed to be very specific with my wish. If I wished to be with Adam, the odds of nothing happening would be high. Technically, I was in a world with Adam Rexford III.

I pressed the scale to my face as I groaned. This was too tiring to figure out.

"I just want to be back home with Adam. Do you have one more wish in you?" I whispered to the scale as it gleamed at me. My eyes crossed as I tried to stare at it, only a hair's breadth away from my face.

I called out to Acuzio, but nothing happened. On a whim, I said, "Uncle Acuzio?"

He appeared silently in front of me within a heartbeat. The sight of him stopped my brain from functioning. He was floating in front of me without a wing in sight. On that fateful day, I saw rubies burning brightly from the cracks that spanned his entire body. The crimson jewels had turned into a light silver blue that I couldn't identify. His eyes remained red and they showed only affection towards me. His black scales, which I had mistaken for skin, shined with golden hues of amber and sunlight. And his hair looked like spun moonlight.

Acuzio looked like a completely different person. My dumb awe made my mouth drop, and I hastily closed it.

Acuzio smiled broadly at me and held his arms in a welcoming gesture. "Niece, how can I help you?" His booming voice made me flinch, and I looked behind me guilty.

"Don't worry about it. I've paused time for a moment to check in on you. It's not every day my favorite niece reaches out."

Wasn't I the only niece he knew, though? I shrugged that off and got to the heart of the matter.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Uncle," I said, cashing in all the manners I've learned.

His smile grew, and I watched as the moonlight played off his skin and hair even more blindingly.

"I was hoping that you could grant me my wish you promised."

His smile disappeared, and I could feel fear creep in for a heart wrenching moment.

"You've already used up your wish." He said with a slightly puzzled expression. "At the divine colosseum." He tilted his head, and I watched as a dagger appeared in his hands. Flames of silver and amber covered the blade, and Aczuio turned it as he peered into the fire.

He looked up a moment later, and he looked apologetic. "That's my past and your future. This older version of this world is off. I shouldn't have jumped right in and taken a moment to study it first. I can fix this world for you. The God who is controlling it right now is a nasty batrachian."

Only he stopped midsentence to burst into flames. His serious expression shifted into half wonder and joy and his tone shifted into awe as he said, "Aphra's calling for me...she hasn't done that in a thousand years."

And then he disappeared. All the ups and downs of whatever the heck that was left me feeling bitter and annoyed. Before Acuzio could do anything, Aphra decided to stop him. That meant she was still watching my every move.

Wait, did he say batrachian?

"What are you doing, Wendy?" Rex's voice sounded unusually loud and sharp, no doubt, thanks to my skulking about.

I jumped guilty about a foot in the air. My heart was in my throat as I turned to meet Rex's gaze. My butter fingers fumbled when startled. I watched askance as it started to fly over the railing and into the dark sea. I reached for it, as did Adam. His fingers just graced it before it disappeared over the edge.

My mind went blank, and I dove after it. I need that scale!

The freezing water shocked the system, but I pushed past that to feel blindly in the dark. I didn't have an underwater light I could use.

What little light the moon could provide showed me only shadows and...what is that? The black, inky water should have fish and maybe other things found in the sea. I wasn't really knowledgeable about this ocean. What it shouldn't have is what looked like a giant eyeball the size of a house...

I screamed into the sea with all my might before I blacked out.

I woke up in a cold sweat. The crushing frigid depths of the sea were absolutely terrifying. I was relieved to have blacked out because I could have sworn I saw something before I did…no, I definitely did not see anything.

I rubbed my pounding heart and looked at where I was. I was no longer on Adam's ship. The room's decor was simple, and the walls were overly decorated with fish plaques and fish paintings. The bed I was in wasn't the lush softness of the boats but was made of more firm bearings.

Did Adam make sure we landed in Alcom's Cove? How long was I out for? My wobbly emotions filled my eyes with fresh tears. I lost the scale. In hindsight, it was stupid to try summoning Acuzio on the boat. I had been patient for so long only to blow it so quickly.

I looked to see that I was wearing a white patient gown, and the clean, scratchy fabric smelled fresh and lemony.

"Mordecai. I know you're listening in or watching somehow. I need you to get me out of here." I said this lowly, unsure of who could be in the other rooms of this building. I got no response, of course, and I groaned. I swore several crude expletives my ancestor's way. "If you refuse to come, please give me a sign. A sign you're still here…some advice or help."

I covered my eyes as I fought the rising panic building in my chest. My morose thoughts were cut off by the heat of a spore spark the size of a roll of tape appearing in front of my face.

My mouth hung open at this sudden, strange new development. The flaming thing settled in front of my face and gave a weird jerk as it exploded in a mushroom of smoke.

I coughed, torn between amusement and annoyance as I waved away the smokeless smoke? I inhaled and didn't smell anything different. Was it all for show?

Apparently not, because in its place was a box floating in space. I grabbed it, but instead of a book, a note, or anything that could genuinely help me at that moment, I saw a brilliant red dress embroidered with gold inside it. I saw a complete accessory set as I moved the dress aside to spot sparkly gold flats, gloves, and jewelry I didn't give a second's notice to.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I said. "How is this going to help me?" A second flaming spark appeared, and it too exploded, but its mushroom was proportionate to its size.

In this spores place, there was a note. I eagerly grabbed it and scanned the note.

"Tip one to getting your man: Smile!" A giant cartoon smile was drawn under the embellished words as if showing an example.

"You shit!" I yelled at Mordecai. There were no more flaming gifts after that.

I waved a hand, dispersed everything into my space, and flopped on my bed dramatically.

His tip is to smile? Wait, his tip is to smile to get a man. Is he suggesting I seduce Rex? I made a face at the notion of that. I hadn't exactly endeared myself to him. It was likely too late to even attempt to. How could I seduce Rex? Better yet, why would I?

Before I could dwell longer on this, the door opened, and someone I never wanted to see appeared.