Chapter 31 - The Brother From TomorrowEthan backed away from Rowan.
"What did you do?"
Rowan looked across the frozen battlefield.
"Something I failed to do eight years ago."
Queen Eleanor stepped in front of Ethan.
"Stay away from him."
Rowan laughed bitterly.
"You told me the same thing when I arrived."
He removed the pendant from his neck.
Its metal had turned black.
Ethan stared at the familiar broken-crown symbol.
"Are you really another version of me?"
Rowan hesitated.
"No."
The answer struck Ethan harder than he expected.
"Then who are you?"
Rowan's face softened.
"I'm your brother."
Ethan shook his head.
"I don't have a brother."
"Not in the life you remember."
Eleanor closed her eyes.
"Rowan, please."
But the young man continued.
"When Mother opened the first passage, she saved one child and lost another."
Ethan looked at the queen.
"Is that true?"
She could barely speak.
"Yes."
Rowan approached.
"I was born in the kingdom. You were born beyond it."
"Then why do we look the same?"
"Because the doorway made us copies of the same moment."
Ethan remembered the ancient king's words.
Time demanded something in return.
He finally understood part of the truth.
When one life had been saved, another had been created to balance it.
Rowan touched the black crown.
"I don't want to hurt you, Ethan. I want to go home."
"To Chicago?"
Rowan shook his head.
"To the life that was supposed to be mine."
The silver sand inside Eleanor's hourglass began falling normally.
Time was returning.
The queen reached for Rowan.
"Don't!"
But he had already placed the black crown on his head.
A thunderous sound split the sky.
Then every frozen soldier turned his face toward Ethan.
May you like
Thousands of voices spoke as one.
"One heir must disappear."
Related Stories
