Chapter 43 Fractured Moments
Six weeks into training and Nyx looked seven years old.
The time magic was affecting her growth. Arianna said it was normal. That walking through different ages meant experiencing them. That Nyx's body was catching up to her mind.
I said it was heartbreaking watching my baby grow too fast. Missing milestones. Skipping years.
"Mother, stop worrying." Nyx appeared beside me. Flickering slightly. A sign she had been time walking. "I am fine. Better than fine. I can control it now. Watch."
She raised her hand. The air shimmered. A window opened to yesterday. We saw ourselves. Having breakfast. Talking. Laughing.
Then the window closed. Clean. No ripples. No damage.
"See? Perfect control." Nyx smiled. Proud. "Arianna says I am the fastest learner she has ever seen."
"That is because you are brilliant." I pulled her close. Held her. "But you are also still a child. You need rest. Play. Normal things."
"I am not normal, mother. I stopped a war. I walk through time. I exist in moments that have not happened yet." She pulled back. "Normal was never an option for me."
She was right. I hated it. But she was right.
Kael entered the study. Looked grim. "We have visitors. Again. The fifth kingdom this month sending 'diplomats' to check on Nyx."
"You mean spies," I said.
"Obviously spies. But we have to pretend they are diplomats." He looked at Nyx. "King Aldric sent his nephew. Wants to see you personally. To 'assess your progress.'"
"Aldric is still in prison," I pointed out.
"Which is why he sent someone else. Someone with orders to report back everything about our daughter." Kael's jaw tightened. "I am tempted to refuse the visit."
"That would look suspicious. Like we are hiding something." I stood. "We let them visit. Let them see Nyx is under control. Dangerous but controlled."
"What if she is not?"
"Then we deal with it."
The Valcrest nephew arrived that afternoon. Young. Arrogant. Clearly thinking he was clever coming here to spy on a child.
"Your Majesties." He bowed. Barely. "Thank you for receiving me. My uncle sends his regards from his... accommodations."
"Tell your uncle if he sends another spy, his accommodations will become significantly smaller," Kael said. "Now. You wanted to meet my daughter. Nyx?"
Nyx walked in. Dressed simply. Hair loose. Looking like any other seven-year-old except for the red eyes and the way reality bent slightly around her.
"Hello." Her voice was polite. Cold. "You came to assess if I am a threat. Save time. The answer is yes. I am a threat. To anyone who threatens my family."
The nephew laughed. Nervous. "How direct. I see you inherited your mother's bluntness."
"I inherited many things. Would you like to see?"
"Nyx," I warned.
"What? He came here to spy. To judge. Let him judge properly." She looked at the nephew. "I can show you your timeline. Every choice you have made. Every choice you will make. Would you like to know how you die?"
His face went pale. "That is—that is not necessary."
"Are you sure? Because I see it. Right now. You die in three years. A political assassination. Someone poisons your wine. You choke. Die alone. Unmourned." Nyx tilted her head. "But it does not have to be that way. You could choose differently. Avoid the dinner. Check your drinks. Live."
"You are bluffing."
"Am I?" She raised her hand. The air shimmered. A window opened showing a future moment. The nephew. Older. Collapsing. Dying exactly as she described.
Then the window closed.
"How—how did you—" He stumbled back.
"I am the Time Walker's student. I see timelines like you see paths in a garden. Some lead to flowers. Some lead to graves." Nyx stepped closer. "Now. You will return to your uncle. Tell him I am dangerous. Tell him I am controlled. Tell him that if he ever threatens my family, I will ensure every timeline he exists in ends badly. Understand?"
"Yes. Yes, I understand."
"Good. You can leave now."
He ran. Actually ran from the palace.
When he was gone, Kael looked at Nyx. "That was unnecessary."
"That was effective. He will tell Aldric everything. Aldric will think twice before moving against us." Nyx sat. "Arianna taught me. Show strength. Show control. Show consequences. That is how you make people respect power."
"Arianna is not always right," I said.
"But she is not wrong either." Nyx looked at me. "You want me to be soft. Kind. A child. But I am not just a child anymore. I am whatever I need to be to protect us."
"You are seven years old."
"I am four months old. Seven years old. And simultaneously ageless because I walk through time." She stood. "I am going to train. Arianna wants to teach me something new today."
She left.
Kael and I stood in silence.
"She is losing herself," I said quietly. "The child. The innocence. The humanity."
"She is surviving. Adapting. Becoming what she needs to be." He pulled me close. "We knew this would happen. Knew power would change her."
"I thought we could prevent it. Thought we could keep her human even as vampire."
"We are not human. She was never going to be either." He kissed my forehead. "We give her love. Guidance. Structure. That is all we can do."
I wanted to argue. Wanted to say we could do more. Save her somehow. But I had no words.
That afternoon, screaming echoed through the palace.
Not pain. Panic. Guards shouting. People running.
"What now?" Kael grabbed his sword. We ran toward the sound.
Found Nyx in the training courtyard. Surrounded by Arianna. Both of them pale. Shaking.
"What happened?" I demanded.
"I made a mistake." Nyx's voice was small. Scared. "I was practicing. Creating small loops. Reliving moments. And I went too far. Created a loop that will not close."
"Show me," Arianna ordered.
Nyx raised her hand. A shimmer appeared. And through it, I saw myself. Walking into the courtyard. Asking "What happened?" Then the scene repeated. Exactly the same. Again. Again. Again.
A time loop. Small. Local. But unbreakable.
"How do we fix it?" Kael asked.
"We do not. She does." Arianna looked at Nyx. "You created it. You must collapse it. But carefully. Too much force and the loop expands. Consumes more time. More space. Too little and it persists. Grows. Becomes permanent."
"I do not know how!"
"Then figure it out. Fast. Because in ten minutes, that loop spreads to the entire palace. In an hour, the entire city. In a day, the entire realm." Arianna's voice was hard. "This is why I teach you consequences. This is what happens when you play with time carelessly."
Nyx's hands shook. She closed her eyes. Reached toward the loop.
"Careful," Arianna warned. "Feel its edges. Its boundaries. Find where it connects to the main timeline."
Sweat poured down Nyx's face.
The loop flickered. Wavered.
Started to expand.