Marked Prince - Michelle M. Pillow Page 0,41

the medic unit with her,” Jaxx said. “You saved Grace and changed a timeline. Surely, if Grace is prepared, we can save this woman. Or we don’t send her at all.”

Fiora pulled his hand from her face and released him so they weren’t making contact. She closed her eyes, concentrating on Grace’s thread. She felt his resolve to keep the woman in his parents’ house, which changed the future. “If you don’t send her, the Federation will find her here. Dulla and her brother will die, the children will be raised in an orphan program run by the Federation to train soldiers. The Federation will use this as a reason to occupy the planet permanently and, in time, will spread the city’s borders. It will be the beginning of the end.”

As she said the words, she felt his resolve change, to send them to the mountains. That second of indecision changed the future, erasing the orphanage for the mountain paths. He evidently wanted to send the medic with Grace because the future was different than the first time.

“If you send the handheld medical unit with Grace, Dulla will have the children on a forest path. One of the children will be stillborn.” Fiora saw the path, but it wasn’t the same as last time. She’d disrupted the future by telling Jaxx about it. They were small changes, but those tiny ripples grew. “Grace will try to save her but will have to choose between a baby and the mother with the medical unit. The mother will have made her promise to take care of the remaining baby.”

“But before, when they didn’t have a handheld medic, you said both babies went to my cousin and only the mother died. How is it two may die now that Grace has the device with her?”

Fiora peeked at his concerned gaze before again closing her eyes. “Knowing of the danger changes how they react. Grace takes the trip slower, focused on the mother and watching for labor to begin. This delay causes them to become caught off guard when a hairy beast crosses their path. Dulla slips, and a child is injured in the fall.”

“We’ll tell Grace to fly her to the mountains,” Jaxx countered.

Again the future shifted with his new plan. “Grace tries to make the trip faster, flying the mother ahead. The fear she feels being suspended above air causes labor to start. There’s a bad landing.”

“Then there is no hope.” Jaxx let loose a long sigh. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you so many questions. I know it’s painful for you.”

“No, keep going,” Fiora urged. The timelines hadn’t hurt as badly as before, and she was able to focus on it. The strange thing was how fast the ripples between the ideas appeared. There was a calming effect to his presence. “What is your next plan for them?”

“Uh…” He hesitated. “I suppose I’d give Grace the medic just in case but not tell her what it is for.”

Fiora closed her eyes. She pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose. “Grace can’t save her.”

“What if I sent my father instead? Or my mother?” Jaxx asked.

Fiora shook her head. “Same result with a small variance on the path they travel.”

“Grier?”

The change offered no solution. Fiora shook her head in denial.

“What if we take her?”

Again she shook her head. “No. I’m sorry.”

“We’ll take Dulla to the dragon palace,” Jaxx suggested. “They have a medical booth. She can give birth in the unit.”

“Same results as if you left her here. Servants will whisper, and the word will eventually get back to the Federation. The children are not sent to the orphanage because they’ll be under dragon protection, but Brogan will surrender in a foolish attempt to stop a war that cannot be stopped. Dulla dies in childbirth even though they have a medical booth for her.”

Fiora dropped her hand from the bridge of her nose and swiped at her moist eyes to stop the drop of tears before opening them.

“It seems that no matter what we do, it’s her time.” Fiora stared at his naked chest. Even as she said the words, understanding them to be accurate, she hated the helplessness of knowing. “Death can sometimes be delayed, but it eventually comes. I see no delaying the mother’s fate. Her past has already cast her toward this future.”

“Then what can we do?” Jaxx asked.

“Nothing. The best path for the most people is to let Grace escort them to the mountains. Let brother