by Fae York
Vane left no room for negotiation. He was now the enemy.
Angrily, but carefully, Emelia demanded, “How did I travel here, Vane?”
“That is what we are investigating—”
“But—” she cut him off and when he glared at her, Emelia instantly regretted it. “Sorry. But, I imagine you have some sort of idea. Don’t you?”
“Come this way,” Vane said, not answering her question and waving his hand toward the door that everyone had exited through. “I will show you to your quarters. You are under my care, so you have nothing to fear here.”
She rolled her eyes at that last statement, but he didn’t notice or care.
“At 0600 hours, I will summon you to my suite where we will eat breakfast then I will escort you to the research lab where you will undergo some tests. These will continue until it is no longer deemed necessary.”
“This room here,” he said, indicating a vast, open space on their right, “is the commons area. Eventually, you will take your meals here with the rest of the individuals who live in this quadrant. In your quarters, you will find a wardrobe with a few articles of clothing that will help you to blend in. Over time, you will begin to earn money and be expected to pay back the government for all you’ve been given on this day, as well as pay for your own food and shelter. We give you a month’s grace period before those dues are enacted, during which time, you have an account balance that will be expected to be paid off as soon as possible.”
Vane’s explanation continued for several minutes as he toured her around the facility. Bathrooms it seemed, were gender-neutral, including the showers. Her personal room was clean, spartan-like, and decidedly small. Vane emphasized that her private accommodations could be revoked for bad behavior.
Emelia said nothing because it didn’t seem like he was in the mood for two-way conversation. After showing her to her room and finishing his explanation, Vane walked toward her, towering over her and bent down so his face was within inches of hers. His grey eyes had clouded to a nearly charcoal black.
Emelia felt like she wanted to crawl under the bed and hide, except the bed was a solid slab with a thin mattress on top.
“One last thing,” he said, barely above a whisper, “If you stay in your place and cooperate, you might eventually make something of yourself. I assure you that this time is far superior than your own for those who play by the rules. If you try and pull any of the stunts you did in your own time: stalling, being uncooperative, or defying me, you will not like the results. In your time I was bound by protocols and rules of behavior for travelers, which is why I didn’t immediately knock you unconscious and take your bone marrow the first time we met. In this time, you have no such protection. Do not cross me.”
Vane turned on his heel and left the room, slamming the door with a resounding thud and Emelia burst into tears. She allowed herself several minutes of crying before she pulled herself together.
Emelia sat on the edge of her bed in her sparsely decorated quarters looking around and wondering what was going to happen next. Wiping away her tears and groaning, she lay down on the bed and wrapped up in the stiff blanket they had provided.
The prospect of going into the communal bathroom was not an appealing idea. Emelia was trapped. Alone and trapped in an entirely different century.
She rolled over into the fetal position and closed her eyes, wondering if gratitude or resentment was the dominant feeling about being alive. Then Emelia remembered what Aleph had told her about Artemis. If this had already happened, if time was a closed loop, maybe she’d see him again. But . . . what if it wasn’t?
TO BE CONTINUED
Don’t Miss the rest of Timeless
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Acknowledgements
Thank you for reading The Fabric of Time. It was fantastic to write, and I hope reading it was just as fun. Without readers, this book would remain a figment of my imagination, read only by friends and family. You are the ones who bring it to life and keep it going. Thank you for loving books and stories!
Additionally, I wouldn’t be here without my family, my friends, and my editing team at BDR Publishing. Thank you for the endless support, helpful critiques, and constant supply of snacks. This book wouldn’t have happened without you!
Author Bio
Fae York has been fascinated by time travel and superpowers since she was young. She was always in trouble for daydreaming instead of doing her homework or practicing the piano. Now she harnesses those daydreams and lives out her wished-for childhood adventures by writing and sharing them with readers.
Copyright
Copyright © 2021 Fae York
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address the publisher. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy or copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s and publisher’s rights.
BDR Publishing
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Salt Lake City, UT 84116
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This book is a book of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover art by German Creative
First Edition, 2021
Part One of the Timeless Series
