leap as it is on his ring finger, but he isn’t my husband so he must be someone’s. “Your wife?” I say hesitantly.
He nods and stands, walking away from me, to stare out of the window. “Who are you?” he turns suddenly to ask me. “I know you aren’t who you are pretending to be.”
Oh no. What do I do? Well, there is only one thing to do and come clean. I can’t keep up this charade with someone who clearly knows her so well. I sigh and say, “How did you know?”
He chuckles and says, “I may be blindly in love, but I am not blind. You may be able to fool the others, but you can’t fool me. I know her too well. First things, your demeanor is all wrong. I know she has been…capricious as of late, but I do know her. Also, you don’t know the story of our rings and you called me ‘CK’ when I called you ‘Liv.’ She never does that,” he says and smiles fondly. “I also know she wouldn’t go to Sebastian without talking about it to me first. Aefre, my Aefre, may be a lot of things, but she isn’t an insensitive bitch. So, I ask you again, who are you and what have you done with my Aefre?”
“First things,” I say, dropping my phony British accent, “I would like to point out that I didn’t do this. She did. And secondly, I am still Aefre. Just from a different world.”
“A different world.” He peers at me closely and says, “You definitely are not that skank from the Other World, so there is a third?”
“There is a second?” I ask in surprise.
“Indeed. So, if you aren’t Devon’s Elizabeth, that must make you my wife. Correct?” he asks.
“Yes. You, well my you, turned me and we hand fast in 1012,” I confirm.
“Mm, I knew there had to be a time somehow where I got you where I wanted you,” he mutters to himself, pleased. “How can you be sure it was her who switched you?”
“Well, it wasn’t me,” I say. “I have never had the power to travel through time or to switch bodies with another me.”
“Bodies? It is just your essences that have been misplaced?” he asks, confused.
“Yes. This is her body and I can only assume she is in mine,” I say, a bit angry now.
“Yes, I suppose I see that,” he sighs. “I assume you have a relationship with Sebastian where you come from?” he asks.
I nod. “Yes. A powerful one.”
He starts at that, but I don’t elaborate, reluctant to tell of the Faerie connection that these don’t yet have.
“You do know that by having sex with him, you have caused all sorts of problems for my Aefre and my Sebastian?”
“I have gathered that, but you don’t understand,” I try to explain.
“No, I don’t. But you have put her in an impossible situation.”
“Does he know?” I ask carefully.
“No, he thinks you are Liv. That is why it is going to hurt him terribly when you go, and she comes back, only to reject him.”
“What if I don’t go?” I ask then. “I had imagined she would have worked tirelessly to get back to her life and yet I am still here. I may never leave.” I shrug casually, ready to give him a world of possibilities should he ask. Only he doesn’t.
“Oh, you will be leaving, one way or another, I can assure you,” he says to me assertively and despite being slightly insulted, I actually go mushy all over.
“We’ll see. I quite like it here. Her life is so very different to mine. So easy. And all these people she has who love her, her charges especially. She is so lucky.”
“You don’t have Devon or Cole?” he asks.
I shake my head. “I don’t have any charges. It wasn’t considered to be the right thing to do.”
“You mean she is stuck there in your life without her charges?” he croaks out.
“Yes,” I confirm.
“Oh no. No, no. You must find a way to switch back. She will be devastated,” he implores me.
“I am sure she will have more than enough to keep her occupied,” I say breezily.