Treasured by Crystal Jordan

scrunched. “How could this have happened? How could I be switched at birth with someone born hundreds of years ago?”
    “Time is fluid here. For us, all time happens at the same time. James is living his life and humans are colonizing the moon. In your time, that would still be the future. Here, time does not follow in a long, endless line.” His gaze pierced her. “Haven’t you ever wondered why history fascinates you so much, why you have to know more, why it goes beyond mere interest and into obsession for you? And not just any time period, but the one you’re supposed to live in?”
    “A lot of people have interests that absorb them.” Her words sounded stiff and unconvincing even to her own ears. She hadn’t been that pathetic, had she? She sighed. Maybe she had. She knew she’d never fit in with the people she’d grown up with, always different, always a step apart.
    “It is different for you. You know this.” He waved his hands dismissively.
    She nodded. There was nothing she could say to that. He was right.
    The power of his gaze pierced her again. “The mistake has been righted, but my…superiors have demanded that I make certain you know this change is irreversible. You can never return to the time you were born in. I’ve already discussed this with the other Rebecca, and she did not take it well. At first. She’s more than pleased now, but I decided to wait until you developed an attachment with your soul mate before I broke the news to you.”
    She blinked, staring at him. It took a moment to wade through his defensive speech and another moment for comprehension to dawn. James . She could go back to him. A smile broke out on her face, and relief sang in her veins. “Never? I can never be taken away from James?”
    “No. You were made for him and he for you.”
    Acting on impulse, she threw her arms around his neck. “ Thank you . I would have worried that I’d suddenly be back in the twenty-first century. No matter how long I was there, I would have worried.”
    “We know.” He cleared his throat roughly and patted her on the back with just the tips of his fingers. His tone was stern as he held her away from him. “If you get throttled by another pirate, I can’t help you again or heal your wounds. Are you ready for me to send you back?”
    To go back to the world she really belonged in? To know this time that she wasn’t crazy and could throw herself into her love for James with no doubt or fear or reservation? Sweet joy bubbled up inside her. “Oh, yes. I’m more ready than you’ll ever know.”
     
    *
     
    Soot streaked James’s arms and chest. He’d shed his shirt hours ago. Sweat slipped down his face to burn his eyes. He threw a final bucket of water on the smoking deck. The wood hissed and popped as the salty liquid hit it. Half the railing on the starboard side was gone and they’d lost the main mast to a cannon ball. They’d be floating for several days trying to repair the damage.
    He dragged the back of his hand across his forehead. Not a moment had gone by that he hadn’t feared for Rebecca. Was she well? Why hadn’t she been found? Was she helping somewhere else on the ship?
    “Captain?”
    James snapped around to see Willy. He shifted, his gaze glued to the scorched deck. His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. Enough dread crawled through James to make him want to burst out of his skin. Smoke and gathering despair made his tone rough. “Speak, boy.”
    “She’s nowhere to be found, sir. We searched everywhere. Boyd and Murdoch searched as well. Nowheres, not on neither of the ships.” His young voice cracked.
    “I see.”
    “Cap’n.” Murdoch appeared behind Willy. “I’m sorry, sir. Come mornin’ we’ll…search the water for her.”
    Her body . They’d search the water for her lifeless body. Nausea punched in his gut. He wanted to throw back his head and howl. Oh, Mother of God.
    “I understand.” His throat felt as raw as if he had been