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Everything, Skye realized, was turning… todust. As if time itself was unraveling.

Raw magic stung his skin, and then—

Taly’s eyes snapped open—no gray, only white.

“Well, that’s unusual,” Ivain murmured.

“Not comforting!” Skye snapped.

The space around her trembled, reality itself bracing for impact.

Then it hit—the full weight of her magic surged within her as her soul collided with her body.

She gasped, her back arching violently. Air scraped into her lungs, but the scream bubbling in her throat blocked it, leaving her choking on both.

“She’s going to bite off her tongue,” Sarina barked, but Aiden was already shoving a leather strap between her teeth.

The room shook harder. Dust fell from the ceiling in great sighing rivers as cracks spread across the floor.

“Talya.” Ivain’s voice was calm, steady—but his eyes betrayed him. Fear flickered beneath the surface. His hands shook as he gripped her shoulders. “Focus. Ground yourself. You have to take control.”

Violet light pulsed from Ivain’s hands, his magic threading into hers, but it wasn’t enough. Her power thrashed, desperate to stay vast, resisting as it was dragged into something smaller, something finite.

“I need you,” he said to Skye. “She’s too strong for me alone.”

Grabbing onto her magic was like seizing a lightning bolt. Raw power surged through him, hot and electric.

It was wild, a force of nature barely contained.

It was Taly, through and through, and the sheer enormity of her magic—there was no doubt about it. She was a High Lord’s daughter with an aether pool just as vast.

Every nerve, every muscle strained to hold it, to soothe it, his own aether wrapping around hers like a vice. It came in waves. Each surge met their combined strength, a wall of unyielding force.

Little by little, they reined it in.

Little by little, Taly began to calm.

Until finally, she slumped on the ground, her heartbeat slow but drumming.

Panting, Skye released his grip. She lay on her side, head at an odd angle. He didn’t dare move her. Didn’t dare touch her. Didn’t do anything that might set off another bout of… whatever the hell that was.

A flicker of movement caught his eye. Space shifted, subtle but deliberate.

Then Calcifer spilled out of a seam in reality, a ribbon of black unspooling. Shadows stretched and folded, changing into that familiar, vaguely feline shape. Only half-transformed, his haunches still coalescing, he nudged at Taly’s shoulder.

She groaned, low and pained. Her hand trembled as she reached for Calcifer’s flank. Skye moved forward, hands hovering, unsure whether to help. Slowly, she dragged herself upright, sagging against the beast for support.

Blinking and disoriented, Taly lifted her head—only to find her family staring back at her.

Sarina, wide-eyed and pale. Arms full of fragile antiques, clutched haphazardly.

Ivain, his hair possibly a shade whiter, frozen, his mouth agape.

Aiden, collapsed onto the floor.

And Skye, hovering uselessly, one hand still extended.

Taly removed the strap from her mouth, grimacing at the taste as she turned it over in her hands.