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“Hello,” she said with a smile and a wave.

Kato pointed. “So, that’s not Taly.”

“No,” Skye said.

“But it looks like Taly.”

“Yes.”

“And you’re sure it’snotTaly?”

“Oh, my Shards,” Cori grumbled, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “That one is way more stupid than I remember.”

Kato blinked, rooted to the spot.

“And you’re right about one thing, Ivain,” she went on. “Aneirin is expecting you. If you go off half-cocked, well… you won’t die. But you also won’t be successful.” She swung her feet off the desk and rose. “That’s where I come in. I’m going to make sure you go off fully cocked.”

Kato opened his mouth—she shut him down with a look.

“How do we get her back?” Ivain said gruffly.

Cori merely reached into a tailored black overcoat and produced an amulet. It spun on its chain as she held it out, catching the light.

“Everyone always assumes it’s the big things that shape history. The grand battles, the earth-shattering decisions, the moments that scream their importance. The sacrifices,” she added with a pointed look at Skye. “Don’t get me wrong—break the world, and it will change the shape of it. But they always discount the small ripples. The little, everyday things that, given enough time, accumulate. Something as simple as being in the right place at the right time.”

She placed the amulet on the map of riftways laid out on Ivain’s desk. A hyaline sun cradled the center stone. It was the same symbol etched into the waves two miles north of the Aion Gate.

Skye’s breath caught at the realization. He looked up to find Cori watching him.

“You wanted to know what made that key so important?” she said. “Why I spent the better part of a decade bargaining for it?”

He saw it now.

They had a direct line to the Aion Gate—to where Taly had been taken. The access point was even inside the city, unlockedwith one of the keys Taly had taken from Aneirin that night inside the antiquities shop.

Cori nodded, a small smile playing on her mouth. “Aneirin has assembled his army. He’s ready to march. You’ll never succeed by attacking from the front. But if you send a small force ahead, through here.” She pointed at an area of the map north of the Gate. “He only has a token force guarding his rear.”

She tapped another point closer to the water. “If you look around here, you may or may not find a few… helpful items to send you on your way. Power units are already loaded. All you need to do is step right in.”

They had a path. They had a plan. They had hope.

Skye could scarcely believe it considering five minutes ago they had nothing.

Cori stepped back, the air shimmering around her like golden heat waves rising from stone. “Now go,” she said. “And by that, I do meango. You’re already behind schedule.”

The shimmer deepened, her form blurring at the edges as she faded.

“Wait!” Skye called after her. “Is that it? You’re not going to give us any details? No last-minute tips?”

“I already handed you the plan and the way in. You can figure out the rest yourselves.” Her voice was distant and echoing now, as though carried on a breeze from somewhere far away. “The fate of the entire Primary Timeline is riding on this, boys. There’s been a lot of good people working. Don’t fuck it up.”

The golden light pulsed once, then vanished entirely. Her magic ebbed, and Skye knew—she was gone.

Kato snorted into the silence. “Hell of a pep talk.”

Skye dragged a hand through his hair. “Yeah, it’s never been her strong suit.”

Ivain huffed a laugh, picking up the key and inspecting its edges like it might still hum with her magic. “Believe me, by that one’s standards, that was practically sparkling.”