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I reeled, recognition blossoming as I crept toward The Speaker, my eyes fixed on King Rudolph…or what was left of him.

The Jackals were more than just a troupe of monstrous guards. They were former kings that Relyk had decided to replace. That was how he kept himself strong. By consuming the souls of those he had claimed to serve…

Rudolph’s eyes fixed on Duncan, and his jaw worked, as if trying to force out a word as he quivered and shrank. Life energy flooded out of him in waves, his face contorting with fear as skin pulled away from his cheeks in strips. He wasn’t a good man, but it was impossible to find any pleasure in what was happening to him now.

The sorcerer met Duncan’s eyes, a cruel smile on his lips as dark energy coalesced around him. “Just because they’ve served their purpose during their reign doesn’t mean they’re useless. Kings hold inherent power, and now it’s at my fingertips.”

Duncan roared, knocking an arrow as he forced himself to his feet, then took aim at his suffering father. I winced as it shot through the air, catching the former king in the throat. He pitched forward with a gurgle.

My heart froze as Relyk’s gaze shifted to Duncan. It was now or never.

Jolts of pain pounded through my skull, as I fought against his magic, the throbbing growing worse with each passing second. I fixed my gaze on the green ring on my finger, calling on my magic with everything I had. I didn’t really know what I was doing, everything was on instinct.

But instinct had saved my ass more than once.

I yanked the loupe down over my right eye, and prayed I’d been right…

A blinding wave of light surged forth, consuming everything in sight except the ring. My finger tingled with energy as I tapped the top of the stone, and it seemed to expand a dozen times over, filling my entire field of vision. A primal scream built in my chest and, instead of swallowing it or letting it scare me, I let it out…and all the magic came with it.

Every nook and cranny of the ring became familiar. From the setting at the base of the gem to the viscosity of the liquid inside, it was all laid bare. I twisted the top twice, then pushed it forward with a satisfying click. Not open, but unlocked. And I knew, as surely as I knew anything, that it could be cracked open with the slightest tug.

I fell back to my senses in an instant, the thrumming pain fading as quickly as it had arrived. I blinked, staring down in awe. The green ring had turned bright white…like a diamond.

“Speaker!” I shouted, my voice cracked and hoarse as I limped another step toward him.

Movement flashed at my right, and I covered my head, rolling forward as I caught sight of the dark fireball hurtling toward me. The Speaker cried out, roaring as he dropped a shimmering wall of magic in front of it.

They warred against each other for a long moment, and The Speaker fell to the ground, panting raggedly as both spells dissipated.

Relyk cackled as I hobbled forward another step, another ball of fire forming in his fingertips. “All these years to prepare, and this is the best you can manage?” His icy voice seemed to cut through to my very soul as he repeated, “ Kneel. ”

I stumbled, terror spiking through me as I dropped to my knees, completely unable to resist him. I had my ace up my sleeve still. My connection to Fetch was like nothing else. Even the Speaker couldn’t command him, and I trusted, with all my heart, that Relyk couldn’t either.

My teeth ached as they ground against each other, and it took everything I had just to lift my arm, tossing the ring a few feet into the air.

“Catch!”

Fetch shot off my shoulder, toward The Speaker like an arrow, snapping the ring up with his talons without slowing. I gasped, falling still, and each heartbeat felt like minutes as the bird hurtled toward The Speaker. Please, Fetch, you can do it. Take it to him. You can do ? —

My breath caught in my throat as the ring tore free of his talons, pulled by an unseen force. I fixed my gaze on Relyk, preparing for the worst, but it shot the other direction instead, and I turned my head in time to see The Speaker’s hand reach up to grab it.

His eyes fixed on me as he cracked open the ring, gulping down the draught in a swig. Relyk released another fireball at the same time, aiming it directly at The Speaker as his wizard hat flopped to the ground at his side, his hair surging upward, every strand standing on end as ethereal life poured out of him. He winked at me. “Never doubted you for a second.”

The sorcerer’s black flame flickered out of existence at a wave of The Speaker’s hand, and he let out a humorless laugh.

“You said that kings have inherent power, Relyk. And it’s true, but you’re missing something crucial. All people possess power. Your mistake was thinking it was your right to take it from them.”

Blue lightning shot from the sky, and Relyk’s eyes lit up with terror as it slammed into him with a booming crack. His magical hold on the battlefield faded in a heartbeat, and I stumbled to my feet in unison with hundreds of others.

My fingers dug into my palms as Relyk rose, healing from the attack in an instant. An inky cloud jetted from his hand as he charged right toward The Speaker. “You’re nothing but an insect like the rest of them. No matter what you do, you will never defeat me.”

The black fog rolled out, consuming everything it touched. I looked on in horror as soldiers and villagers alike stumbled and dropped to the ground, dead. Fetch smacked back into my shoulder as I dashed sideways, keeping my eyes fixed on the two spellcasters even as I ran.

The Speaker ignored the wave of death and decay, pure magical energy flooded out of him and formed a massive wall of magic as he charged at his sworn enemy. A thunderous crack split the battlefield as it smashed into Relyk, sending a final puff of fog spurting into the sky as his back collided with a tree so hard that it rocked the canopy overhead. He gritted his teeth, pushing to his feet only to catch another wall of energy right to the chest.

A glimmer of hope resurfaced, only to be dashed right down as The Speaker let out a wracking cough, dropping to the ground. Blood dripped from his mouth as he struggled to stand.

“Done already?” Relyk called, mocking, but he was clearly suffering just as much. Blood had soaked right through his shirt, and he was walking normally now, rather than levitating. If only we had more time…

“Are you kidding? I’ve been waiting my whole life for a chance like this.” Another burst of blood flew from his lips, and his mouth split into a grin. Whispers rallied around him as if to join the fight against Relyk, but he used magic to drive them skittering back as he stood and moved toward the sorcerer.

That’s when the realization hit me like a hammer. He didn’t want their protection any longer…

Because he’d never planned to make it out of this fight alive in the first place.

Tears pricked at my eyes as he raised his hand, a full-body tremor rolling through him as he gathered his power to him. He looked over his shoulder, his eyes finding mine.

“Go, Harmony! And don’t look back. Your next chapter awaits, past the edge!”

The winds whipped and whistled as a strange sound seemed to call me from the ends of the earth, drawing me to it. As if someone else was controlling me, I flicked the lens of the loupe to see in the distance. There, in the farthest corner visible…what was it? A tiny triangle with a number just below it.

Like a book…It was just like a dog-eared corner of the page from a book!

You can’t finish the story unless you turn the page…

A male voice rang out in my mind, a warm baritone, with a subtle accent I couldn’t place. I remembered it from my dreams, so long ago.

Molly slid beside me even as Duncan rushed over, brandishing his sword. “I’ll cover you!”

And he did, cutting down the soldiers who tried to pursue us as if they were nothing. The village Whispers did their part, too, forming a wall behind us until we reached the edge of the earth.

“I’m-I’m supposed to jump,” I said, barely able to catch my breath as my mind and my heart raced. “Do you see it? Right there…The edge of the page?”

“No,” Duncan said softly. “But you see it, and that’s all that matters.”

“I can’t. This isn’t right to leave you to this fight alone!”

Even now…I was pulled in two directions—toward the unknown, and toward the battle behind me. Fetch swooped close and landed lightly on my shoulder.

Time to go, kid.

I blinked at him, not sure I was hearing what I thought I was hearing, but there was no more from him.

Duncan put his hand on my lower back. “It’s your destiny, Harm. And you’d better fulfill it because something is happening to our world. And it seems like it up to you to save us.”

He turned me ever so slightly. To the left of us was a black hole, growing by the second. Out of the hole swarmed a mass of black worms, gnawing their way toward that dog-eared corner. I didn’t know what they were, or why they were here, but I knew they had the power to ruin everything.

Worlds.

Lives.

Destinies.

With the same instinct that had pushed me to open the ring, I knew that time was up. They were all right, I had to go.

I yanked the loupe off and looked up at Duncan, heart in my mouth. “I…we…”

“That’s your destiny, and this is mine. My people need me now.” His molten silver eyes were filled with sorrow as he drove his fingers into my hair and tugged me close for one last kiss before pulling away. “Our paths will cross again someday, Harmony Fallowell. And next time? I won’t let go.”

If I spent one more second looking into those eyes, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to leave at all. So I steeled myself and turned to Moll. “And you…I understand if you don’t want to?—”

“Nice try. You’re not dumping me again! We’re ham and eggs, you and me.” She grabbed my hand and laced her fingers with mine, her eyes watery but shining. “Where you go, I go. You ready?”

“No, but let’s do this.” I slid the loupe back over one eye, flipping the highest magnification lens into place as I spared a final glance over my shoulder despite The Speaker’s request to not look back.

A burst of blue light split the sky as his fist smashed into Relyk’s face. He lunged forward for one more strike, but stepped back as the sorcerer began to burst at the seams, exploding into a mist of inky black, flies swarming up around him. The Speaker’s booming laugh echoed through the forest despite the distance, and he knelt to grab his wizard hat even as blood streamed from his mouth. He plopped it on his head, and, for the briefest of moments, he looked back at me, a smile crossing his face. Then, in a flash, he was gone, winking from existence like a shooting star that had reached its end.

He did it. We did it.

Tears stung my eyes, but if I let myself feel now, I’d split clean open and crumple in a mess of grief. I turned away and knelt down, gripping the dog-eared page with one hand. Then, I squeezed Moll’s hand tight.

“Set…go!”

Together, we leapt off the side of the world, dragging the page with us. Time and space wavered and shifted as the last gasps of the waning battle faded, leaving behind only the sound of whipping wind and the beat of my heart. We were weightless and floating for a blissful few moments, enveloped in a swirling vortex of color. I turned from side to side, my senses overwhelmed by the endless prism of light. Distorted letters and fractions of words began to appear, hazy and blurred at first, then bold and clear, yet still somehow unreadable.

A force yanked us back abruptly, hard enough to make my teeth clack, and the wild colors and strange letters faded in the blink of an eye, giving way to a dimly lit sky.

A cool breeze washed against my cheek, and I blinked repeatedly, pure terror spiking through me as I looked all around, trying desperately to get a bearing on where I was. And then, a new voice rang in my head, clear as a bell.

You got away this time but make no mistake. Soon enough I’ll get you my pretty, and your little bird, too!

Then, we plummeted like stones, falling down, down…

We screamed in tandem, flapping our free arms as if we might be able to stay in the sky if we tried hard enough. Even Fetch joined in, digging his talons deeper into my shoulder pad even as his wings extended, as if he planned on pulling me out of the fall.

Thank the gods we weren’t above solid ground.

When we hit the water, it sucked us under, clutching us in an icy embrace.

Moll’s hand was wrenched from mine as salt water shot up my nose and into my mouth. Kicking hard, I made a push upward, gasping and swiping at my stinging eyes as I broke the surface.

“Moll! Fetch!”

A wracking cough came from behind me, and I turned to Moll, bedraggled and…her red hair was back! The salt water poured off her face, stained brown with dye. I let out a sigh of relief as I caught sight of Fetch circling above me, silhouetted by moonlight, and he let out a cry of acknowledgment.

We were alive.

“What the fuck is that?” Molly rasped as she paddled up beside me, her gaze pinned on something over my left shoulder.

I turned to see a massive galleon gliding across the water toward us. It didn’t take a Whisper to know that the black sails emblazoned with a skull and crossbones weren’t a good sign…And the words that rang through the darkness a moment later weren’t any better.

“Enemy spotted off the starboard deck! Ready the cannons and shoot to kill!”