Page 101 of The Messengers of Magic

“I love you,” he whispered, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “It’s all going to be okay.”

“I love you, too,” Adelaide whispered back, pressing one final kiss to his lips.

When she stepped into the center of the circle, a moth fluttered in through the window, looping around her in wide, searching arcs, as if she were the light it had been seeking all along.

In that moment, it felt right, as though everything had come full circle, and she was exactly where she’d always meant to be.

Maybe this was her true purpose. Maybe this was why she’d been called to the Feather Thorn.

To destroy the watch.

Pen handed her the bag, his fingers lingering against hers for the briefest moment before stepping back, out of the ritual’s boundary. His chest tightened as their eyes met. He wanted to say something, anything , but the words caught in his throat.

What could he possibly say?

He could have poured every ounce of love into words, shouted them through the gathering storm, but it wouldn’t matter. In minutes, none of it would have ever existed.

And his heart ached beneath the weight of that truth, a grief too vast for breath.

Another crack split through the air, louder this time, and the floor beneath them fractured like porcelain, jagged lines spidering toward the circle that protected them.

The old slate roof above them shook, sending down a scatter of wood splinters and dust. The world outside the window had now bent and morphed into something neither of them recognized.

“Adelaide, now!” he urged, eyes locked on the breach inching closer. If it reached the circle, if it shattered the boundary, everything would be lost.

Adelaide clutched the journal, her hands trembling as she read, eyes darting over the instructions of the ritual. Her pulse thundered in her ears.

She was to be the savior of this world and the destroyer of her own.

Her fingernails dug into the soft flesh of her palm as she fought to stay strong, even though she felt like she might shatter into a million pieces.

She looked at him once more. And in his look was everything.

How can I go through with this?

The floor creaked again, louder this time, the sound like bone breaking.

Adelaide blinked hard, tore her gaze away from his, and lowered her head to read.

She would do it. Even if it broke her. Even if it shattered the only happiness either of them would ever know.

Because this wasn’t about them. It never had been.

It was about every fractured sky, every veering timeline, every life touched and untouched by the device. And putting an end to it for good.

“Pen, I need your pocket knife,” she said, her voice tight but steady.

He stepped forward just as the ground shook again, pressing the hilt of the knife into her palm.

Adelaide drew a breath, reached into the leather bag, and pulled out the Astral Synchronum. The golden surface caught the dim light, gleaming with a terrible, ancient beauty.

The moment her fingers wrapped around it, the room exploded with light, turning night into day.

Brilliant white beams shot from her body, illuminating every crack, every corner, every shadow.

Symbols, intricate and angelic, bloomed beneath her skin, glowing fiercely before fading again, as if something long-dormant had awakened within her.

Pen shielded his eyes, heart pounding.

Adelaide didn’t flinch. She stood there, calm and resolute. When she spoke, her voice rang out clear and unwavering, resonating with a power far older than her own.

“With the blood of the angels that courses within my veins, banish this device until nothing remains.”

The words hung in the air like a command from the heavens. Then, she dragged the blade across her palm. Blood welled in a thin line of crimson, glowing faintly in the light. She pressed the watch into it, its golden surface soaking in her blood like ink on parchment.

The reaction was immediate. The air trembled, vibrating with raw energy, and the symbols beneath her skin flared once more, brighter than ever.

The walls shook violently, dust and stone rained down, and the building groaned as if it, too, might crumble just as their old world outside the windows had.

Pen fought the urge to run to her; he wanted to be there, holding her hand as the watch’s timeline shattered, but the ritual’s boundary held firm. All he could do was stand helpless, and watching her.

Adelaide’s eyes never left his, and in them he saw everything: grief, courage, and her love for him. She repeated the incantation twice more, each word striking the air like a bell tolling fate.

On the final utterance, a surge of light burst from her chest, spiraling around the Astral Synchronum until it glowed molten. The watch gave a final keening chime, its gears spinning wildly, faster and faster.

Pen saw her mouth the words I love you —

And then, before he could even breathe the words back…

A white-hot explosion of light consumed everything. The room. The town. The sky. Brighter than a supernova.

Then—

Nothing.