“Arunas, help us,” Marlow said on a breath.
Lottie appeared beside August, and her presence was enough to help him gather the nerve to force his gaze up.
He regretted it immediately.
Fallowmoor was straight ahead, with its weathered grey stone walls, surrounded by a patchwork of farms across green rolling hills. The city was still there. Still standing. Only now, a shiftingblack void rose from its heart, looming high above the walls, swallowing the fading afternoon light.
He was going to be sick.
How couldhehave created something so massive, so destructive? He wasn’t powerful.
He couldn’t do this. Sure, he wanted to close the tear and stop it from devouring everything. But this was too much. This was impossible.
What if he couldn’t close it?
What if it killed him to try?
August thought he’d be brave enough to face this, but he wasn’t brave. He was a coward.
Run.
He could find a new place to hide. Push the whole colossal problem aside, pretend it didn’t exist. He was well-versed in ignoring issues, and until he met Felix, it had worked perfectly fine.
Run!
He flexed his fingers, calling on his powers. They came roaring forward, stronger than he’d expected.
Lottie’s voice drew him back from the edge. “It feels strange here.” She wrapped her arms around herself, eyes still on the city ahead. “It makesmefeel strange.”
“Then let’s leave.” August glanced back to where Felix and Marlow stood a few feet off, observing the Watch at the distant gates and talking.
Lottie hesitated, then shook her head. “I never thought I’d say this, but Felix is right. You have to fix this.”
A weight dropped in his chest. She was supposed to want to protect him.
“What if I can’t?” he whispered.
She turned to face him, the smile tight and forced. “I know you can.” It was an infuriating lie. “Closing this tear could save you.”
He pressed his fingers to his temples, trying to stop the throbbing in his head.
“Or it could kill me.”
Her face sobered. “If you don’t, it will kill everyone.”
I’m scared,he didn’t say. His magic reacted to the thought, writhing inside him like a feral creature.
Lottie’s form seemed to sharpen, every detail of her face snapping into perfect focus. She lifted her hand, and as she touched his cheek—actuallytouchedit—August wrenched back, shocked.
Anchored couldn’t touch things. They couldn’t.
But he’dfeltthat.
He met Lottie’s wide, startled eyes.
“How . . . ” was all he could manage.
She looked down at her open hands, then back at August. In a breath, she had her arms around him, squeezing tight. She was cold, like the ring and the locket, but somehow, she was solid. Real.
