Guilt churned in Baz’s gut at the thought, but he reminded himself that he was doing this to save Kai, and Thames was meant to die anyway. It left the question of Luce, and for that, he felt sorry, thinking he might leave Emory’s mother to her grim end. But if fate was irrevocable, and Baz could only save one of them…
Who knows—maybe Thames would exert some influence on Clover as they traveled through worlds together, and neither he nor Luce would perish. Maybe it was a small kindness, however twisted, to give Thames more time, to stay a while longer at Clover’s side, before meeting his end.
For this to work, Baz needed Thames not to Collapse—to never get any ideas about making a Tidecaller synth that he would inject himself with and succumb to.
Clover and Thames would never have found out the truth about Collapsing if they hadn’t realized both Kai and Baz had already Collapsed and now had limitless power. And so Baz tried to alter this one event, turning the knobs on the pocket watch to fast-forward to that day Kai brought a horde of umbrae into the secret library room. Activating the invisibility feature on the pocket watch, Baz watched his past self sitting in the Decrescens library with Clover. Thames came by, asking where Kai and Luce were, before he headed toward the secret room, where he would find them coming out of dreaming with a tempest of darkness all around them.
Baz pulled at the threads of time around Thames and made him pause, freezing him where he stood a few feet from the painting that led into the secret room. His heart pounded furiouslyas the seconds ticked by, and then the library shuddered under the weight of an explosion of darkness that spilled from the now cracked painting. Baz saw his past self rush toward the room along with Clover. He froze them, too, before remembering that past-Baz had helped Kai and Luce fight back the darkness. If he didn’t go into that room to help Kai now…
Shit. Baz started to run toward the secret room, but a hand grabbed the back of his shirt, yanking him to a stop. Baz whirled around and shoved his assailant away in panic, wondering distantly if he’d dropped the pocket watch, if the invisibility had stopped working. If his own time magic had slipped.
He’d frozen everyone in the library, and no one was supposed to see him. Yet staring right at him stood a student with blond curls and blue eyes, and for a second, Baz thought it was Clover—that the Tidecaller had somehow evaded Baz’s magic. But it wasn’t Clover, as evidenced by the House Waning Moon sigil on the boy’s hand. Baz had never seen him before, but the boy looked athimwith recognition—and a sharp, frantic sort of anger.
“You’re only making things worse,” the boy seethed.
There was a flash of metal from around the boy’s neck as he moved toward Baz as if to lunge at him again.
Another explosion of darkness from the secret room—and Kai’s voice, screaming—had them both turning their heads at the sound. Baz took off again toward Kai, but something hit his head.
He fell limply to the floor, and darkness took him.
Baz gasped as he came to. He was in the god’s workshop again. His head throbbed from whatever had hit him, and he winced as he brought a hand to the tender flesh.
That boy…
You’re only making things worse.
Had he been the one to hit Baz? How had it made him comeback here, when the timeline hadn’t even come to its end yet?
The god was nowhere in sight. Baz tried to get up, but a spell of dizziness kept him down. The pocket watch was still in his hand. He looked it over, fearing it might have gotten damaged somehow, which might explain why the invisibility feature had stopped working. It was the only explanation for that boy seeing him. Unless…
Baz froze as he saw the piece of paper tucked into the pocket watch. He flicked the magnifying glass open, and the piece of paper slipped free from its grooves. He unfolded it to find looping handwriting he didn’t recognize.
Next time, meet me in Decrescens library. Reaper section.
Don’t tell the god.
“Well? Any luck?”
Baz quickly crumpled the piece of paper in his fist. The god was making his way toward him, dabbing his forehead with a cloth.
“I…” Baz’s thoughts ran wild. He wanted to tell the god what had happened, but the note sowed doubt in his mind. He had a suspicion as to who the boy was, remembering the flash of metal that had glinted around the boy’s neck. He cleared his throat, getting up on his feet. “I’m ready to go back now, please.”
The god chuckled darkly. “I swear you have a stubborner head than anyone I’ve ever met. Well, nearly everyone.” His eyes pierced through Baz. “Are you sure you wish to go back again so soon?”
“Yes. I’m sure.”
The god sighed, snapped his fingers.
And when Baz found himself on Dovermere Cove for the fifth time, he headed not for Obscura Hall, but for the library.
To meet the boy he suspected had been the god’s apprentice before him.
14EMORY
THE GODSWORLD TREMBLED AGAIN ASanother wave of ash spilled through the door; on the other side, the skies had darkened to an impossible black, giant forks of neon lightning threatening to bring the entire mountain chain down. Emory could make out a horde of white spots in the sky—the Songless astride their winged horses, she was sure of it, heading their way as if called here by the disappearance of their master.
“What happened here?” Nisha’s question cut through the silence like a knife. She stared at the three body-shaped mounds of ash in the fountain, then at the spot where Atheia had disappeared. “What happened to—to Romie?”
