“Caleb Chen.”
Caleb goes. Delia comes back.
Each name called is another step closer to my turn.
Maybe it’ll be okay. Maybe Tobias can only see surface memories. Maybe he won’t dig deep enough to find?—
“Rebecca Gibson.”
Rebecca goes. Delia returns.
“Jade Harrington.”
The world narrows to a pinpoint.
Delia stands in the doorway, clipboard in hand, that same scattered expression on her face.
“Jade.” Evie’s hand rests on my elbow. “Your turn. You’ve got this.”
No. I really,reallydon’t have this.
But I can’t do anything except put one foot in front of the other, walk toward Delia, and follow her up the circular steps to the Observatory where Tobias Cane is waiting to crack my skull open and see every terrible thing I’ve done.
As we walk, Delia fills the silence with a stream of consciousness I can barely follow.
“Fascinating architecture, really, the way the Observatory connects to the main building. Most people don’t realize it was added during the third expansion in 1847, which was controversial at the time because the original architects believed that…”
Tuning her out, I visualize the glass sphere Logan told me to picture in my chest when I need to contain my magic. I’m supposed to identify my emotion, contain it, and seal it behind curved glass where it can buzz without breaking free.
Fear. Guilt. Oliver’s body hitting volcanic rock.
I imagine each emotion as a bright, terrible object and push it behind glass, sealing it shut one by one.
Thunder rumbles in the distance, cutting through my thoughts.
“Oh my.” Delia pauses on the landing, peering out a window at the darkening sky. “The weather on this island, honestly—one moment it’s perfectly pleasant, the next the volcano is throwing a tantrum. Did you know that volcanic islands often have their own unique microclimate patterns? It’s because the…”
She keeps talking, but I’ve stopped listening. Because outside the window, clouds are gathering, thick and dark, churning with the kind of storm energy that doesn’t come from weather patterns or volcanic microclimates.
They have to be from me, right?
Pressure builds behind my ribs, and the air tastes like metal. It’s that sharp, ozone tang that means my magic is leaking, the storm inside me reaching out to the one brewing outside.
Yep. Definitely from me.
“Here we are!” Delia gestures to a door at the top of the stairs. “Councilman Cane is waiting inside. I’ll be right here when you’re finished. It shouldn’t be more than ten minutes or so.”
“Thanks,” I manage, and then, somehow, I push open the door.
The Observatory is stunning under normal circumstances—a circular room topped by a massive glass dome that offers an unobstructed view of the sky. A giant brass telescope sits in the center, astronomical instruments line the walls, and the flooris inlaid with a detailed star map that mirrors the one in the ballroom below.
But right now, all I can see is Tobias Cane.
He stands in the center of the room, his pale eyes fixed on me with an intensity that makes my skin crawl. Even though he looks only a year or two older than Logan, those eyes have a depth that makes it seem like he’s carrying the weight of centuries.
“Jade Harrington,” he says, softer than I expected. “Please come in. You can close the door behind you.”
I do as he says, my hands trembling as I push the heavy door shut. The click of the latch sounds like a death knell.
