Kerrigan pulled back. Wynter argued behind her, and Fordham shouted right back, but Kerrigan wasn’t listening. She wasn’t done. She stepped through the barrier and out onto the stone balcony. A well of shouts followed her casual step across the barrier. Anger and excitement and fear, all a chorus that echoed through her brain. The expectations of so many people, all in one place.

“What are you doing, Kerrigan?” Fordham asked.

But she didn’t answer him; she brought her hand back up to that rift. Felt the seams of it wrap around her like a gentle embrace. There it was. This was the crack that Wynter had seen. A fracture years in the making. It was as if the spreading of the magic around the balcony had pulled it too tight. Like stretching pie dough to its absolute thinnest and praying to any god who would listen that it wouldn’t break.

Except here, she wanted to exploit that weakness and take the whole damn thing down with her.

Kerrigan leaned into it, took a deep breath, and then pulled her hand down. Nothing happened. The moment of anticipation popped like a bubble. She opened her eyes, deflated. It wouldn’t work. Not like this. And she didn’t know enough about this magic to make it work for her.

She opened her mouth to admit defeat when she felt a tug on her magic. She jumped in surprise but couldn’t remove her hand from the barrier. It was as if the spell itself were alive. A bright, blinding light filled the space. The one that Wynter must have seen all along. Kerrigan could suddenly see the entire golden glow of the barrier in all of its glory.

It pulled harder.

Her eyes flew wide. She could hear Wynter’s panicked questions. Fordham tried to cross the barrier, and it refused him. He jammed his shoulder against the thing that had once let him out. His eyes were terrified. All of his fears realized once more.

The barrier sank its claws into her. She tipped her head back and screamed, collapsing onto the cold, hard balcony floor. Her vision went black at the edges. The last thing she saw was Fordham’s desperate attempt to reach her.

Then, everything went dark.

A girl stepped up to Cavour. Her wide, dark eyes looked at the empty village with pity. War had not been kind to the once-beautiful village. Dragon fire had destroyed nearly half the place in one go. Only the mountains had saved the people within, leaving the humans and half-Fae to fend for themselves against a war they didn’t want.

“I am sorry,” she said.

“Mei, are you sure?” a voice asked behind her. “These people… they don’t deserve this.”

“They don’t.” Mei whirled around to find a handsome young man before her. Her heart constricted.