It’s gone.

But it was here. Lyon had it.

It was right here, in the head of the staff, when he showed me the vision in his office last week. He looked inside it, and he saw something. . . .

I had hoped it would not come to this.

My shout echoes off the walls. I hurl the staff and it clatters over the stone.

Lyon knew! He knew this moment would happen, and he hid the crystal to punish me.

My breath billows out in angry white clouds. Ice slides into my veins, my Winter magic stirring awake as if it’s responding to an unconscious thought. I pant, looking down at the frost on my hands.

Time . . . it stopped when I needed it to. When I commanded it to. It answered to my desires just like my Winter magic. Time is just another form of magic. If I can control the elements, I can control this, too.

I take a deep breath, assessing the room. Coming up with a plan.

Restart time. Save Kai. Together, we’ll figure out what to do with Gaia’s magic.

The staff sticks to my palm as I bend to retrieve it, the cold skin pulling painfully as I rise to my feet and position myself close to Kai. I raise my eye to the clock. Focusing on the long brass second hand, I envision it ticking. Imagine pushing it to the right. My blackened eye burns as the magic stirs inside me.

“Forward,” I whisper.

A sudden burst of wind rips the scythe from my hand. I barrel into Kai, tackling her out of the way as the debris crashes down. Gaia’s magic howls, bouncing off the ceiling and twisting against the walls. The lights flicker and die, until the only light left is the raging glow of Gaia’s magic. The Guards run for cover. Kai coughs, shielding her eyes from the dust. I pull her to her feet as the storm builds around us.

“You killed them!” Her hair blows like daggers across her eyes. She jerks her hand from mine and backs away from me, her gaze locking on the scythe on the floor. “You said you would take the staff. You never said you would kill them!” Wind whips through the Control Room, hurling glass and throwing papers off the desk. “Gaia’s magic is loose now. We’re all going to die!”

She turns to run. I grab her and turn her chin toward me. “We’re not going to die! I promised you’d be safe. That you would have your magic. We’re going to fix this. You and me. Do you understand?” I’ll make her more powerful than she ever imagined. I’ll put her on a fucking throne at my side if it means we both walk out of here alive. “You’ll take Gaia’s power. I’m going to give you her magic.”