XAREN'S POV
It's been a fortnight since I crossed into the other world for the second time.
The Seer had warned me, pleaded, not to return. Said I was tampering with forces older than prophecy. But I couldn't just watch from the seeing pool anymore. I needed to see her. The lawyer. Bess Donald.
I stood across the street from her apartment in the rain, the city humming with its usual unremarkable life. No pulse of power. No sigils burning in the air. Just metal and glass and machines buzzing with static.
The rain here didn't cleanse. It reminded.
The people here rush by, encased in umbrellas and wrapped in static distrac-tions.
I clutched the hood tighter around my face, blending as best I can. Still, the eyes of passersby lingered too long. Perhaps my clothes, subtly charmed for protection, glimmered strangely under these artificial lights. Or maybe they sensed the foreignness in my step. Magic never fully hides.
I reached the entrance. The pull toward her was magnetic. I can't explain it, not entirely. She's determined, fearless, and closer to the truth than anyone else has ever dared come. I killed Darren Hill because I believed in a prophecy, in a sacred balance. I thought it was Father's will. But now? Now I suspect someone used my faith against me.
The Seer warned me the prophecy had holes, deliberate omissions. "What's left unsaid is as dangerous as what is foretold," she'd whispered.
A truth I ignored.
I remember looking up at the towering buildings and wondering how anyone survived in a world like this, a place stripped of magic, where memory fades and people are measured in data, not dreams.
That night, I went closer. I climbed the stairs to her door. I didn't mean to leave anything behind, but magic tied to intent is unpredictable. A flickering symbol from Elaris, ancient, unmistakable burned faintly on her doorstep for only seconds before it vanished. A residue of my presence. A sign meant for no one.
Did she see it?
Something tells me she did. Something tells me she felt me there.
Now, I wait. I watch. Not in this world, not today but through the Seer's pool, hidden deep in the Sanctum. I see her pacing in her small apartment. Focused. Unshaken. She's preparing for the first court hearing, and her resolve is dan-gerous.
She's getting close to the truth. Closer than anyone in either world has dared.
And I… I was the blade that ended Darren Hill's life.
I was told he was the threat. That he was building something that could expose the fabric between our worlds. But no one ever told me why it was dangerous. Or what he was truly working on. I was manipulated, thinking that Father left me that message as part of the prophecy, but now I know there's someone with the power to manipulate
Now, Bess is asking those questions, the ones I never asked.
And I can't help but wonder…
****
BESS' POV
The shrill buzz of my phone startles me. I peel my eyes open and realize I fell asleep on the couch in just an oversized T-shirt. The apartment is still dark, but my screen tells me it's 4:07 a.m.
Jeremy's name lights up.
"Hi," I croak.
"Hey, darling," he says, his voice warm like coffee on a cold day. "I know today's the first hearing for Steve's case. Just wanted to wish you luck. And remind you, trust your gut."
I smile in the dark. "Thanks. I really needed that."
"Let me know how it goes," he adds before hanging up.
Just as I set my phone down, a text flashes in. It's from my mum.
"Praying for you today, sweetheart. You've always had the heart for the hard battles. Trust it. Love you."
I press the phone to my chest and breathe.
They both believe in me, Jeremy and Mum. Two of the most grounded people in my life. And if they see something in me… maybe I can start seeing it too.
Because I need to.
Because this case is bigger than I realized, and there's a question clawing its way to the surface that no one else seems to want to ask: What if Steve isn't lying?
What if the impossible isn't as impossible as we think?
****
The courthouse is cold, humming with anticipation.
Steve sits beside me. Fidgeting. Trying to look composed. I know he's scared. I also know he's hiding something, not guilt necessarily, but layers of his past he hasn't shared yet.
David Howard, his father, was mentioned in early files. His connection to Darren Hill feels more important than Steve realizes. And if that link is the key… then we're still missing half the lock. Some lawyers at Apex think this case is damned but I believe otherwise.
I stand as the judge enters. My heart pounds but my voice holds steady.
"Your Honor. Members of the jury," I begin, "the prosecution will show you a man caught on camera. They'll present timelines and testimonies. But they won't offer you proof."
I walk slowly, letting each word land like a pebble in still water.
"They'll ask you to believe that what you see is all there is. But what if it's not? What if what appears to be certain is, in fact, manufactured? What if what we're watching is a performance, one that someone wants us to believe?"
I pause, eyes scanning the jury.
"My client maintains his innocence. And I ask you to keep your minds open to the possibility that what you're seeing… may not be the full story."
A flicker of something shifts in the room.
Steve exhales beside me.
I don't know what truth we'll uncover by the end of this trial.
But with Jeremy's voice still in my ear, and my mother's words stitched into my chest like armor, I know this:
Even if the road ahead is layered in fog, I'm not walking it blind.
And I'm not walking it alone.