Page 70 of Wicked Bonds
I shake my head. The words are confusing. But then…
Holy shit.
This is what Soren meant.
Not where, but when.
I flip pages frantically, looking for more, and find a diagram showing the academy grounds, but overlaid with what looks like clock faces, each showing different times. The garden is marked, but so are other locations. The ballroom. The administrative wing. The library itself.
“Temporal anchors,” the text explains. “Where past, present, and potential future overlap. These spaces are ideal for concealing objects of power, as they exist outside normal relation.”
My brain tries to keep up with the text, but if I’m reading this right, the hidden chamber isn’t hidden at all. It’s here, right here, just not in the same now that I’m in. It’s tucked between seconds, existing in a moment that never quite arrives. That’s why I couldn’t find it by searching physically. I was looking in the right place but the wrong time.
But how do you access something that exists between moments? How do you step sideways through time without actually time traveling?
The next page has the answer, and if my blood went cold before, now it’s roaring like an inferno.
“Blood magic can pierce temporal concealments, as blood exists simultaneously in all moments of its lineage. A bloodmarked witch carries their entire ancestral timeline within their veins. With proper focus and intent, they can reach through their own temporal existence to access hidden moments.”
I’m barely breathing.
There’s a note in the margin, written in darker, less faded ink.
“Not a place, but a moment. The moment that started it all.”
My heart stops. This note is recent. Someone knew I’d find this book. Someone’s guiding me, but who? Not Drake, he’d just tell me. Not Lucien, he already said he couldn’t help me. Soren? Maybe, but this doesn’t feel like him, either.
Footsteps in the hallway make me freeze. Slow, but getting closer. I snap the book shut and shove it into my bag, I’m not leaving this behind, consequences be damned. The footsteps pause outside the library door.
The handle turns.
I duck behind a shelf, pressing myself against the books, trying to breathe silently. The door opens with a quiet creak, and someone steps inside. They don’t turn on the lights either, which means they don’t want to be caught any more than I do.
“I know you’re here, Rose.”
Wickersly’s voice slithers through the darkness.
I’m sure my heart actually stops beating for a very real moment.
She knows. Somehow, she knows.
“Come out,” she continues, her heels clicking on the floor as she moves deeper into the library. “We need to discuss your recent extracurricular activities. Your search for things that don’t want to be found.”
I stay frozen, my breathing shallow. The book in my bag feels like it weighs a thousand pounds. The bloodmark burns so hot it hurts.
“I can make this easy or very, very difficult, Rose.” Wickersly says, and she’s closer now, maybe two aisles over. “But one way or another, you’re coming with me tonight. The Coven would like to speak with you regarding your recent behavior. We have questions.”
I close my eyes, trying to think. There’s a window at the back of this section, but it’s three stories up. The main door is blocked by Wickersly.
Unless…
The book talked about existing between moments. About bloodmarked witches being able to access their temporal existence. What if I could step sideways, just for a second? Just long enough to slip past her?
It’s insane. I have no idea how to do it. But the alternative is letting Wickersly take me to the Coven, and I have a feeling that’s a one-way trip.
“Last chance, Rose,” Wickersly calls out, and now she’s in the next aisle. One more turn and she’ll see me.
I focus on the cold burn of the bloodmark, and think about the space between heartbeats. The pause between breaths. The moment between one second and the next. I try to do what Lucien said, what Soren taught me. I reach out to my magic and I feel it responding.
