unopened on my desk, its warnings imprinted on my mind like a bruise on my skin. I can ignore it. Pretend this isn't happening. But I won't. Because the dreams won't let me be.

r to me, into my room without asking. The moment he does, the air seems to distort-charged with something invisible, something pulling on the edges of reality. I close the door on his back, my heart pounding. "Who are you?" He doesn't answer right away. Instead, he takes in the room-his gaze flickering briefly to the book on my desk, then to the satchel that Eadric had left behind, as though he already knows what's in it. At last, he speaks. "I am the one who stands between." I frown. "Between what?" "The fracture." His voice is smooth, but there's a note to it, something taut. "And the people who attempt to expand it." I curl my hands into fists. "You're referring to Kairos." Something crosses Rowan's expression. Not horror, but something thicker. Something understanding. "The bond between you is fragile," he says. "And the nearer you come to him, the more your worlds disintegrate." I shake my head. "Then why am I dreaming about him? Why does it feel like-" My voice breaks, but I go on. "Why does it feel like I already know him?" Rowan stares at me for a long time. Then he says, quietly-almost hesitantly: "Because you do." The room falls silent. I stare at him, struggling to process his words. "That's not possible. I've never-" "You have." Rowan steps closer, his silver eyes darkening. "But not in this life." A chill slides through me. The dream. The temple. The way Kairos's eyes had felt like home. I have known him before. Somewhere beyond memory, beyond time itself. My breath comes uneven now. "What does that mean? That we've been-" "Bound." Rowan's voice is firm. "Lifetime after lifetime. Always finding each other. Always falling apart." His words hit me like a blow. Deteriorating. I shake my head. "There has to be a way to stop it." Rowan watches me, his face impassive. Then, quietly, he speaks: "There is." For the second time tonight, I already know the answer before he says it. "Let him go," Rowan tells me. "Sever the bond before it's too late." A silence hangs between us. I harshly exhale, step back, shaking my head. "No." Rowan doesn't blink. Doesn't try to convince me. He merely watches. And then, finally, he speaks. "Then you should prepare yourself, Lyra." His tone is almost gentle now. "Because the moment you step in his direction, the moment you take him-the fracture will take both of you." The words are heavy on my chest, like stones. And for the first time, since all of this began, I feel it-the pull of something huge and unstoppable. A fate that has replayed. And a love that might kill us both. The space is tighter now, the air heavy with somethingangible. I know Rowan is waiting for an answer, but I don't have one to provide-not yet. I step back from him, patting my arms as if that will shake the weight of his words off me. Lifetime after lifetime. Falling apart. I have no idea what to do with that. I don't even know how to believe it. "I don't understand," I say at last. "If we've been bound before-if this keeps happening-why? Why even h