I blinked back tears at Mamá’s voice. Even though she was dead, somehow her ring had saved me. I had no idea what she’d meant by chrono-energy or how I’d been able to talk to her, but all that mattered was that I was alive and that Hiram—
Hiram!
I looked around in the darkness, but his body was nowhere to be found. I was alone in the dark—or at least I hoped I was alone. The fact that nothing had happened to my body while I was gone hopefully meant the killer wasn’t around.
A muffled sob escaped, and I hurriedly wiped the tears from my eyes. Hiram must be alive or he would still been here. Did that mean that he’d heard my confession about how I couldn’t stand the thought of losing him? Unless the fact that he hadn’t died meant I’d never confessed. I had no idea how much of the past had still happened and how much had changed.
Shakily, I climbed to my feet and searched the landings for Hiram before making my way to the ground floor. My body ached with each step, and a headache built behind my eyes. The clock’s loud clicking had me glancing over my shoulder every once in a while. I couldn’t help but feel that I wasn’t alone in here after the fight I’d just seen, but I made it to the bottom without running into anyone else.
At the bottom floor, I let out a breath. Hiram wasn’t anywhere in the clock, so he had to be alive.
I stopped before opening the door. That weird storm had stolen my gloves and probably left me looking disheveled. I did my best to straighten my hair and my dress, then I used my skirt to open the door.
For a moment, I stood there, squinting in the brightness while my body ached. My feet itched to run to the Iron Watch to see if Hiram was there. To make sure he was safe.
I stumbled down the steps and waited for a chance to cross the hazardous lanes of traffic. My legs were weak, so I whistled at a nearby steamcab and climbed inside. “Please take me to the Iron Watch, then to Annandale Manor.”
The man bobbed his head, giving me a not-so-subtle once-over—no doubt recognizing me from the articles in the paper. He pulled off the roundabout and onto the street that led to the Eighth Chime.
I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes. My hands trembled in my lap, and my body ached all over. Tomorrow was supposed to be my wedding day, with the renewal only days after. If I called off my engagement, the papers would explode and Papá would be furious. It might jeopardize his campaign for Prime Meridian as well as my plan to help the Lower Chimes, but with one candidate dead and another accused of murder, everything was already uncertain.
I’d agreed to the engagement because it made sense at the time. Desmarc and I both had something to gain, and I convinced myself I could learn to love him. But that illusion had shattered the moment I realized my heart held someone else. To go through with it now would be unfair to us both, a mistake that would wound deeper the longer I let it drag on.
Desmarc had always supported my ambitions, even offering to help me enroll in AIR U, but he didn’t understand my passions. He would never understand why the Iron Watch mattered or why helping the Lower Chimes was worth every risk. I couldn’t abandon that part of myself—not for him, not for anyone. I needed the chance to discover who I really was, to make choices without fear of compromise, and to build a future free of regret.
So, I couldn’t marry Desmarc. I cared for Hiram more than I’d thought possible—enough to risk my life, even change time itself for him. But more than that, I owed it to myself to make the right choice, not just the one that kept everyone else happy.
Desmarc deserved someone who could fully commit to him, someone who shared his values and vision for the future. I couldn’t give him that, and I didn’t want to trap either of us in a future where neither of us could truly be happy.
The driver stopped along the side of the road. “We’re here, miss.”
“Thank you.” I put a hand on the door but hesitated in the cab. I needed to see for myself that Hiram was alive, but I was scared. It was impossible to know if he remembered what I’d told him while he was dying or how he would react to seeing me.
“Are you going in?” the driver asked.
“I’m—”
As if he heard me, Hiram stepped out the imposing front doors. He took off down the street with purposeful strides, and I let out a breath.
He was fine. He was alive.
There were many things we needed to talk about, but all of them could wait until I had a chance to talk to Papá tonight and Desmarc in the morning.
I sat back in the seat. “Please take me to Annandale Manor.”
“As you wish, miss.”
Mamá’s ring sparkled in a burst of sunlight coming through the window, and I lifted my hand to study it. The inner glow I’d noticed when I first picked it up was gone. Now it looked like a normal silver band with a diamond resting among the swirls and shapes in the shield. Maybe that had been the chrono-energy Mamá had talked about.
My chest ached at the memory of her voice—or maybe it was just the residual pain still crackling through me—and I cradled my hand with her ring against my chest. There was so much about Slipping and Mamá I still didn’t know. I’d have to talk to Papá when I got home, if he was still willing to talk after the news I was going to share.
My mind circled back to that moment when I first heard Mamá and the warmth in her voice. It had felt so real, as though she had been standing right in front of me. I had no idea how I’d heard her or what had happened with the ring. The more I tried to think about it, the more tangled everything became. But one thing was certain: I needed to figure it out before it pulled me deeper into something I didn’t understand.
My body was exhausted after being attacked, and everything begged for me to close my eyes and rest. The motion of the steamcab and the hiss of the engine lulled me to sleep, and the next thing I knew, the driver called, “We’ve arrived.”
I blinked and rubbed my eyes, then stepped down and handed the driver a few knobs. “Thank you.”
As the steamcab pulled away, I stood there, staring up at the house and bracing myself for the confrontation. No matter what Papá said, I’d stand firm with my decision. I was through living my life for others or running away from my problems. trying to be something that I wasn’t. I was even through trying to be Mamá.
“Is that you, Kyra?”
“Yes, Papá.”
“One of Geneve’s ladies dropped off your wedding dress half an hour ago. It’s in your room.” He poked his head out of the study as he straightened his tie. One eyebrow rose as he took in my disheveled state. “Hurry and change for tonight’s charity gala so we aren’t late.”