The Veil break location that Calen picked was, weirdly, in the middle of the Virginia woods.

Honestly, I'd expected Calen to go back to the park in town. We knew it was a crossing point, so it might be easier to break through, but no. He'd opted for something I wasn't sure he was capable of: subtlety.

I wasn't sure why Elise had mentioned horses when she went through plans, because there certainly were no horses on our hike. There were about thirty ATVs packed with supplies, some carrying mysterious unlabeled boxes and others holding riders in fighting leathers. Even I was afforded some degree of leather armor. It didn't seem particularly sturdy, but it was better than street clothes.

It was also much sweatier than street clothes, but at least I didn't have to walk the eight miles down the trail through the mountains. ATVs were noisy, but certainly convenient.

The party of about fifty people, which seemed overlarge for a heist but not too small for an assassination attempt, journeyed forward along a random trail I'd never been on before, working our way towards a seemingly random set of coordinates.

The problem? I hadn't been able to get a message to Dante to tell him where Calen's group planned to break through the Veil. I did get the location a couple days ago, but I never figured out how to get a message out without alerting one of the guards, and that could crumble any previous preparation.

Worse, Elise had disappeared. Twenty-four hours before the entire Witches' Collective marched on the Veil, I couldn't find her anywhere. I couldn't even risk asking what happened to her, at least not asking Calen, and no one else seemed to know, either.

We walked for hours, slowly progressing towards the location that Calen had described, but when we arrived, it wasn't what I expected.

The path opened up to reveal a small clearing, and I was shocked to see a full camp already set in place. The entirety of the Virginia Witch's Collective must have been there, plus... No, this was too many for only the one group. There had to be witches from all the other Collectives out there too, Calen's operatives from across the country all centralizing here for one make-or-break mission.

There were at least five hundred people at the camp, all set up with turrets and tents and weaponry- some modern and some magical. There wasn't a clear weak point in the Veil at this location, but I wasn't sure that mattered. If Calen could break it open however he wanted like using a glass cutter on a windowpane, then it made sense that he'd pick a spot to gather his forces that was discreet.

When Calen and the planning group left the compound, taking me with them, I thought the place looked a little empty. However, I hadn't expected to meet up with an entire army in the woods.

This was not good.

The Sylvan army could overpower them, yes, but only if they had the correct location and the element of surprise. I was certain that Calen had a very, very limited capacity as the Hourglass, but I didn't want to push it. Even with his abilities severely restricted, he could still cause significant trouble.

Plus, at least some of these people didn't want to be here. The Sylvan army was skilled, assuming that Dante had even managed to get back and convince the Council to send aid, but they wouldn't want to use lethal force if they could avoid it, and-

And-

And I needed to stop thinking about logistics right now. This was not a good train of thought.

"Why are there so many people?" I asked, trying to keep my tone wide-eyed and innocent. "I thought this was supposed to be a small group sneaking in and out."

"Did you? Cute," Calen said. "It's adorable that you think taking over the Court would be a small job."

Play dumb, I chanted in my head. Play dumb, play dumb, don't let him think you know what's going on.

"Surely you didn't think I'd really tell you everything," Calen scoffed. "Please. I'm not an idiot. Even a witch's promise has limits."

It did, but he didn't realize that I was aware that promise was gone. I wasn't sure what price he'd paid to break it, but I knew exactly how he'd pay by the time this was over. I wasn't planning to let Calen get out of this alive.

The sudden realization that this might be our final stand shot through me like lightning. There were things I wished I'd done to prepare, things I wished I'd said, but there was no use in worrying about it now. I had to work with what I had, and part of it was Calen's apparent assumption that I was some kind of idiot.

"So what are we doing?" I asked through gritted teeth. "What do you expect me to do?"

"I expect you to not interfere," he said pointedly. "Unless you plan to help me, of course."

"I'll help you into your coffin," I grumbled.

"Fine."

Calen raised his hand above his head and snapped his fingers twice. I blinked, puzzled, but it became very clear what was happening as four huge men broke off from the rest of the group, marched towards us, and circled me like vultures.

It was not the first time I regretted opening my fat mouth, and I certainly hoped it wouldn't be the last, but at the moment, it was certainly the most inconvenient.

They reached out for my arms and legs, working together to bind my wrists and ankles. I tried to scream, but one of them went so far as to gag me, stuffing a handkerchief in my mouth to muffle my cries.

I fought back, kicking and elbowing as they tried to rein me in, but I wasn't strong enough to overpower four men twice my size. No one from the marching company interfered, and I couldn't blame them. Dante had done his best, but we only had a very small number of rebels capable of free action. The tattoo removal was a painful process that consumed a large amount of magic. We were lucky to have the few we did.

There were others ready to move, I knew. I'd told Elise to circulate the plan to those she knew she could trust, to find some way to mark themselves so we could identify them, and to be ready when we arrived at the Veil.

But... Elise wasn't here. I was tied up. I had no clue where Dante was or if he'd made it back safely. Things were looking bleak. The person who gagged me didn't do it very well, and I spat the cloth out onto the ground, glancing around for potential help.

I found none.

"Pathetic," Calen said, laughing in a way that seemed oddly and genuinely cheerful. "The Weaver can't even undo some ropes."

I glared, but he was right. When I'd used the Threads for magic before, I'd wrapped them around things with my hands...

... but I could still do that. Calen didn't know that I could use Threads for abstract magic, or at least didn't understand the extent of it. He'd never bothered to ask or understand, assuming he knew more about me and my magic than I ever could simply because he'd lived around so many of my past selves.

"Let me go, you fucking psychopath!" I grunted, managing to catch one of Calen's flunkies in the nose with my elbow. That, at least, was satisfying.

"I can't. Unfortunately, part of my plan to take over the Sylvan Court involves killing everyone in the castle. Princes are included. I need to get rid of any lingering attachments before your next life." Calen clapped his hands together, smiling gently, as though he'd just promised to take me out to dinner for my birthday.

He was beyond delusional. The man was psychotic.

The threat on my life and on Dante's within the same breath was enough to drive me over the edge, a steely sense of resolution settling into my bones. I was past the point of being scared, past the point of snapping back.

I might be restrained, but I still had my magic, I still had the Threads, and we still had a chance. With any luck, Dante brought the message back of a planned break-in at the Court. We might not have immediate reinforcement, but the Sylvans should be prepared for that thanks to Callie and Elise.

All wasn't lost.

"Quiet? Good," Calen said, shrugging. "Took you long enough."

"Do we move now?" one of the men asked.

"No point in wasting time," Calen said, shrugging.

My eyes went wide. I hadn't planned on them immediately taking off to break the Veil! We'd traveled for miles through the woods, and most of us were exhausted, not ready to pick a fight. There wasn't exactly a choice if Calen planned to immediately take action, though.

It was now or never, and I was solidly out of plans and out of time.

Think, think, think, think!

The tallest of the four men who restrained me, a burly witch I recognized from security detail around the building, gripped my arm painfully tight and pulled me to the side.

My feet dragged through the dirt as he plopped me down on the ground at the outskirts of the camp, forcing my back against a large tree. Another of the four men who bound me wrapped a rope around the tree, which... Honestly, it felt excessive. It also felt futile, considering that I planned to break them at the first opportune moment, but they didn't know that.

"Friends! Comrades! Fellow witches!" Calen cried, drawing the attention of the camp.

I was pretty sure he'd stolen inspiration for that from one of Shakespeare's monologues, but I had other things to worry about at the moment. I leaned a little closer, hoping to make out more of what he was saying.

"The time has arrived to take back our home," he continued. "A land made of magic should be ours, and we cannot reclaim it without taking the Sylvan throne. This is but the first step in our grand journey to create a pure world for witches, the true heirs of the earth and everything on it!"

I mentally added "Nazi" to the list of adjectives describing Calen.

A cheer went up from the crowd, but... it wasn't as big or enthusiastic as I'd expected. Strange. I knew there were a number of cult members that were forced or coerced into the living ink tattoos, but I wasn't certain how many. Maybe those numbers were even higher than I expected.

Calen continued to speak, entirely undeterred.

"You know your teams. In only a few moments, I will break open the Veil. This location will drop us in the back gardens of the Sylvan Court. Move swiftly, move silently, and move efficiently. When the job is done, they will hear our victory call." Calen took a deep breath. "Fight with everything you have. My magic will ensure that we win the day... no matter how many tries it takes."

Another cheer... and some pointed side eyes.

I noticed one or two people nudging, a few hesitant glances towards where I was tied to the tree. I wanted to shout that Calen couldn't rewind, or at least could barely rewind, but I kept silent. It needed this time to set up my own magic.

I could still see the Threads, though not as clearly or for as long. My magic was weak, but not as weak as Calen's. I was still connected to my past, my future, to the fabric of the universe in a way that he wasn't anymore, thanks to my snipping. Our continued existences fed the barest hint of magic, but only the smallest bit.

Luckily, that was all I needed. As Calen set up the spell to forcibly crash through the invisible Veil, I twisted my hands and urged Threads into place, winding around the ropes, winding around the tree, winding around my ankles. I had to move slowly, disguising my careful, calculated motions as futile struggling, but I made it there.

I was ready to break out as soon as the Veil went down.

I might have to run for it. If there was no one in place to defend the Court, I'd have to intercept the assassinations myself. I had no idea how to do that- I couldn't change their Threads like I had with Dante, not with my magic this week, so it would have to be sheer determination and physical interference.

As I worked through all the panicked half-plans in my mind, muscles tense and heart pounding, I watched as the Veil went down.

It didn't look like I'd expected, like shattering glass or a cannon hitting a wall. Instead, it was a bit more like watching something dissolve, like acid eating through metal or fire burning away at wood planks. The Sylvan lands on the other side of the Veil slowly became visible, starting with the sky that had bright stars even in the daytime.

At first, I couldn't see much through the strange fog. Calen's groups were ready to rush in, but they didn't seem particularly tense. After all, this was a stealth mission for them, at least at the heart of it. The rest of the troops wouldn't file in until later, to secure the rest of the Court or in case of emergency.

I watched as the barrier dissolved, the fog slowly breaking away to reveal the castle on the other side, bright gardens in full bloom, and... a sight that I certainly had not expected.

There, on the other side of the Veil break, was a whole host of armored Sylvans, weapons in hand. And, to my surprise, the figures at the very front were not generals, not Council members, and not the King and Queen.

It was Callie and Elise leading the charge.

Hope swelled in my chest, a bright smile on my face. Elise must have made a run for the Court to get the location to the Sylvans in time! That was why she disappeared!

"Let 'em have it!" Callie called, raising her sword.

"Frangis," I muttered, tugging at the binds around my arms and ankles. The ropes snapped apart at my command, and I pushed them away as quickly as I could.

"It's a trap!" Calen cried. "Use full force- kill them all!"

In that moment, Calen's enforcers forgot about me, forgot about the rest of the plan, and ran forward with magic and claws bared. I had approximately two seconds to act, and I wasn't going to waste it.

The Sylvan forces surged forward, though I could see they had an extensive back line. I hoped it included healers, because that was the one thing that Calen didn't have on his side. There were a few Sylvans and witches with healing abilities here, from what I could gather, but no one strong enough to tip the scales.

Calen's small army charged, too. They clearly weren't planning to take on a military force this large. The Sylvan army could overtake them with sheer numbers. However, Calen still had his time magic. He couldn't rewind very far, but he could still rewind, and that could still turn the day in his favor if he had enough time to use it.

That was why I ran straight for him.