Page 85 of Three Scorched Kingdoms

Paige steps forward, determination hardening her features. “Is there anything we can do? We can’t just leave things like this.”

The spirit’s gaze turns to Paige, her eyes softening with something like affection. “Your magic, Paige, has always been the key. You hold within you the power to create and restore, to bring balance where there is chaos. You have already done so much more than you realize.”

Paige looks puzzled. “What do you mean?”

The spirit smiles, a knowing, almost cryptic expression. She opens her mouth to respond, but her form flickers, and the words are lost as she blinks in and out.

“Whoa, you’re breaking up or something,” Mag says.

“What did she say?” Paige asks.

Athenaeum flickers back into sight. Her words come through, but there’s a buzzing behind them now. “You will understand in time. Trust in yourself, in your magic. The Athenaeum may be gone, but its essence endures in you.”

“Me?” Paige echoes. “What do you mean?”

“Why do you think I chose you?”

“I don’t know?—”

Before Paige can ask more, the spirit begins to fade, the light dimming as she speaks her final words. “The stories never truly end, Paige. They evolve, just as you must. This is not the end but a new beginning.”

And with that, the spirit of the Atheneum vanishes along with the Book of Origins she came from, leaving us standing in the ruins, surrounded by the quiet echoes of what once was.

23

PAIGE

The air is thick with smoke and silence as I stand in the center of what was once a grand library and—more than that, a home. Now, nothing more than a cavern of ashes and debris remains. The Athanaeum’s cryptic parting words press down on me.This is not the end but a new beginning.

The way she’d looked right at me made my magic tingle.

As if she’d been speaking more to it than me.

Maybe she had been. Maybe…

My heart races, a mix of hope and fear swirling in my chest as I look around. I know what I have to do, but I have no idea if I can actually pull it off.

“What are you thinking, Paige?” Aries asks, his voice soft but laced with concern. His hand rests on my shoulder, grounding me as I stare at the ashen ruins.

“I’m thinking…” I begin then hesitate, swallowing hard as I try to gather my thoughts. “I’m thinking I have to try something. But I don’t know if it’ll work.”

Blossom steps closer, her gaze steady. “You heard what the Athenaeum said. Your magic is the key. If anyone can do this, it’s you.”

“I know, but…” I trail off, my eyes scanning the destruction around us. “What if I can’t? What if I try and nothing happens? What if I make things worse?”

Mag chimes in, his usual cheerfulness subdued. “If she’s telling the truth, the end of the world is coming. It can’t get worse than that.”

Blossom shoves him lightly and rolls her eyes. “Not helpful.”

“I think the last few months have shown us it can always get worse,” I say dryly.

“You can’t think like that,” Aries adds, his voice firm. “You’ve done the impossible before. You can do it again.”

I look into his eyes, seeing the belief there, the trust he has in me. It’s enough to make me take a deep breath, even though doubt still lingers in the back of my mind.

“Okay,” I say, more to myself than to anyone else. “Here we go.”

The others step back, giving me space as I close my eyes and reach deep inside myself, searching for the well of magic that’s always there, pulsing just beneath the surface. I can feel it, a warm, vibrant energy that thrums in time with my heartbeat.

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