Page 103 of Chaos Carnival

“No.” I brought my lips to her temple. “Nothing is too much. Not for you. Not for us.”

“Your wings drip with forever-promises.” She sighed, reaching up to trace the edge of my jaw. “But look how the webs weep for what was lost. All our endless breaking, just to keep me from scattering where I belong.”

“We chose this,” I growled, the words rumbling deep in my chest. “All of us. We chose you.”

Lilith cleared her throat. “The hunger will grow stronger. You'll need to—“

“Feast on fear's sweet nectar,” Tess finished, her voice taking on that shattered-glass edge again. “Paint terror's lovely colors across the canvas. What delicious nightmares we'll create.”

I caught Addie as she stumbled back into our circle, her grip white-knuckled around a stack of sealed envelopes. Oscar's crystal skull balanced on top.

“Quite rude, really,” Oscar drawled. “Leaving me to gather dust on that ghastly shelf while you lot engaged in dramatic sacrificial rituals. I do hate missing the good parts.”

“The paper birds came willingly?” Tess asked, her head tilting at a curious angle. “They do so love to nest in worthy hands.”

“I... yes.” Addie's voice shook as she tried to focus. The hunger was clearly worse for her, being new to supernatural appetite. “There's one for each of us.”

Stone paced at the edge of our circle, a muffled grunt with each agitated movement. “Then give them out so we can deal with this.” His tone was sharp, but his eyes kept darting to Tess with concern.

“The need bites so deeply now.” Tess observed, watching him with sympathy.

Lux placed a steadying hand on Stone's shoulder, though his own tension was evident. “We're all feeling it.”

Addie's hands trembled as she distributed the letters, each envelope humming with traces of power. When she handed me mine, the paper felt warm, alive.

“The threads whispered all your names,” Tess murmured, watching the distribution with distant fascination. “Wrote them in sand and glass, each letter a piece of tomorrow's puzzle.”

“Tess...” My voice caught as she shifted in my arms.

“Such pretty edges,” she observed, reaching up to trace the air around us. “Everyone's getting sharper, darker. But still woven together.”

“We need to feed,” Stone snarled, but his hand gentled when he touched Tess's shoulder.

“It's already worse,” Addie whispered, pressing her hand against her stomach. “Is it supposed to feel like this? Like I'm being hollowed out?”

Lux moved to support her as she swayed. “We'll handle it together.”

“The letters know,” Tess insisted, her voice taking on an urgent edge. “They've seen all our violence, all our sins. Read them, before hunger drowns out their wisdom.”

The wax cracked under my touch. Inside, her familiar flowing script filled the page.

“Read it,” she whispered, her eyes reflecting impossible colors. “The threads wove this one special, just for you.”

I unfolded the paper, drinking in her words:

My love,

Do you remember when I told you that breaking and rebuilding was part of our story? I wasn't just talking about our past. I knew this was coming months ago, saw myself dying so our family could live. In every future where we survive, this happens.

You're going to hate it. You're going to blame yourself for not protecting me. Stop. This was my choice. I checked every possibility, every path we could take, and I chose this one. Because in this future, you survive. Our family survives. The price is my life, but darling, that was always on borrowed time anyway.

I know what this will do to you. I've seen your pain, your grief, your desperate need to fix what can't be fixed. But here's what you need to understand—if you find a way to bring me back, I won't return the same. The strands showed me those impossible futures too, where death wasn't the end. It's not worth the price. I'm choosing this fate, because the alternatives were unacceptable.

The threads showed me so many versions of us. In some, I stayed powerful and whole but watched you die. In others, I tried to find different ways to save everyone, but they all ended in blood and loss. This path, where I sacrifice myself so everyone else can live? This is the one where love wins. Not an easy love, not a simple one. But real. Ours.

Keep our family safe. Keep the circus moving. And remember, I chose this. I chose you. I will always choose you.

Forever yours, Your little monster

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