Adeline

From that distant, snowy hill, Oskari looked so small beneath the dust. The villagers—like ants—clung to one another out of fear, but also out of love. They wept out of sadness, but also out of compassion. Terrible. Beautiful. Something in between.

Click. Approximately one and one quarter hour. Click.

Not even Palisade’s simulations had prepared me for a true Amali winter. My feet ached and my boots were soaked through. Covered head to toe in ash, I looked a sorry sight, too. I brought two cases with me to the hill. Our most important possessions. And while searching for spare gloves, I found only a pair without fingers. They belonged to Enforcer Rhian. I thought of her as I slid them over my own.

Click. Approximately one and one half hour. Click.

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The Anima made a single, grave mistake. Forgive the pun, but they bunched together in their crypts, living where they should have been dead. Mister Bells set and lit the explosives in their compound, but the flaws in the foundation of the church led to its downfall. It was a calculated risk. I felt a deep, dreadful remorse for the people’s loss, but there was a certain thrill in seeing it collapse.

Click. Approximately one and three quarter hours. Click.

Commander Michael should have received my letter. He should have been standing beside me atop that distant, snowy hill. And Father Strauss. He should have been there, hurting my head with his panicked thoughts. We should have all been freezing and looking sorry together.

Click. Approximately one minute past the hour. Click.

And there, as if out of nowhere, a honey-blonde man in a crisp, white shirt and a suit the colour of red wine. I wanted so desperately to touch it. The suede would be ruined by the snow, but this was a man of beauty over compromise. And he was so beautiful.

“Tick, tock—what a fine watch you’ve got. My dear, I do believe your time has come. And what, I wonder, will your pretty story be? Romance? Yes, yes. Tragedy? Oh, yes. Close your eyes my darling, Adeline. It all begins with me.”