Chapter 29 : The Choice Is Always Yours…

He opens the book, and dust motes dance in the air. "The crown was created during what we call the Age of Convergence, when the barriers between realms were... thinner.

It was part of a series of experiments with questionable magic."

"If I'm not mistaken that can also be called forbidden magic… the real question here is forbidden by who?" Jay asks from his position near the door. He hasn't relaxed since we arrived, and I can't blame him.

"By the natural order itself," Bastian replies, his finger tracing lines of text I can't read.

"The first witches... they didn't just discover magic. They were given it. By entities that exist beyond our understanding of reality."

A chill runs down my spine as I remember the hybrid's warning about 'the third ones.' "What kind of entities?"

Bastian's eyes meet mine, and there's something like pity in them.

"The kind that don't give gifts without expecting something in return. Your hybrid nature... it connects you to them in ways we don't fully understand."

"Is that... is that a bad thing?"

"Power is never good or bad on its own," he says carefully. "But it tends to consume those who wield it. The crown and a few other artifacts like it… was meant to help control such power, but its creation came at a terrible cost. The kind of cost that leaves scars… lasting scars."

He turns a page, revealing an illustration that makes my stomach turn.

The images seem to shift and wiggle on the page, despite being clearly drawn in ink.

"The compass you found," he continues, "was meant as a beacon. A way to find the artifact's true locations." At this point he side heavily "finding their true location is the easy part, But reaching it... that will be another challenge entirely."

"Why? Where is it?"

Bastian closes the book with a snap that makes Jay jump. "In a place between places. A fold between folds… a place where the original experiments took place. The compass will guide you there, but..." He hesitates.

"But what?"

"But if my guess is correct, (which they always are)…getting there is only the beginning. The power you carry, the hybrid essence that makes you what you are... it's not just magic. It's a direct line to those ancient entities. And they've been waiting a very long time for someone like you to come along."

The bracelet on my wrist pulses, as if responding to his words. "You're saying these entities... they're interested in me?"

"I'm saying they've been watching, waiting for the right moves to unfold. You know, the crown wasn't just hidden to keep it safe… it was hidden to prevent what it might unleash if it fell into the wrong hands. Or even the right ones, depending on your perspective."

He hands me the ancient book, his movements deliberate.

"Everything I know about the crown's history is in here. But knowledge comes with a price, Olivia. The more you understand about your nature, about the forces at play... the harder it becomes to turn back."

I take the book, feeling its weight; both physical and metaphorical. "I don't have a choice. I need to understand what I am."

"You always have a choice," Bastian says sharply. "That's what makes you dangerous to them. To everyone. Your power, your hybrid nature; it gives you options that shouldn't exist. Paths that shouldn't be possible."

I look down at the book in my hands, then at the compass still spinning on the table. "And what happens if I choose wrong?"

His laugh is hollow. "Wrong by whose definition? The coven's? The entities'? Your own? That's the real question you need to answer."

The bracelet pulses again, and the compass needle spins wildly before settling with absolute certainty in one direction.

I just hope I'm ready for what we'll find.

I tuck the ancient book into my bag, trying to ignore how its presence seems to make the air around it ripple.

The compass sits heavy in my pocket, its needle now pointing steadily in what I'm pretty sure isn't any normal direction.

Jay hasn't stopped pacing since Bastian's revelations about the crown and its origins.

Every few steps, his eyes flick to me, then to the windows, then back to his feet. The worry rolling off him is almost tangible.

"We should get moving," he says for probably the third time in the last hour. "Being in one place too long…"

"Is dangerous, yes," I finish for him. "But we need to understand what we're walking into."

His jaw tightens. "What we're walking into is trouble. Big trouble. Ancient entities and forbidden magic and.." He cuts himself off, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

I get it.

Really, I do.

Every new piece of information we get seems to make our situation more complicated, more dangerous.

And Jay... My wonderful Jay is just trying to keep me safe. To protect me from threats that keep getting bigger and scarier.

But I can see what it's doing to him.

Each revelation about my nature, about the powers involved, makes him feel more... inadequate.

As if he's somehow failing because he can't fight ancient entities or the full Coven with just his werewolf strength.

Bastian appears in the doorway of his study, his expression tense. "Your friend is right about one thing - you need to leave soon." He moves to the window, peering out through gaps in the heavy curtains. "They're getting closer."

"Who is?" I ask, though I'm pretty sure I know the answer.

"Witch-Hunters," Jay confirms, his nostrils flaring. "At least a dozen, moving in from the north."

Bastian nods grimly. "The coven's pets, no doubt. They've been circling closer for the past hour." He turns to me, his eyes intense. "Whatever you decide to do with what I've told you, you need to decide quickly."

The weight of everything; the artifacts, the book, the compass, the prophecy, the crown… seems to press down on me all at once. It's not just my life at stake anymore.

It's Jay's, Thalia's, Evelyn's, even Bastian's.

And beyond that... who knows how many others could be affected by whatever choice I make?

"I never asked for any of this," I say quietly.

"No one ever does," Bastian replies. He moves closer, and for the first time, I see something like sympathy in his eyes.

"But you have something many others don't… a choice. Whether your power saves this world or.."

He pauses, weighing his next words carefully.

"Or the other way around... The choice will always be yours."