Chapter Fifty-Eight

Celeste barely registered the passing time.

Elowen's words echoed in her mind, heavy and unshakable. You weren't born into this world. You were summoned. And something is keeping you here.

She sat on the worn-out couch in Elowen's cluttered study, her fingers gripping the edge of the seat. The dim light from the desk lamp cast elongated shadows against the walls, flickering slightly as if reacting to the weight of the conversation. Across from her, Amelia stood rigid, arms crossed, her expression stormy but silent. Nathaniel leaned against the far wall, one hand pressed to his temple, lost in thought.

Elowen flipped through another book, occasionally muttering under her breath. The room smelled of ink, old parchment, and something faintly herbal.

Finally, Celeste found her voice. "If I have a tether… if something is keeping me here… how do we find it?"

Elowen shut the book with a decisive snap. "We don't find it." She met Celeste's gaze, sharp and unwavering. "You do."

Celeste swallowed hard. "Me?"

Elowen nodded. "It's connected to you. Your existence. Your emotions. Your memories." She gestured vaguely. "I can give you tools, maybe even nudge you in the right direction, but at the end of the day, you have to understand what's anchoring you here."

Celeste's heart pounded against her ribs. "And if I can't?"

Elowen's silence was answer enough.

Amelia let out a sharp breath, running a hand through her hair. "Great. Super helpful." She turned to Nathaniel. "And you? Do you have any groundbreaking insights or are we just waiting for Celeste to disappear?"

Nathaniel exhaled, rubbing his jaw. "I don't have all the answers, Amelia."

Amelia scoffed. "Yeah, no kidding."

Celeste felt the tension building between them like a crackling wire. "Amelia—"

"No." Amelia turned back to her, eyes burning. "I'm tired of this. I'm tired of waiting for something to go wrong, for some magical force to just take you away." She gestured wildly. "And now we find out that you've been barely holding on this whole time?" Her voice broke slightly. "How are we supposed to fix this if we don't even know what's keeping you here?"

Celeste felt the weight of Amelia's words settle deep in her chest.

Elowen watched them with something like quiet understanding before stepping forward. "There's a way," she said carefully.

Amelia's head snapped toward her. "What?"

Elowen folded her arms. "A ritual. A dangerous one." She let the words settle before continuing, "It's not about finding the tether—it's about forcing it to reveal itself."

Celeste's stomach twisted. "How?"

Elowen hesitated before speaking. "By pushing your existence in this world to the brink."

Silence crashed over the room.

Amelia's face twisted in disbelief. "You want to put her in more danger?"

"It's not about danger," Elowen said coolly. "It's about control. Right now, Celeste is slipping away without knowing why. If we force her to the edge, if we make the magic fight for her…" She trailed off, watching Celeste closely. "We might be able to see what's holding her here before it's too late."

Nathaniel finally pushed away from the wall, his eyes dark. "Absolutely not."

Elowen arched a brow. "Do you have a better idea?"

Nathaniel clenched his jaw but said nothing.

Amelia turned back to Celeste, her expression shifting from anger to something more raw. Fear. "This is insane."

Celeste knew it was.

But what other choice did she have?

She looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers. The cracks were getting worse. She could feel them now, not just in her body but in the way the world responded to her. The way reality hesitated, as if uncertain whether to keep her or let her go.

She wasn't ready to vanish into nothingness.

She wasn't ready to leave.

Slowly, Celeste lifted her head.

"…What do I have to do?"

Amelia inhaled sharply. "Celeste—"

"I need to know," Celeste said, meeting her gaze. "If there's a way to find the answer, I have to take it."

Amelia searched her face, desperate for something—an opening, a hesitation—but Celeste stood firm.

Elowen nodded. "We'll start at dawn."

Nathaniel turned away, exhaling sharply. Amelia's fists clenched at her sides.

But no one argued.

Because deep down, they all knew—

This was their last chance.