The Observatory's air was exhausting.

The only sounds I could hear were the loud clanking of the silver chains as Michael trembled in his sleep and the sound of my quill as I attempted to transcribe the words before they disappeared.

I had burning eyes.

It had been more than 48 hours since I had slept.

I saw the same thing each time I closed my lids: a crimson scroll, a heart, and a blade.

My mind was poisoned by the ritual's reality, and Maya and Selene's silence just made it worse. ...