Chapter 38 - The Message From ChicagoThe chapel floor cracked.
A circle of blue lightning appeared above the altar.
Inside it, Ethan saw his bedroom.
His desk.
His schoolbag.
The Chicago skyline beyond the window.
And his mother.
She sat on his bed, holding his favorite sweatshirt.
She was crying.
"Mom!"
Ethan ran toward the doorway.
But the future king grabbed his arm.
"Don't cross."
"She's right there!"
"Look more carefully."
Ethan stopped.
His mother wasn't alone.
A dark figure stood behind her.
The same living shadow that had emerged from King Aldric.
The creature leaned toward her.
She couldn't see it.
Ethan screamed.
"Mom! Behind you!"
She looked up suddenly.
For one impossible moment, their eyes met.
"Ethan?"
The boy froze.
She could hear him.
She reached toward the blue light.
"Sweetheart, where are you?"
He began crying.
"I'm here, Mom!"
But before he could move, the shadow turned toward the doorway.
Its silver eyes narrowed.
"You found the final anchor."
The future king went pale.
"Close it!"
Rowan lifted the crown.
Eleanor raised her hourglass.
The circle of lightning began shrinking.
Ethan's mother rushed forward.
"ETHAN!"
He reached toward her.
Their fingers almost touched.
Then the doorway closed.
Silence filled the chapel.
Ethan sank to his knees.
"Bring her back."
No one answered.
He looked up at the future king.
"Bring her back!"
The older man appeared devastated.
"That's exactly what I said."
Ethan stared at him.
And suddenly understood.
The trap wasn't simply about losing someone.
It was about convincing him to break time to save them.
He slowly stood.
"I'm not going to become you."
The future king gave a faint, sad smile.
"That's what I hoped you'd say."
Then the black crown cracked in Rowan's hands.
From inside it came a woman's voice.
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"Ethan, don't believe him."
It was his mother's voice.
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