Chapter 3 A TICKING TIME

I picked up the watch and stared at it. First things first: how was I supposed to unscrew a casing that had no screws? This was going to be even more difficult than I thought.

I expected him to go back to lying down on the couch, but instead, he pulled out the wooden chair beside the counter and sat right down across from me.

I looked at him. "What are you doing?"

"Watching you."

"Why? Are you afraid I might make it worse?"

"We'll see about that," he shrugged.

My gaze fell on the tray still sitting on the counter, which had filled the shop with the mouthwatering aroma of crispy bacon and warm bread.

"Do you want some of my food?" I asked hesitantly.

"No. I just want the watch fixed so I can be on my way."

I looked at him before opening the tray and sliding it right in front of him. "You sure act like I'm out to poison you. It's just bacon and a burger. My friend—the one who was just here—made it."

I stopped myself, wondering why on earth I was bothering to explain things to him. Reaching into the bag, I took out a bite of the burger and chewed.

"See? Safe."

"I don't want your food. I just want to leave."

Every time he mentioned needing to leave, I found it strange. Was he on the run? Don't tell me he stole this watch from someone.

"You're very strange," I muttered before I could filter myself.

"So I've been told."

I returned to examining the watch, taking another bite of my food and stealing a glance at him from time to time.

The more I looked at the watch, the more unusual it became. Most magical objects were designed with some subtle trick or spell-latch to open them, but this one didn't have a single seam. Even weirder, I couldn't feel a trace of its magic, which was practically impossible for an enchanted item. It was almost as though whoever had forged it hadn't wanted anyone looking inside—or perhaps wanted to hide its true nature altogether.

Still, I wasn't about to complain. Difficult repairs paid better.

At least . . . they were supposed to.

I glanced back up at Kael. "So, can I ask you a question?"

"No." His answer came instantly, as if he'd already anticipated it.

"Where are you from? I don't think you're local," I asked anyway.

"I came from far away."

There we go again. Always keeping his mouth shut.

"From far away? That's all I get?"

"Yes."

"How far?"

"Very."

I waited for him to offer anything else, but he just sank back into silence.

I sighed. "Do you always answer questions like that?"

"Only when I don't have a better answer."

"Fair enough."

His sharp eyes swept across the interior of the shop. "Have you worked here long?"

"All my life."

"You inherited it?"

"Three years ago."

"From your parents?"

"My grandmother."

He gave a slight nod and fell quiet once more.

I turned my attention back to the golden casing in my hands. "You said you don't remember where you got this."

"No."

"Do you remember anything about it?"

He grew quiet, appearing lost in thought. "Not much."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you remember?"

"I remember finding it in my pocket."

"That's not very useful."

"Tell me about it," he muttered, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

I couldn't help but smile. At least he was learning how to attempt a joke.

"Are you sure you don't want something to eat? You haven't eaten anything since—" My voice trailed off when he casually reached out, picked up a strip of bacon, and took a bite.

A small smile touched my lips. So he is hungry after all.

Reaching for my Aether Lens—a specialized jeweler's loupe enchanted to reveal hidden magical runes—I slipped it over my eye and carefully inspected the metal casing again. As I flipped the watch over to its back, still searching for a microscopic seam, something caught my eye.

A dragon's head symbol.

It looked strikingly similar to the tattoo on Kael’s neck. I looked up at him, burning with questions.

Why did he have a dragon etched onto his skin like a second layer? Why did he seem to know so much more than he was letting on? Did he steal this watch? And if it's really his, how could he not remember it?

It wasn't every day you came across a magical artifact stamped with a dragon crest. In fact, I had only ever seen them in ancient illustrations and my own imagination.

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. "Umm..."

Kael looked up, his silver eyes meeting mine. "How . . ." I bit my tongue, faltering. I knew he wasn't going to give me a straight answer anyway.

"How what?"

"How do you intend to pay me for this?" I blurted out, quickly shifting gears.

He set down the rest of his food, reached for his heavy coat, and pulled something small out of the inner pocket before placing it firmly on my workbench.

I froze.

At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me—until the strange iridescence on the counter reflected a radiant, shimmering light across the room.

Dragon scales?

Where on earth did he get dragon scales?!

I immediately slammed both hands over them to smother the light, terrified the glow would beam through my front display window. Dragon materials were notorious for drawing dark, chaotic magic like a beacon.

"Where . . . where did you get these?" I whispered, my voice trembling with shock.

"Does it matter?" he said, his tone turning surprisingly sharp. "That is my payment, and you know it's more than enough. Just one of those is worth a small fortune here."

"Okay, I am done holding back," I said, my composure snapping. "Who exactly are you? First a dragon tattoo, then a matching dragon symbol on a watch whose magic I can't even sense, and now you hand me dragon scales—something the most powerful mages haven't been able to hunt down in a century!"

He simply stared at me, his expression unreadable.

"Did you say you couldn't feel the magic?" he asked, completely ignoring my tirade.

I bit my lip. I hadn't meant to let that slip. He wasn't supposed to know I was stumped until I actually figured out how to open it.

"You don't know how to fix it, do you?" His voice turned cold and accusatory.

"I am trying to, but you won't give me a single honest answer!"

"That's because you keep asking unnecessary questions that are none of your business!" he barked, abruptly standing up. His massive frame towered over the counter.

My gaze flicked down to the watch in my hand, then to the glowing scales beneath my palm.

He was right. I was poking into things that didn't belong to me.

Maybe I should just give it all back to him and tell him to leave. Why had I assumed I could fix this? Because I naively wanted to prove I was as brilliant as my great-grandmother?

"You're right," I muttered softly. "I can't fix your watch."

I wrapped my fingers around the casing, my thumb tracing over the rough texture of the dragon symbol as I looked up to meet Kael’s furious gaze.

I was just about to hand the watch and the scales back to him when a sharp, searing pain tore through my skin.

I hissed, dropping the watch onto the counter. A thin, neat line had split across my thumb, and bright red blood began pooling immediately.

Before I could even register what had cut me or why I was bleeding, Kael was suddenly beside me. His large hand clamped firmly around my wrist, examining the slice on my thumb.

I stared up at him in shock. Just a second ago he was furious, and now he was hovering over me with concern.

"Do you have to be reckless about everything?" he growled.

"I wasn't being reckless! I only—"

Tick. Tick. Tick.

The words died in my throat. I froze, my eyes darting towards Kael's. His hand was still holding mine, my blood smearing across his fingers.

He slowly picked up the pocket watch. Drops of my blood had smeared across the gold face.

We both stared at the hands in total disbelief.

"Why did it suddenly start working?" Kael whispered.

Then I realized something far more alarming. "It's ticking . . . backward. Does that mean it was never broken? Oh my God!"

A scream tore from my throat as every single object in my shop suddenly lifted into the air.

Tools, music boxes, clocks, and teacups began to hover around us, defying gravity entirely.

"Kael, what is happening?!" I panicked, but his eyes were glued to the watch. He released my bleeding hand and grabbed the casing with both of his.

The watch began to split apart on its own, expanding into floating, interlocking metallic rings. It broke free from Kael's grip, hovering above the counter as it began to rotate.

First slowly. Then faster, and faster, blinding sparks flew off the gears as it created a magnetic vortex, sucking nearby objects into its orbit.

Before either of us could move, a sudden, blinding burst of light erupted from the center of the watch. A violent, unseen force yanked me off my feet—sucking me in and plunging me headfirst into a dark, endless abyss.