I never believed in fate until the watch threw me into the middle of a battlefield.

One second, I was in my grandmother’s dusty attic, turning over an old pocket watch with strange engravings. The next—I’m choking on smoke, arrows whistling past, a knight shouting my name like he’s known me for years.

Sir Gareth pulls me behind his shield, blood streaking his cheek. 'You came back,' he breathes, eyes wide with disbelief. 'I told them you’d return when the stars aligned.'

I don’t understand. This isn’t my world. But my body does. My hands remember how to hold a dagger. My heart races at the sound of his voice.

The watch pulses against my palm. Another jump is coming. I can feel time unraveling.

Do I stay with him—this man who claims I once promised to return?

Or do I fight the pull, try to go back to my own time… to Kael, who still doesn’t know how I feel?

A shadow moves at the edge of the battlefield. Cloaked, timeless. The Mender watches me, head tilted. He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t need to.

The choice is mine. But time won’t wait.