Chapter 25: Romie

Romie, Emory, and their companions emerge into the Wastes—a red desert haunted by winged beasts and absence—reeling from the fight at the door. Romie confirms Nisha is real, while Emory clings to Virgil, and Aspen lies unconscious but healing under Emory’s magic. Emory fears Keiran truly returned; Virgil explains reanimation stripped him of a soul, mirroring the demon that possessed Bryony.

Virgil then reveals Collapsing is not a death sentence here but a state of limitless power if free of the Unhallowed Seal. Romie learns Baz Collapsed at the printing press and that he removed Kai’s Seal by reversing time, granting Kai similar power. Emory denies having Collapsed despite prior silvered veins, while Romie privately worries Emory may be drawing on her power.

Pressed on how the others arrived, Nisha and Vera explain Baz reopened the Hourglass, and Adriana Kazan’s compass guided non-keys safely through the sleepscape to the Wychwood and then to the next door. Time has flowed differently: months have passed at home, where Regulators now fear Emory as the Shadow reborn, and tides are in chaos.

The group reveals a new crisis: within the sleepscape, a spontaneous portal pulled Baz and Kai away; their fate is unknown. They decide to camp and wait for Aspen to wake as night and cold fall over the Wastes, hoping Keiran does not return.

As they gather supplies, Virgil and Nisha hint at Emory’s undisclosed history with Keiran, stoking Romie’s sense of betrayal. Away from the others, Romie and Nisha confront their past, admit they still want each other, and share a kiss, finding brief solace amid uncertainty.