Contents
VIII. Naturalism — Libby
Overview
Libby rejects Tristan’s departure as a distraction and answers a crisis in the archives. She floors Callum, refuses to execute him despite holding his gun, and recognizes killing won’t fix anything. Shaken, Libby leaves the house and finally visits Belen Jiménez in the hospital, confronting a deeper personal reckoning.
Summary
As Tristan leaves, Libby channels her fury into action, deciding his abandonment ends a guilt-driven tie. Hearing a scream, she rushes to the reading room and finds Dalton foaming, Parisa seizing, and Gideon unconscious—evidence of a violent psychic and magical breach.
Libby spots Callum and attacks, breaking his nose and dislodging a pistol. She picks up the gun and considers executing him, convinced his absence would help. Callum, swelling and bloodied, taunts her that she confuses danger with power and that killing him will change nothing.
Confronted by the unaltered ruin around her—Dalton, Parisa, Gideon still down—Libby realizes another death won’t repair the damage. She lowers the gun and drops it, choosing restraint over vengeance, and leaves, taking only the small satisfaction that Callum cannot smirk.
Libby wanders through the city in numb clarity to a hospital. She enters a room where Belen Jiménez turns to her, coldly acknowledging Libby’s delay. Libby’s choice to spare Callum culminates in facing the more difficult, personal truth she has avoided.
Who Appears
- Libby RhodesPOV; rejects Tristan, confronts Callum with a gun, chooses not to kill him, visits Belen.
- Callum NovaAntagonist; armed with a pistol, taunts Libby after she floors him; spared by her.
- Parisa KamaliTelepath; found seizing and unconscious in the archives after the breach.
- Dalton EllisonCaretaker-scholar; found on the floor foaming at the mouth during the incident.
- Gideon DrakePowerful entity; collapses unconscious beside Parisa, unresponsive during the confrontation.
- Tristan CaineDeparts, ending his obligation to Libby; catalyzes her focus on the immediate crisis.
- Belen JiménezLibby’s hospitalized mother; coolly acknowledges Libby when she finally visits.