Colson POV I stared at the pocket watch like it had personally ruined my life. Which, technically speaking, it had. Amaris stood across the table watching my reaction carefully, arms crossed, her expression somewhere between calm and mildly concerned. “You’re unusually quiet,” she said. “That’s because I’m considering throwing that thing out the window.” Her eyebrow lifted. “That would strand you here permanently.” “…Okay, new plan,” I muttered. “We keep the watch.” I leaned back in the chair and rubbed my face slowly. “A few more days,” I repeated. Amaris nodded. “The repair stabilized the spell. It needed to rebalance itself.” “Of course it did.” “Time magic always corrects itself.” “By ruining my evening.” Her lips twitched slightly. I exhaled and leaned forward again,

