(Mirabel's POV)
Nobody spoke.
Not because nobody had something to say.
Because language had just suffered a catastrophic failure.
I stared at the older version of myself.
She stared back.
Calmly.
Sadly.
As though she'd known this moment would come for a very long time.
Around us—
Reality trembled.
The black sea convulsed.
The fracture in existence widened another inch.
And beyond it—
The eyes watched.
Unblinking.
Interested.
Hungry.
The older me ignored them.
Her attention remained fixed on me.
On the impossible girl who shouldn't exist.
On the mistake.
The contradiction.
The theft.
Me.
Tomorrow was the first to recover.
"No."
The word escaped her instantly.
Firmly.
Violently.
"No."
The older Mirabel looked toward her.
The child of the future stood trembling
