(Mirabel's POV)
Knock.
The sound came from beyond the fracture.
Beyond the horizon.
Beyond the place where stories ended.
A place that wasn't supposed to exist.
The city heard it.
Every light flickered.
Every street fell silent.
Every heartbeat hesitated.
Knock.
The Last Reader closed his eyes.
Not in fear.
In recognition.
Which was somehow worse.
Memory stared into the widening crack.
The traveler looked as though they'd spent a very long time hoping never to hear that sound again.
Tomorrow folded her arms.
The gesture would have looked brave if I hadn't known her.
Instead, it looked worried.
Very worried.
The child pointed toward the fracture.
"What is that?"
Nobody answered.
Knock.
The sound rolled across reality.
The sky rippled.
Clouds unraveled into letters
