The year had passed with a crushing slowness. The winter sun, now weak and distant, signaled the impending Solstice. I was no closer to fixing the pocket watch. I was exhausted. Every waking moment was spent researching the precise lunar and planetary alignments that governed the Veil. I’d grown used to the constant hum of magic, my body adapting to having the key housed within my chest. What I didn’t expect though, were the physical changes.
I thought I was going insane at first.
It started with my eyes. I was brushing my teeth one morning, post-shower. My hair hanging down in wet tendrils. I leaned in to rinse my mouth out with water and caught my reflection in the mirror. I gasped in surprise, pulling back. Then leaned in close again. The brown of my irises seemed to have receded. I
