Ren had three immediate problems.

First: He was on a skyship, which was great.
Second: The skyship was heading straight for a mountain that literally wasn’t on any map.
Third: Mira was still very upset about the prison break.

Ren wasn’t sure which of these was the most dangerous.

"You’re telling me," Mira said, voice dangerously calm, "that this mountain just… appeared?"

Keldrin, who had taken over steering the ship, nodded. "Yep."

Mira blinked. "And we’re flying toward it?"

"Yep."

Ren, who had very much been hoping for a calmer day, rubbed his temples. "I’d like to remind everyone that I did not make this decision."

Mira turned her glare to him. "You pointed at it and said, ‘Let’s go there.’"

"Okay, but in my defense—"

The ship lurched.

A ripple of strange energy pulsed outward from the mountain, distorting the air like heat over stone. The ship’s runic engine flickered, its glow stuttering as if something was interfering with it. The deck groaned beneath their feet.

Keldrin cursed. "That’s not good."

The mountain was closer now, its jagged peak wrapped in an unsettling mist. It looked wrong. Not like a normal mountain, but like something half-formed, shifting in and out of existence.

Mira tightened her grip on the railing. "Tell me again why we’re going toward the possibly cursed, definitely unnatural landmass?"

Ren hesitated. Because something in his gut told him they had to. The pocket watch felt heavier in his coat, as if pulling him forward.

Before he could answer, the ship shuddered violently.

A massive gust of wind—one that shouldn’t have existed—slammed into them. The ship pitched sideways, sending Ren sprawling across the deck. The clouds around the mountain twisted, writhing like something alive.

And then—

The mountain opened its eyes.

—

Meanwhile, Elsewhere…

In a distant shadowed chamber, a figure watched through a fractured mirror.

The mountain had been found. The barrier was weakening.

And the last heir of Valtheris was walking straight into its jaws.