Kael looked at him.
"'That which has never existed before.'"
"I think the clock was never counting time," Kael said. "Not in the way we assumed. Twelve broken lines, twelve symbols, we thought it was a countdown to the gate. But what if it was counting possibilities? Every time a new path appeared, one of the old lines fell away. Making room."
"For the thirteenth."
"For something that isn't any of the twelve." Kael's voice dropped. "And now there's a mark on your back, and a beast on your lap with no path at all, and the first line broke the moment the two of you touched."
Aether looked down at the sleeping creature. It had curled up into a ball against his chest again, breathing in small, easy puffs. It looked like the smallest, most harmless thing in the world.
"The Unwritten Beast is the thirteenth path," he said.
"Or the beginning of it." Kael held his gaze. "I don't know which. But I don't think it's a coincidence that it chose you."
