MORNING CAME IN A BLANKET OF PALE CLOUDS, TINGED WITH MILKY SUNLIGHT.

After an hour of poking around what felt like the entirety of the Tower of Storms, Mori finally found Argent on the flat roof of one of the turrets overlooking the city. He leaned against the sandstone balustrade that separated them from the dizzying drop from high up on the tower, through the smogto the streets of Dysis.

Mori came to join him at the railing. This high up, the morning light cast a yellowish haze over the surroundings, giving the buildings a rare warmth. It felt like another secret of the world, another angle where the city shed its ugly façade and revealed a gentler side.

"I spoke to Ren," Mori said.

"Oh?" Argent didn't look away from the city. Wind swayed his pale hair around his face. "Did she tell you anything?"

"Not much," Mori said, with a sigh. She'd been evasive when he'd first broached the question, then dropped the conversation entirely once he'd let slip Argent wanted to know. He could tell there was some tension between the two, even with Ren's detachment and Argent's casual teasing, but Mori had still been surprised at her outright refusal. Mori supposed he should have expected it — he could count on one hand the times Ren had given him a straight, immediate answer to a question.

"Don't worry about it," Argent said. "I'm sure I'll find out eventually."

Mori glanced at him. There was something subdued, almost distant, about him today — a little like Ren when she had something on her mind. Mori wondered what had gotten him into that mood.

Argent looked over. "I made a timepiece for you."

"For me?" Mori said. "What does it do?"

"Here," Argent said, an odd smile on his face. "I'll show you."

He wound it up and let it run. The timepiece ticked quietly, but nothing happened.

Mori waited a few seconds, head tilted. "Is it working?"

"I guess not. That's a pity." Argent pushed off the balcony and moved towards him. "Anyway, I have a favour to ask you."

Something in his tone set Mori on edge. Mori met his eyes. There was a strange glint to his expression that Mori didn't like. On instinct, he tried to back away, but found he couldn't. His feet were planted to the ground.

His chest tightened, a chill running over his skin. "What did you do?"

Mori's eyes flicked down to the timepiece in Argent's hand and he froze.

He didn't—

"Oh, I guess it's working after all." Argent looked up at Mori and smiled. With a sick feeling in his stomach, Mori realised Ren was right not to trust him. He'd seen this happen before, back in the warehouse. Acting friendly to lower the man's guard, then stealing his memory. Yesterday in the tower, when Mori had just started to feel like he was safe, Argent had just been doing the same thing with him.

Mori matched his stare, keeping his gaze hard so Argent wouldn't see the fear running beneath it. "What do you want?"

"Nothing much. I just need the timepiece the traveller gave you."

"I don't have it," Mori said. He tugged at his feet again. Still nothing. "Ask Ren."

Argent laughed. "Believe me, I wouldn't be doing this if I thought Ren would let me use it," Argent replied. "I don't know if you've noticed, but Ren and I aren't on the best of terms."

"For good reason, apparently," Mori muttered.

"You're absolutely right. She's already annoyed at me for stealing her horologion." Argent looked sidelong at Mori. "But she trusts you. You might not even have to steal it if you ask nicely."

Mori cringed. It had been bad enough stealing that notebook from her workshop, but at least he'd had an excuse for it. Taking something of hers now for no good reason...it didn't feel right. Mori shook his head. "No. I'm not doing it."

"Really?" Argent tilted his head. "That's a shame."

Mori's foot jerked forward. He let out a cry as his body lurched after it. Argent's fingers hovered over the timepiece he'd created, guiding Mori, step by step, to the edge of the roof.

Terror coursed through his veins. He's going to make me jump. Mori fought the control, willing his limbs to stop, turn, move — anything but continue their inexorable path to the edge. But it was no use. He climbed onto the balustrade, fighting his desperate urge to balance himself.

This high up, the city stretched out in miniature before him. His mind screamed at him to move away, heart hammering against his ribs, but his body wouldn't respond. Mori looked down at the dizzying drop below and swallowed. It had been bad enough back in the warehouse, the creeping unease as he watched Argent steal the man's memories. Having it happen to him was so, so much worse.

"You're overcomplicating this, Mori," Argent's calm voice sounded behind him.

"I'm overcomplicating this?" Mori shouted. "I'd have helped you if you'd just asked me to like a normal person—"

"And if she'd said no? Would you have stolen it for me too, if I'd asked?"

Mori hesitated, then shook his head.

"I can't afford to take any chances. I don't think Ren plans to stay on Dysis for much longer," Argent said. "This might be my only chance to figure out what she's been up to."

"And how is the traveller's timepiece supposed to help?"

Argent pushed his hands into his pockets. "Something's definitely happened on Elete," Argent said slowly. "The cataclysm, the towers, the traveller's disappearance...I don't know if it's linked or not, and Ren's not going to tell me anything. But I'm pretty sure the answers are up there."

"You're obsessed." Mori shook his head. "What does it matter to you what Ren's doing?"

"Look, I don't think you need to worry about that right now," Argent said. "Just get me the timepiece. I'd hate for you to get hurt over something so trivial."

Mori's leg shifted. His body pitched forward, tilting him over the edge. Mori's heart lurched, imagining his fate if Argent let him slip any further. Tumbling helplessly through the air, his stomach in his mouth, the ground flying up to meet him, hitting the cobblestones far below at terminal velocity, that final sickening impact. At this point, the timepiece was the only thing keeping him from the plummet.

Mori swallowed. "Argent...please." The wind muddied his voice, howling in his ears. His heartbeat thudded in his chest like it was trying to escape. "This isn't fair. I don't want to steal from her."

Argent gave him a cool smile. "That's not really my problem, is it?"

Mori's breath hitched. It was a bluff, it had to be. Would Argent really let him fall? Kill him just for a timepiece? It seemed ludicrous to imagine, but he really didn't know Argent that well at all—

He jerked forward again, and this time there was nothing to stop him. Mori felt it, the weightless moment a moment before that tip into freefall, the drag of gravity over the edge. A sickening jolt stabbed his stomach and pulsed through his body.

This is it, it's all over­—

"Okay! I'll do it!" Mori shouted. He stopped with just his toes balanced off the edge of the balustrade, gasping for breath. "I-I'll do it, okay? Just let me go."

He hung suspended there a little while longer, heart hammering against his chest, before his body leaned back. His legs brought him down from the parapet, and suddenly, he could move again. Mori sank to the floor, shaking legs unable to keep him upright.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Argent closed the timepiece and slid it into his pocket. He looked down at Mori, that easy smile on his face.

Mori glared up at him, helpless rage brimming behind his eyes. He'd never felt anger like this before, but worse than his simmering fury was the vulnerability. He longed to lunge for him and wrestle the timepiece from his grip, but realised he couldn't. There was nothing he could do while Argent had it.

"So, when can I expect it by?" Argent said. "Tomorrow morning sounds reasonable?"

Mori nodded, his body numb. What else could he do? "Fine."

Argent smiled and turned away. Mori watched him leave, clenching and unclenching his fingers just to relish being able to move them again. After a while, his body stopped shaking, and he managed to get back to his feet.

But he didn't have a choice, not while Argent had that timepiece. Mori pressed his head against his knees, taking deep breaths to quell the nausea roiling in his stomach. Stealing a timepiece would just be the tip of the iceberg. There was no way Argent would leave him alone, even after Mori gave him what he wanted. Not with that kind of power. With a timepiece like that, he'd be under Argent's thumb forever, unable to resist, for the rest of his life...

For a moment, he couldn't breathe. Mori wrapped his arms around his knees. His body trembled. Maybe jumping off the tower was the kinder way to go.

He had to go along with it for now. Argent wasn't asking for much right now. All he could do was bide his time and wait for Argent to let his guard down, for an opportunity to seize back his freedom. Whatever the cost.

What have I gotten myself into?