Adeline POVIt pressed against the edges of my consciousness, restless and sharp, feeding on the surge of anger still burning through my veins. Its voice was no longer a whisper. It was insistent, predatory, certain of its own logic.She will ruin everything. End her now.“No,” I said aloud.The word left my mouth with force, echoing through the lab. I planted my feet and drew a steady breath, bracing myself as I pushed back against the spirit with sheer will.“You do not decide this,” I said, my voice low and unyielding to her. “You do not touch her.”The resistance triggered a backlash. Magic roared through me, no longer flowing in its usual disciplined channels. It surged outward, wild and uncontained. Before I could pull it back, the glassware on the central table exploded.The sound was deafening. Beakers shattered into a thousand shards. Vials burst, their contents vaporizing in the air. The reinforced glass panels lining the walls cracked instantly, spiderweb fractures racing a
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