And The Cracks Begin To Show Novels & Stories

Quietly. From the inside.The first crack appeared three days later.Marcus noticed it before anyone else.He walked into the room without his usual calm.Something in his posture sharper,Focused.“We have a problem.”Jesse groaned lightly.“Of course we do.”Everlyn looked up immediately.“What is it?”Marcus set his tablet down on the table.

Adrian caught me instantly. “I’ve got you,” he said. I leaned into him slightly, my breathing uneven. “It’s not gone,” I whispered. “I know.” “But it’s… stable.” “For now,” Darius added. I nodded weakly. For now. Because this wasn’t over. Not even close. The crack was still there. Still connected. Still dangerous. And the thing— It hadn’t disappeared. It had only weakened. And as it stood there, flickering, unstable— Its gaze met mine one last time.

No! The crack tries to seal itself shut immediately and I grip the edges, holding it apart with such sheerb effort that my body shakes. I hear my people’s voices vaguely like they may be across a river but all of me is centred towards holding that fine web. She is just beyond the crack, and hell if I will let her disappear. Paintstakingly, I inch through the gap, repelling its convulsive efforts to seal itself shut. Without being told, I know I lose her forever if I lose control of the crack.

But tonight, it felt different—like the walls were starting to crack, and everything that had been carefully hidden was beginning to spill out. As the night wore on, Eva found herself drifting further into the shadows, observing the other guests. There was no doubt in her mind that something was shifting beneath the surface. Conversations held in hushed tones, the fleeting glances exchanged between people who should have been allies—there were cracks, and they were getting wider.

Not just fear anymore. Not just instinct. But something else. A crack. And she didn’t know yet— If it could be fixed. Or if it would keep spreading.

The waves behind me kept rolling in, their rhythm constant, like the ticking of a clock reminding me that time moved on even when I wanted to pause for a moment. I watched him in silence, trying to read everything hidden beneath his expression. There was something broken there, something he once hid so well behind faint smiles or flat sentences. Now, the cracks were visible—like shards of glass reflecting the morning sun. Each reflection stung my eyes, yet I couldn’t look away.

I threw my shoulders back and walked past them, acting like my heartbeat wasn’t hammering like mad. Because I had seen the ugly truth showing through the cracks and weaknesses Mira prayed we’d ignore. And once you spot the cracks? Well, it’s just a countdown until the whole mask shatters.

I ask as I look at her. She smiles at me now and I feel something rise in my chest knowing that I have found the answer. She confirms my thoughts as she speaks. “Now, you have asked the right question” And it is with that that she disappears as I am left with the cracks that I have caused. I move on my feet slightly and watch as more cracks disappear. I hunch down slowly and place my hands on the ice. As I rub my thumb along the grooves of a crack I notice how the line disappears but not the crack entirely. I rub another and it does the same. Opening my hand, I decide to rub my palm along a few of the all at once and watch how the reaction looks on a larger scale.

I hit the ground with a grunt. “Amy?” Rowan was at my side almost instantly. His hands wrapped around me, and he lifted me to my feet. “What’s wrong?” “Iccas lumin torcanta.” I threw the ball of light up to float above my head as I gazed at the rock wall. My fingers stretched out to trace the large crack in the wall. “Amy?” Toya’s soft call had me snapping back to reality. “What are you looking at?” My fingers traced the broken edge again, and Carly’s words came back to me. The crack is open. “This is new.” My words held a soft edge to them.

But its cracks grew deeper every day, and with them, the certainty that they had not sealed the end of the prophecy—only the beginning of something older. The dawn spilled pale light across the hall, thin and wavering. It came late, and it trembled.