Chapter 1850

The man pointed towards the wooden floor.

A large symbol had appeared there.

Three curved lines surrounded a central point.

Around it were two circles.

One silver.

One dark.

At the outer edge were thirteen smaller markings.

Twelve were illuminated.

The thirteenth was empty.

And at the centre was a tiny symbol that looked like a tree growing upside down.

Jude knelt.

He recognised the two circles.

"The first house has two hearts."

The man nodded.

"One remembers everything that was lost. The other remembers everything that was never allowed to happen."

"And the children?"

The man’s gaze moved towards the four Sols.

"They are what remains between those two hearts."

Jude looked at them.

"Which one belongs to which heart?"

The man shook his head.

"That is the question the house wants you to answer."

"Why?"

"Because if you choose incorrectly, the two hearts will become one."

The fourth Sol looked towards the floor.

"And then?"

The man did not answer.

The child beneath the table whispered, "Then there won’t be any difference between what happened and what could have happened."

Jude slowly stood.

"What does that mean?"

The child looked at him.

"It means the house will remember everything."

A pause.

"And everything it remembers will become real."

The room began to tremble.

A thin silver line appeared across the window.

Then another.

The man turned sharply.

"It’s found us."

The fourth Sol grabbed Jude’s hand.

"We have to go."

"Where?"

"Anywhere else."

The man moved towards the door.

"No. You must listen."

The wooden walls began groaning.

The tree outside the window was changing.

Its branches were bending towards the room.

Its roots were pulling themselves out of the ground.

The man hurried towards Jude.

"You must find the missing promise."

"What promise?"

"The one that was never made."

Jude stared at him.

"You just said there were twelve."

"There are twelve that were remembered."

"And the thirteenth?"

The man looked towards the floor.

"The thirteenth was taken before it could become a promise."

The fourth Sol tightened his grip on Jude’s hand.

"That’s why the chair is empty."

Jude looked at the man.

"Who was supposed to sit in it?"

The man opened his mouth.

But before he could answer, a voice came from outside the little room.

"Me."

The tree stopped moving.

The man turned.

A figure stood beyond the window.

It was Layla.

She wore the pale embroidered cloth from the first house, and her hair fell loosely over her shoulders. She looked exactly as she had before the house took her memory and made another person from it.

But there was a silver line across her chest.

She pressed her palm against the window.

"Jude," she whispered.

He rushed towards her.

"Layla!"

The man caught his shoulder.

"Don’t."

Jude turned.

"That’s my wife!"

The man stared at Layla.

"No."

The woman outside looked hurt.

"Jude?"

"Who is she?" Jude demanded.

The man did not answer.

Layla placed her other hand against the glass.

"Please. I have been looking for you."

Jude pulled away.

"Let me go."

The man tightened his grip.

"Look at her reflection."

Jude looked towards the window.

Layla’s reflection was visible in the glass.

But it was not standing with her.

It was sitting at the dining table inside the house.

There were thirteen plates.

And the reflection was holding a wooden bird.

Jude stepped back.

Layla’s face changed.

The gentle expression disappeared.

For a moment, her features seemed to shift, as though several different faces were trying to occupy the same place.

Then she smiled.

"That’s all right," she whispered. "You always choose the wrong one first."

The window shattered.

But no glass fell.

Instead, hundreds of tiny silver leaves floated into the room.

Each leaf carried a different image.

Jude saw Layla laughing beside the river.

Layla sleeping in the shared house.

Layla standing in the northern cave.

Layla holding his hand beneath the stars.

Layla crying.

Layla smiling.

Layla looking directly at him and saying something he couldn’t hear.

The leaves swirled around Jude.

Then one stopped in front of his face.

It showed Layla standing in a room with twelve other women.

They were all dressed in pale cloth.

They were all looking towards a wooden chair.

The chair was empty.

On its back was a name.

Not LAYLA.

Not JUDE.

Not SOL.

It said:

THE ONE WHO NEVER ARRIVED.

Jude reached towards the leaf.

The moment his finger touched it, the image changed.

The twelve women turned towards him.

And behind them stood another woman.

She looked like Layla.

But she had silver hair.

She was holding a small child.

The child was looking directly at Jude.

Then the leaf whispered:

"Don’t let him bring the thirteenth promise home."

The image vanished.

Jude turned towards the man.

"What is the thirteenth promise?"

The man looked exhausted.

"It was the promise that would have allowed the others to end."

The fourth Sol stared at him.

"Why didn’t you make it?"

The man lowered his head.

"Because I was afraid."

"Of what?"

"Of losing everything."

The fourth Sol looked towards the window.

"And you lost everything anyway."

The man said nothing.

A tremendous crack split the room.

The wooden floor opened.

Beyond it was not darkness.

It was the village.

Jude saw the central firepit, the wooden houses, the orchard, the garden paths, the eastern river.

But everything was upside down.

The houses hung from the sky.

The river flowed through the clouds.

The mountains stretched beneath the earth.

And in the middle of the village stood the shared house.

Its roof was covered in roots.

Its windows glowed silver.

The twelve wives stood outside.

They were holding hands.

Jude rushed towards the opening.

"Wait!" the fourth Sol shouted.

But Jude had already jumped.

He fell through the wooden floor.

The air rushed past him.

The upside-down village grew larger.

He reached out, trying to grab a branch, a walkway, anything.

Then someone caught his wrist.

A hand.