Location: Uh… TBD. Definitely not tethered to the Biblioplex.

  So much for relaxing with tea and Grok the Barbarian. Actually managed about ten pages (Grok was attempting mountain number three, surprisingly tactical about it). The Hair was behaving, settled into just observing the weird light from the Temporal Mechanics wing outside. House was humming quietly. Almost peaceful.

  Then the world lurched sideways. Not the usual gentle drift or disconcerting pop of relocation. This was a violent rip, a screech of stressed magical tethers snapping, a jolt that sent my teacup flying (good Silver Needle, wasted!), books tumbling from shelves, and me nearly out of my damn chair. The Hair instantly went from 'relaxed observer' to 'panicked electrocuted octopus', flailing wildly and sticking to the ceiling with sheer static terror.

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  The view outside wasn't the shifting corridors of the library anymore – it was a chaotic blur of disconcerting colours and impossible geometry for maybe three seconds, accompanied by a sound like reality tearing. Then just… blackness? No. Stars. Everywhere. And it's cold.

  We seem to be floating in… empty space? Void? Shit. Did the Biblioplex kick us out? Or did the house just spontaneously decide interstellar travel was preferable to library adjacency?

  Right. Damage control. Check wards. Find out where the hell we are. And someone needs to peel the Hair off the ceiling.

  Priorities.