Page 303 of The Wishing Game

"It confirmed to me that Azerius was in deep—far too deep. He was breaking rules right and left for you. So I just watched, collecting all the evidence I needed to end him. And oh my." She laughs. "Initially, I thought about reporting him to the Supremes so he could get the same treatment he doled out to others. But I think I have a far better punishment for him. One that will finally make him understand how I, and all the other people he hurt, feel."

A shiver goes down my back.

"You're going to kill me?" I whisper in horror.

"No, no. Nothing that dramatic." She chuckles. "But I will give you a gift."

I frown.

She releases my hand and I stumble back, rubbing my aching wrist. Opening her palm, she materializes a silver mirror in front of me.

"I will gift you the truth," she says as she hands me the mirror.

"What are you talking about?" I frown.

"This mirror will answer three questions for you. Choose them wisely. But if I were you, I would be curious to know what happened on the day my husband died. Was it really... an accident?"

I stare at her in shock.

She smiles. Taking a step back, she holds my gaze as she leaves me with one last bit of information before she vanishes.

"His sword can obliterateanysoul. Even a mortal one."

SIXTY-TWO

Her words ring in my ear, the implication too surreal to grasp. No. Ze would never do that. He'snotlike that. Yet no matter how much I try to convince myself, the doubts keep clamoring inside my mind. I clutch the silver mirror in my hands, the temptationtoostrong.

What if this is a trap? If this is a way for her to turn me against Ze? She admitted to having a grudge against him.

But that is exactly why I'm having doubts...

She told me exactly who she is and why she hates Ze. She didn't lie about that. So that begs the question...is the mirror a lie? Or is it as she said...the truth?

There's one way to find out, I suppose.

Three questions. I must choose them carefully.

I take a deep breath. Before I can second-guess my decision, I gaze down at the mirror. Anami didn't sayhowto use it, but I guess just asking the question will do.

Biting my lip, I rehearse the question in my mind once before I utter it aloud.

"Show me how Nikki got his leg injured." Although this means I will waste a question, at least I'll know better whether to trust the mirror or not since I was there.

The reflective surface of the mirror is replaced by a screen featuring a video of the past.

We're walking hand in hand on the streets of Florence when a car skids to a halt next to us. The windows are lowered to reveal three guns aimed at us. Nikki's reaction is delayed as he pulls me behind him. The bullets start flying. He pushes me to the ground, rolling with me as he blankets my body with his. One of the bullets hits the back of his knee. The car then drives away.

The image fades.

Short and to the point. It's an objective representation of the past, but one devoid of emotion and depth. It couldn't capture the way Nikki tried to calm me down even as he was bleeding and freaking out himself. It couldn't replay the kind words he whispered in my ear or the warmth of his embrace as he held on to me.

He was the one who got hurt, but I was the one comforted. How was that fair?

A sob lodges in my throat as my own memory of the event surfaces in my mind.

Bar the nuances that the mirror could not capture, everything else is accurate.

And that is my proof that the mirror works. It is not biased either. It only shows what happened, not how, or why. It's as if someone filmed the incident but omitted the script.

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