Page 51 of The Book of Legends
“I’m fine,” I rasp, still trying to recover.
“No, you’re not. He used magic on you—his kind of spell can linger.”
“I can’t leave. Kainen—he’s going to?—”
“He deserves whatever happens,” she says, her voice steady even as her eyes shimmer with pain. “And he knows it.”
She touches my arm, and suddenly we’re gone—like the air itself shifted around us—and we’re standing in front of a small cottage.
The door creaks open. A tiny goblin with silver eyes peers out, a pair of glasses perched on her hooked nose. “What happened?” she asks sharply.
“She was attacked. By Tristan,” Nieve says, fury in her voice.
The goblin tsks. “He’s always been too reckless.” She waves us in. “Sit her down. She’s paler than mushroom rot.”
My body sinks into the wooden bench. I feel weightless, barely there.
The goblin presses a glowing vial to my lips. “This’ll taste like feet and death, but it’ll stop the lingering effects of his power. You need rest.”
I swallow. It's bitter, earthy, like rotting lemons. But I drink it. My eyes start to drift closed, heavy as iron.
The last thing I hear is his voice.
Kainen.
"I need you to live, Selene. Please… for me."
Thirteen Days Since the Mirror Closed
My eyes burn, but they’re too heavy to open.
I’m hot. Cold. Trapped in that strange space between fever and nightmare—like waking in clammy sheets after a dream you can't shake. Only this time, I can’t wake up.
I try. Again and again. But I can’t move. Can’t open my eyes. I’m locked in the dark.
“She’s doing well,” says the goblin’s voice, distant but clear. “Just a few more days.”
Days?
“I thought he killed her.”
Kainen? Why would he care?
“He would have... if you hadn’t stepped in. Did you?”
A soft warmth touches my forehead, lingering for a heartbeat—then it's gone.
“Did I what?”
“Kill him.”
“No. But he lost his rank and his position.”
“That was bold. Are you sure that was wise?”
A pause. Then?—
“Are you sure she’s not with him or that he sent her here?”
