Page 88 of The Book of Legends

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If anyone comes looking for me—don’t follow.

If you hear my name whispered in ways it shouldn’t be—don’t answer. But if you feel warmth in the wind… or see fire that doesn’t burn…

That’s me. Somewhere.

Thank you for being real,

Selene

We stand side by side in front of the mirror. The witch appears, robes whispering in the wind like smoke. But the mirror isn’t silver anymore.

It burns red. Molten. Alive. A heartbeat felt like hours. Like blood pumping with every heartbeat.

The runes carved around the edges pulse in sync with my heartbeat.

“The gate is open,” the witch says.

Kainen doesn’t blink. His eyes hold mine like iron. “We go together.”

“I know.”

And this time—I land steady.

Snow.

It consumes me.

The cold strikes my chest like a war hammer. I spin?—

No Kainen.

No Malachi.

Only white. Endless. Blinding. Mercilessly white.

The snow crunches beneath my boots, too deep to move quickly. My breath escapes in shuddering bursts, curling into fog that vanishes in the freezing air.

I am alone.

Wind tears at my clothes, slicing through the thin fabric clinging to my thighs. The snowfall is heavy and slow, like ash drifting down from a dying sky.

I clutch the Book and urn tighter. Not out of fear.

Out of instinct.

This place is still—but not dead.

It’s watching.

Waiting.

“Kainen?” I whisper.

No response.

Then—

Footsteps.

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