Page 29 of The Sapphire Dragon Prince
As soon as I felt that sense of connection, a massive lightning bolt shot from the sky and struck the ground between us. In an instant, a shimmering wall of black glass rose up between us, completely cutting us off from each other.
“Misha!”
My heart pounded so hard I thought it would burst as I sprinted the rest of the way to The Black Mirror. I was certain that was what now stood between me and my beloved. I’d heard plenty of legends about The Black Mirror, but none of them had conveyed how much of a force it actually was.
The mirror filled the entire, cavernous space between me and Misha. It was more than just a reflection, although I could see myself and everything behind me superimposed over Misha’s shadowy shape and the other side of the cavern beyond him. The mirror itself wasn’t a thin sheet of glass either. It was thick. It had to be at least a foot thick and murky all the way through.
“No!”
I slammed my hands up against the dark glass, but there was no possible chance I could break it. It was freezing cold as well, colder even than ice, which I didn’t think was possible. I yanked my hands back, afraid they would burn if I left them there too long.
I took a step back and dug deep within myself, summoning every bit of remaining magic I might have, then raised my hands and pushed them at the mirror. Surely, in a moment of desperation like this, Mother would somehow give me mypowers back. She was everything good and loving. She would enable me to save my omega.
But nothing happened. I tried again, grunting as I threw my hands forward, trying to break the glass, but it remained as cold and solid and forbidding as ever.
“No, no! Misha!”
On the other side of the glass, Misha looked small and terrified. He hugged himself close, twisting and turning as he gazed around the cave where he was now trapped. Even though the glass itself had a sickly yellowish tinge to the black, Misha appeared blue, like the space on the other side of the mirror was frigid and he was slowly freezing to death.
“Misha! I will help you!” I cried out, shrugging the pack off my back and searching inside for one of the weapons I’d brought with me or anything that might stand a chance of breaking through the thick mirror.
“Azurus?” Misha’s voice echoed, almost too quiet to hear. “Are you there? I can’t see you anymore? Azurus?”
My heart broke at the fear and pleading in my beloved’s voice.
“I’m right here, love,” I called out, taking the largest dagger I’d brought with me from my sack and charging at the glass. “Iwillsave you, Misha. I will!”
I stabbed at the mirror as hard as I could.
My dagger shattered into dust that fell to the ground at my feet.
“No!” I called out, dropping the last handful of dust, then pounding against the glass again. “Misha, I will save you!”
Once again, the pain of touching the glass threw me back. I stumbled a few steps, panting heavily and gazing at Misha on the other side of the barrier with wide eyes. My omega was alone and afraid. He hunched in on himself, clearly in pain. I could donothing to reach him or break him free of his prison. It was a nightmare.
And then, worse still, a shadowy figure emerged from the darkness behind Misha. I knew at once who or what it was. It was the same cloaked figure of King Freslik that had accosted us on the path, and he wore a triumphant sneer, as if his moment of victory had come at last.
Misha
“Azurus, can you hear me?”I cried out, rushing toward the thick wall of glass that had risen between me and my alpha.
I wished I’d thought to ask more about The Black Mirror, what it was and what it did. It was more than just a mirror. I could see my reflection and the darkness behind me, yes, but the image of Azurus was also clear on the other side.
Only something wasn’t right about it. Yes, I could see Azurus, but I couldn’t feel him. Not like I’d been feeling him for the last two days, as we’d tackled our quest. The image of Azurus on the other side of the glass was strange and foreign to me, whereas Azurus had become like the beat of my heart in the last few days.
He stood on the other side of the glass, staring at it with a sharp frown. It was like he was staring at me. He paced back and forth in front of the glass, shouting at it with words I couldn’t hear.
Just because I couldn’t hear them didn’t mean I couldn’t see the emotion behind those words. Azurus was shouting at me. He was railing at me from the other side of the mirror, telling me this was all my fault, that I shouldn’t have run away from him. He was telling me that I should have put my completetrust in him from the beginning and allowed him to take care of everything for me.
“I’m sorry!” I called out to the mirror, reaching for my beloved as if I could break through the glass to throw my arms around him. “I’m so sorry that I’m not the omega you wanted, that you deserve.”
Azurus stopped and crossed his arms, glowering at me.
“I’m sorry,” I said again, taking a step back from the mirror, my heart breaking. After everything we’d been through, it was as if my alpha didn’t want me at all.
If he rejected me and sought a different mate, would he get his magic back? Had I become nothing but an inconvenience to him now?
That thought was crushing, and I sank to sit on the cave floor, tears spilling down my face. I hugged my knees and buried my face against my arms. Was this what it all came down to? Was this how it ended? With me trapped in a prison that felt like I’d conjured myself while my fated mate shook his head at me in disappointment?
