Page 8 of Gilded Wicked Mirrors
Jane’s eyes stormed as she said, “I think this is a mistake. You’re choosing poorly.” Before Quinn could respond, Jane wrenched her into thewrongmirror.
Into one of the wickedest mirrors in all of New Swansea.
Beautiful Decay.
Four
Quinn sucked in a breath as the mirror portal’s texture cascaded over her. The sensation felt like bathing in roses, almost as if a mixture of silk and velvet were caressing her naked skin. It was warm and inviting. Yet, she couldn’t figure out if it calmed her nerves or made the experience more terrifying.
Because all that glitters isn’t gold. Sometimes it’s rotting flesh . . . or in this case, gilded wicked mirrors.
Stepping out of the barrier, Quinn fell onto a pile of wisteria petals, and with a huff, Jane landed beside her.
At least her friend was in this horrible realm, too.
Fucking mirrors.
Although, technically, Mirror-Rites were supposed to be done alone. But Quinn didn’t know if that was a rule or a suggestion. Some things about the mirrors were so obvious, while others were infuriatingly vague.
“You shouldn’t be here.” Quinn rounded on Jane. “It’s my Mirror-Rite.”
“That’s not a real rule,” Jane said, grasping Quinn’s arm. “You’re goingto be fine.”
“Fine,” Quinn whispered through gritted teeth. “This is Beautiful Decay.”
A shiver crashed through Quinn’s body as she took in the realm of the second most evil mirror in the city. It was a sea of color. A sunken garden, but not a real one. The hues were too bright and the foliage too pristine, lacking all imperfections. And the flowers . . . they created a tapestry of poison: lilies, oleander, wolfsbane, and nightshade danced in the morning breeze and sang a song of bewitching death.
It was funny how most beautiful things in nature were deadly. Kind of like how beautiful men were deadly—at least for Quinn’s resolve not towantthem—
Fucking magic spells. This place lured her into a calm, dream-like state and made her forget Jane’s betrayal. Because once someone was in a mirror, the god had full control.
“What the fuck was that? Why did you do it?” Quinn rubbed her temples to calm herself down, but hurt still held up the scaffolding of her heart.
Jane held up her hands. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t let you bargain with Midnight. She accidentally causes permanent consequences.”
“Are you out of your mind? Beautiful Decay is—”evil.Quinn said the last bit in her head, suddenly realizing that she probably shouldn’t say it out loud where the god could hear her.
Jane visibly swallowed. “I know how it seems. Nightshade is known for cruel bargains, but he’s my friend.”
“A friend?” Quinn’s voice pulsed with fascination and utter confusion. Humans weren’t friends with mirrors. It just wasn’t done. They were monsters, not drinking mates.
“Do you trust me?” Jane’s tone was a plea.
Quinn hesitated. If Jane had asked that question a couple of minutes before, she would have said yes. She would have said she trusted Jane with her life. But now . . . she wasn’t so sure.
“I swear he won’t hurt or takeadvantage of you. He only punishes the bad—the people willing to trade anything for selfish gains.”
“Coming from the person who made a deal with Nightmare, that’stheLooking Glass, Jane.” Quinn’s body was a thousand fractured fireflies buzzing and burning inside of her. “He’s responsible for everyone’s nightmares in the city.”
Thirty years ago, the Royalle House made a deal with the Looking Glass. The deal was simple: the mirror would power the city’s electrical grid, but the cost was nightmares—every person in the city would experience them, often nightly. Because the Royalle House represented everyone in the city, they could bind everyone to deals too.
“Nightmare notasbad as he seems either.” Quinn bit the inside of her lip as Jane continued, “I wouldn’t bring you in here if I thought you’d be harmed.”
Jane had lost it—completely.
Beautiful Decaywas danger incarnate.
Everyone knew it. It was common knowledge that the sky was blue, rainbows followed the rain, and Beautiful Decay and Nightmare were never to be trusted.
