Page 144 of The Eternal Mirror
What I want—is a future.For Zayne and Josh. For Khaos. For the little girl with the oversized armor and the trembling hands.
I drop to my knees, dragging him down with me. Resting my forehead against Khaos’s chest. “I can’t do it,” I say.
His arms come around me. Fierce. Certain. “I know.”
“I mean Ican. But I won’t.” I pull back, looking up into his eyes. “I thought I would. I told myself I had to.”
“You don’t have to do anything.” He brushes the hair from my face. “You decide. This is your story.”
“What a novel idea.” But in my heart, I know it’s true. I do have a choice. I just have to accept the consequences. In this case—that’s me dead. And Khaos too, because he won’t let me die alone. I manage a crooked smile. “I kind of liked the idea of being remembered as Amber, Destroyer of Worlds.”
“There’d be no one left here to remember you.”
“Fair point.” I blow out my breath. “Let’s get away from him, just for a little while. While I clear my head.”
He nods, and I grab Nightfall and stagger to my feet. Together we walk through the trees to where the sounds are hushed.
My whole body is trembling. But I’m not done. Not yet. There’s only one way I can maybe stop Khronus from going after Zayne and Josh. At least give them a chance. And that is if I am gone.
Anyway, I’m tired.
Tired of fighting battles I didn’t choose. Of trying to fix a world that never made space for me.
Maybe it was never my world to save. Maybe I’ve always been something other. Not of here. Not of anywhere. Until now. At the end.
It will be good to rest. With Khaos by my side.
I look at him, and he nods, and I see the understanding in his eyes. “I love you.”
“I know.”
“One more try at killing him?” I say.
“Yeah. Let’s go out swinging.”
I rest my hand on his arm. “He can’t take me alive.”
“He won’t.”
There’s such a sad finality in his voice that for a moment, I just want to stop. And cry. But there’s no time for that. I raise Nightfall again. The blade’s scorched. Dented. Still deadly.
He offers his hand. I take it.
“On three?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
“One, two—”
“Amber. Wait.”
He tugs my hand. For a moment I resist. I’ve set myself on this course. I’ve accepted that this is the end. It’s hard to draw back. He squeezes my fingers, and I turn—
Behind us, in the shadows, a light glows. A newmirror is forming.
It shines like moonlight. Clean. Pure.
And through it—
