Page 84 of The Eternal Mirror
Nope. Nope. Nopity nope.
At that moment, the mirror calls to me, like strings tugging at my mind. I tune out Khronus and step closer. I reach out a hand, and the glass ripples. I can feel the magic beckoning to me, so much power. I wonder if this is the reason my mirror magic doesn’t work in the palace. Maybe the splinter just sucks all the mirror magic into itself.
I whisper a word, and the spinning silver rings waver. It occurs to me that this is a mirror. I know—obvious. But I’m a mirror mage. What if I could make this mirror do my bidding? Take us out of here. And get it away from Khronus at the same time. That would make Selene happy. It would also simplify the whole ‘getting out of the palace thing’—because I can’t make the invisibility spell work for this number of people. I quickly count the silver threads. There are twelve.
“Amber?”
Khronus sounds impatient. I think he likes being the center of attention.
I step back from the mirror and turn to him. “I was just seeing if it would...talk to me. But it’s not saying anything.” I exhale. “I’m not Selene, and you’re certainly not Vortex.” I just want to get that out there.
“I am.” He turns and paces the room, then returns, rubbing his hands together. “It all makes so much sense now. Why I was so certain of my destiny. You were the missing piece. When I enter the Eternal Mirror, my powers will be restored in full.”
Okay, we’re really doing this. Full psychotic delusion with a side of cosmic destiny.
“The gods don’t die,” he murmurs, turning back to the mirror. “They just scatter. Sleep. Wait for the shape of the world to shift. But now the mirror remembers me. It responds. It calls to us both.”
It’s way too early in the morning for this stuff.
“You see?” he says. “This is our future. You and I. Reforging existence. Remaking it in our own vision. Controlled. Beautiful.” He says it like a prayer. Like a lover’s promise.
And I want to puke.
Instead, I nod sagely, as if he’s saying something really profound.
Let him think he’s convincing me. Then I am out of here. “I need time,” I say. “To think. To...remember as well. Maybe I can come up with a spell to speed up the process.”
For a second, something flickers in his eyes. Suspicion maybe. But he smiles. “Of course. I’ll have you escorted to your rooms. When you’re ready, we’ll speak again.”
“Yeah, good idea.” I look around the room, at the cells with their sad contents. How many more will die? “You might want to shut it down for the moment. I sense it might be...overheating.” I know it sounds lame, but I have to stop him from killing anyone else while I come up with a plan to get us all out of here. And get the splinter to Selene, and make sure Khronus goes nowhere near the Eternal Mirror and...have some breakfast.
I turn and head for the entrance, forcing my steps to stay steady. Like I’m not dying to run screaming. But I do pause as the wall fades in front of me. “Clothes,” I say. “I need clothes. And nothing pink. I like black. And no dresses. Pants. Oh, and underwear. Get me lots of underwear.”
He raises a brow but nods. “For you, my queen, anything you desire.”
So I do the only thing I can.
I get the fuck out of there.
Chapter 29
When We Actually Agree on Something...
The guards escort me back to the room. I shut the door behind them and turn to face Khaosti; at least I think I’m facing him. I whisper a spell, and he appears in front of me. I want to be able to see his expression for the following discussion.
“Okay, I agree with you,” I say.
“You do? About what?”
“Everything. Well, maybe not everything, but I agree with the bit about us needing to get out of here.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
“With certain provisions.”
He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “For a moment, I thought you were going to be sensible. What provisions?”
“We take the witches with us, and Winter’s brother, and anyone else left in the dungeons.”
