Page 38 of A Dose of Agony
Mr. Vandozer is a possibility, but unless she’s leading me into a legitimate trap, he could not be my contact. I’d betray my promise to Manuela in a second if that’s who she wants me to protect.
But there’s a much more reasonable answer to that riddle.
I look down at the key. There’s really nothing behind this except a hunch, but I may as well try it out.
I walk back toward Jarron’s room, but I turn down a secondary hall and stop at a room that’s been abandoned for months. I waste no time sliding the key into the hole and turning it smoothly. The door to Princess Beatrice’s old room clicks open.
* * *
I hold my breath as the door to Bea’s room swings open, but I release it when I find it’s completely empty. And not just empty but dusty. No one has been in here for months, it seems.
I narrow my eyes. I solved the puzzle, but I don’t seem to be any closer to the answers I need. What now?
It’s unnervingly silent. The air completely still.
Until I reach the center of the room, where I feel a buzzing warmth.
I frown and spin around, searching for a sign of something magical. The room is the same as I remember it, besides the layer of dust. The far wall is covered in massive windows looking out over the mountains in the distance. The room itself is similar to Jarron’s but slightly smaller.
The tiny magical charge is the only hint I can find.
So, I follow the feeling, like a stupid game of hot-cold.
I move toward the couches by the bright open windows—the air gets colder. I step back and try toward the dresser against the wall—warmer. I step again. And again. Until the buzzing increases. Just a subtle vibration of magic coming from the full-length mirror.
I swallow. Do I really have to walk through a portal disguised as a mirror?
And if so, was this always a portal? I shiver at the thought. I’d once spent over an hour in this room, trying on formal gowns and having my hair done by the demon princess for the banquet where I was presented as Jarron’s girlfriend.
I stare at my reflection in the mirror—faded dark marks decorate my throat. They used to be bright red.
I looked past my reflection’s shoulders only to notice that, though it’s light and distant, it is most definitely not Bea’s bedroom. I turn to peer over my shoulder in the real world, checking to be sure I haven’t already transported somehow, but no, I’m still in her room, dusty but brightly lit. Mirror-me is somewhere else, though, and the longer I stare, the more obvious it becomes.
I take another step toward the mirror and reach out. The glass ripples like water when my fingertips come into contact with it. Dammit, I really do have to step through a mirror, don’t I?
I study the environment behind mirror-me. There’s a balcony overlooking black cliffs, with shifting waters below. The sky is dark but reddish and scattered with stars and twin moons.
My chest tightens, but so does my resolve as I come to grips with the fact that I will be stepping into Oriziah for the first time.
This is reckless, but there is no chance I’m turning around now.
I’m not afraid of Bea. Even though she led me to the Akrasia Games the last time around, which is proof enough I shouldn’t trust her, but Manuela was right.
Not only could she have the information I desperately need, but she also needs me in return. I have leverage here.
If Bea kills me or sets up a trap that delivers me to the Cosmic Council, she will never,everbe free in her world while Jarron lives. She’d have to put all of her eggs in the rebellion. A rebellion I don’t suspect her betrothed agrees with, considering he’s currently working with Jarron to stop it.
With me as an ally, Bea has a chance to earn forgiveness for her crimes. The bad blood could be washed away. She could be free again. An honored and beloved princess, instead of a fugitive.
My confidence rises. I can do this.
I just need to make sure she always believes she has a chance. No matter what she says, what her plan is, I have to at least pretend to be on board until I get back to the school.
I need to learn how to end the games once and for all. There has to be a way to finish this and free my sister without being part of the corrupt system and sacrificing innocent people for my own gain.
I take in one final deep breath.
Then, I step through the mirror into an entirely new world.
