Page 69 of Wicked Prince of Mirrors
Now, standing on a platform high above the city, no one had come to see us leave. They’d said goodbye after our wedding, yet I wondered about Lyra. True, the land of Everminati might be her home, but was she comfortable being stranded on the other side of the mirror with beautiful immortals who were wise yet treacherous? I now understood why humans feared the Everminati. They were as intoxicating as starlight, but come close and one might be burned by their viciousness.
“Ready,” I confirmed, glancing over at my husband. I wished we had one day, one more night to ourselves before facing the final stages of our quest. My throat felt tight with the very idea of returning to my father’s kingdom.
Methrin climbed the ladder up the side of the beast and mounted, reaching out a hand to swing me up in front of him. I settled into warmth, swallowing hard as Methrin’s arms came around me and took the reins.
“Deep breath,” his voice whispered like velvet in my ears. “It will be the most unusual experience you’ve ever had, but there’s no shame in closing your eyes and holding on until you feel like you can breathe. Whenyou’re able, look up. The starlight is radiant. Flying is like being close to the heavens, to being one of those celestial bodies.”
I nodded, my voice lost to nervousness.
Methrin kicked away the ladder and slapped the reins. He uttered a short command, and the moon drake bellowed. Its wings spread, and I gripped the pommel, embarrassed by my fear. I’d fled from my father’s kingdom, crossed a mirror portal into another realm, learned to harass the darkness of Mirror Magic, and fought monsters. Yet riding on the back of a somewhat tame moon drake terrified me.
We lifted off, and wind sailed past me, sharper, harder than the wind on a ship. I forced myself to open my eyes, knowing I’d miss everything if I cowered. My eyes went wide as the city dropped away. From the air, the architecture was even more magnificent, an opulent sprawling city laid out in a circle with dips and valleys, buildings that twinkled under the moonlight. Magic rained down on it like stardust, glimmering on each curve and line. When I lifted my face to the velvet night, a quilt of light appeared, but beyond it was something else.Someoneelse.
I blinked. The shape of a woman lay cradled inside the lip of the moon. White light burned from within her. She lifted a hand beyond the rim and swept it across the river of darkness, sending motes of white light flowing from her. Star dust fell from her hand to land on the city below. It was a blessing, it was grace, and tears sprang to my eyes.
Leaning back against Methrin’s hard chest, I let myself breathe as the wind whipped past me. Slowly my fears melted away into anticipation and awe.
The sun was rising when we landed on the rise of a hill, which blocked the colossal building from view. Methrin released the reins and jumped down, then reached his arms up for me. The distance was great, but I leaped anyway, and he caught me. Holding me tight against him just for a moment. Then he called to the moon drake again in a rough tongue, and it took off in a whirl of wind and wings, leaving us alone.
Bone tired weariness came over me as Methrin and I stood alone in the lush meadow. The land of the Everminati made the human realm appear like a pale comparison.
“Someone will have seen that,” Methrin cautioned. “But the king is gone, no ships are in the harbor. The portals are always guarded, but we should take advantage of the distraction to sneak through. Follow my lead.”
A tremor went through me. We were really doing this. Finally, I’d return home, face my father, face down the Venators and, at last, learn the truth about what had happened to my mother. Just like Methrin, I’d have a homecoming, yet the thought terrified me.
As though sensing my disquiet, Methrin turned me in his arms and kissed me slowly, deeply until I forgot that anything outside of us existed. His thumb brushed my chin as he withdrew, keeping my face tilted up toward his. “We’ll take this one day at a time. No matter what the future holds, we will conquer it together. First, let’s get through the portal.”
We walked through the grass, the fresh scent making me feel alive again as we entered the stone building. Methrin expertly guided us through the impossibly vast halls and then down underground through passageways I hadn’t seen before. Last time I’d been unconscious because of the magic that tugged at me. Even as we drew closer, an odd undercurrent rushed through me, shifting and changing, tugging on the edges of my magic. I could almost see the mist and my shoulders tensed, expecting at any moment to hear the dark whispers of the shadow.
But they were gone.
Forever.
I knew when we reached the hall of portals, for mirrors covered all surfaces, yet in the very center, up on a dais, was the mirror with a golden framing and a shimmering surface. Occasionally, walls of mist covered it, but what made my heart sink were the guards that stood in front of it, holding spears.
They shifted when Methrin appeared, and he waved his hand. “Let us pass,” he called.
“On whose order?” one of the guards demanded.
“I am Prince Methrin of the Everminati, son of King Ithrani. You will let me pass.”
They stood to the side, and Methrin took my hand. “Focus,” he breathed.
He stepped back, indicating it was my turn to lead, my magic that could open portals and guide us back. My thoughts shifted, thinking of the pool of water on the other side of the Boundary, thinking of home. Reaching out a hand, I guided us into the mirrorverse.
Within was cold, clammy, and a mist surged around us, strong as a current, seeking to drag us back. A roar of voices came, shadows speaking, shrieking. How had Methrin endureddecadesin this darkness?
A light glimmered at the end and I focused my magic on it, drawing us toward it, beating down the shadows. I wasn’t sure how, I just knew that I did, as though I knew exactly what to do and my magic obeyed. Mirror Magic. Pure and untarnished, easier somehow to control without the shadow.
I took a deep breath and plunged into the light.
Water dragged me down. I lost Methrin’s hand. My cloak was heavy, wrapping around my legs as I kicked. Above me light, below me, darkness.
My lungs burned, and suddenly I was above water, splashing, gasping for air. My heart throbbed, my chest was sore, almost raw. I floated, letting the sharp edges of pain ebb away.
“Esmira.” Methrin was beside me, his gentle touch ushering me to the bank. “Deep breaths,” he encouraged. “Don’t try to be strong.”
I lay back, gasping as the chill surrounded me. I recalled the cave, the beasts that haunted it, Rydlin’s magic, and Lyra. It hadn’t been so long ago, perhaps sixmonths since we were last here, yet it felt like a lifetime ago.
