Page 71 of Wicked Prince of Mirrors
They would not tell me that I was a terror, that I was born into darkness, that I was evil, that my magic made me haunted.
They had no power over me. As Methrin swung the blade and the light grew, driving out the darkness, I finally understood.
Darkness and light could not dwell together because they canceled each other out. When the light was stronger than the darkness, then the light would win. Wickedness had its day, and it was over now. The time of the rule of shadows was over, and now came the day of light and power.
I opened my mouth. A surge of magic like nothing I’d seen before bolted out of me, and this time it was visible. Silver and gold filled the area, and a sharp wind blew, cutting down everything in its path.
There came a mighty explosion, and the ground opened up, swallowing the shadows. Light burned and burned until shadow, blood, and bone shattered into dust.
A halo of golden magic filled my vision, driving out all shadows. All sounds of war faded, the beat of the drum, the shouts of warriors, the moans of death. Silence surrounded me in that sacred circle of magic while it continued to pour out of me.
I knew why I had been gifted with Mirror Magic. Itwas to free Prince Methrin and vanquish the king of monsters. Everything that had happened to me, the good, the bad, the terrible, had happened for a reason.
I sank to my knees, boneless, as the light expanded, beckoning me into a blissful nothingness.
27
ESMIRA
The beasts were free. The shadow monsters were dead. The war was over.
As Methrin had suggested, the beasts were shy but friendly. When the fighting ceased they turned, melting back into the sky, the meadow, the caves, the forests from where they’d come. All except one which resembled a moon drake. It nosed me awake and sat by my side, leathery wings folded. Waiting.
I touched its side, all dread gone, wondering if I could fly. When I turned to ask Methrin he wasn’t there. Instead, in front of me stood the Captain of the Venators. He was too far away to touch, yet close enough to hit with shards of Mirror Magic. Perhaps it was the drake which made him pause, still a sneer covered his hard face. A bloodied hand held tight to his sword, covered in gore, but he did not raise it against me. Not. Yet.
Where was Methrin?A sick sensationgripped me as my old fears resurfaced. The weakness still there, despite all that I’d accomplished. But he did not speak first. Instead, he watched me, ready to pounce if I made a move.
A question hovered on my lips along with the knowledge that despite what he’d do to me, I’d gone through much worse. Yes, I was Princess Esmira and I had Mirror Magic. I’d fled to save my life. I’d taken up arms with the Wicked Prince of Mirrors, freeing him from his imprisonment inside the mirrorverse. And I was not sorry.
But the Captain of the Venators had something I wanted. The truth. And I did not see my father. I wasn’t sure if he’d come to fight even though he was a conqueror, a warrior. A chill went down my spine, but I refused to let fear cow my spirit nor make me bow.
Instead, I lifted my chin and asked the question which had hovered on my lips for years. “What did you do to my mother?”
The slits of his eyes grew narrow as a cruel smile made the jagged scar on his face look meaner. “Your mother.” He chuckled. “Some kind of queen. She had everything we stood against. Mirror Magic. I discovered her secret, cornered her and told her to give me you, yet she refused. She thought herself safe in the chambers of the king, tried to keep you hidden from me because she suspected you had what she had. Only, it never manifested in you, even though I kept a close eye.”
I shivered. Bile rising in my throat. All this. An anguished whisper left my lips. “She was the Queen.”
“A fearful queen, a treacherous queen. Since shewould not bow to me nor give me what I wanted, I had no choice. I went to the king. On the night we were to arrest her, she fled into the wood, and there a monster devoured her. I found her body, an empty husk, a shell, as though she’d seen something that frightened her to death. Yet the king blamed me.”
A shadow shifted behind the Captain of the Venators, standing tall. I recognized him immediately. My father. The king.
He still wore royal colors, even though his armor was splattered in blood and mud. He lifted his sword, blade against the neck of the Captain of the Venators. His eyes were bloodshot, his voice hoarse as he spoke. “I blamed you, because you blackmailed my wife. I saw her shift and change, weeks before you killed her. She became frightened, was always looking over her shoulder and reluctant to leave our quarters. Because you threatened herandmy daughter. If not for your actions, she never would have been in the wood, and the monster never would have killed her. I’ve been blind for so many years, focused on the larger threat, but now I see, you were just as dangerous to me as those with Mirror Magic.”
“Your chosen queen had Mirror Magic,” the Captain of the Venators sneered. “Yourchildhas Mirror Magic. Look at her standing before us with a beast at her side. She freed the Wicked Prince of Mirrors and brought this war on us. She is responsible for the destruction of the Boundary, freeing the beasts and the death of countless innocents. This was what I tried to prevent, yet you blame me. Can you imagine how much more yourqueen would have done if she’d been allowed free reign over her magic?—”
Silver flashed.
“I’ve listened to your lies long enough,” my father cried, and chopped off the Captain’s head.
It was so sudden my hand went to my mouth and a scream left my throat. Tears filled my eyes as I watched the head of the Captain roll and I thought of my mother, of the fear she must have lived in.
A hand touched my shoulder. Methrin. I felt his presence, calm and soothing. “I’m here,” he said.
And those two words were enough. He was here for me, to stand beside me, to be whatever I needed him to be.
Swallowing hard, I faced my father, who stood looking up at me. He pressed a hand to his side. It was only then I noticed all the blood covering him, the way his face was drawn tight, the pain in his gaze. He lifted his chin, even as he wavered. “I see you found your path. Not the path I would have chosen for you, nor the prince I would have seen you stand beside. But you have proven your mettle, you are worthy of the crown, willing to do what needed to be done. For that, I am proud.”
My cheeks were wet with tears, because all this time I hadn’t fought for my father’s approval. I hadn’t considered that, he, too, carried the weight of the loss of my mother.
