Page 13 of The Midwinter Mirror
But this is bad news. It means Tansy could be anywhere. I mean any-fucking-where. On another world. I already failed her once by walking away—I thought I had no choice. But there’salways a choice. Now she’s out there, probably lost and scared, and I’m failing her again.
But why? What would someone want with the children? Shit, I have a bad feeling—a really bad feeling—about this. And right now, I have no fucking clue what to do about it. Josh might have ideas. He always does, since that blast of mirror magic changed him. I need to talk to him. Fast. Because I can’t stop the sense of urgency eating away at me.
So, someone lured the children inside the mirror. And I’m guessing it’s the same someone who murdered my mother five years ago. With that thought, something deep inside me loosens its grip. While I’ve always denied that my father killed her, there’s always been a little inkling of doubt. Because Holly was there and she claimed she saw no one except my dad—ergo he must be the killer. Or that’s the conclusion everyone jumped to.
But maybe Holly saw something that couldn’t be explained by logic, so she somehow convinced herself it couldn’t have been real. She’s always had an almost pathological denial of anything magical.
Holly’s hand grips my arm, and I pull myself away from my thoughts. The snow’s falling heavier now, blinding me—swallowing the path and the world beyond it. Beside me, Holly stumbles, only managing to stay upright because of her hand on my arm. She swears under her breath. She’s struggling.
I suppose I could shift and fly her home, but something tells me she’s not quite ready to meet Raze just yet.
She might never be ready.
I peer through the thick, almost impenetrable curtain of snow and see nothing but more snow. The wind has risen as well, blowing the snow into our faces. For a moment, panic grips me. People have died in storms like these. I might have to shift after all. But then the snow clears for a moment, and I can just make out the shadowy shape of a half-ruined shepherd’s hut ahead. Iwrap my arm around her shoulder and guide her there. It’s just crumbling walls and a roof, and a gaping doorway without a door. But it’s good enough to keep us from freezing while we wait out the worst of the storm.
I hate waiting.
I squeeze her shoulder as I hustle her inside, then follow her into the single room. A flagged floor, cracked stone walls, and a roof with too many gaps. But it’s drier than outside, and it cuts the wind. Good enough.
“I used to come here and drink cider on a Friday night after your dad paid me,” I say to Holly.
She shakes off the snow, pulls off her hat, and her silver-blonde hair falls to her shoulders. She’s grown into a beautiful woman. “You never invited me,” she says.
“A princess drinking cider? I don’t think so. And I couldn’t afford champagne.”
The storm howls outside, but underneath it, I feel something else. A low thrum in the stone. More magic.
When I was growing up in Elderfell, I thought everybody here was crazy, the way they talked about the myths and magic as though they were real. I thought they’d been infected by the water or something. But it wasn’t the water.
There’s magic everywhere here.
Maybe some places are just like that—they draw the darkness to them. And this place hums with it. Dark, heavy. My gut twists. If I don’t move fast, I’ll likely never see Tansy again.
“I’ve been past here so many times but never came inside,” Holly says.
“Not a lot of point unless you want somewhere private to drink your cider. I guess it was an old shepherd’s hut back when there were sheep running on the moors up here. It hasn’t been used in as long as I can remember. Anyway, it looks like we’re stuckhere until the snow stops falling. You don’t want to be outside in a storm like this one.”
She presses her lips together and looks away. “I know.”
The words hold a world of sadness. And I remember—her brother Oliver. He went out in a storm, one much like this. I’d been at the manor that night. It was Holly’s birthday party. The snow had started to fall as it got dark and kept falling. Oliver had been crazy to go out in that. Something had driven him toward Silvergate. Holly had never really gotten over it. She’d been the one to find him. It’s strange how often she seems to stumble upon things happening at Silvergate.
In my mind, I see a flash of bright crimson against the snow. And I push the memory away. But I know that’s why her grief cuts so deep because it mirrors mine. We’ve both lost people we love, and now all I can think is Tansy, Tansy, Tansy.
I head further into the room, away from the storm, and lean against the wall, folding my arms across my chest as I let myself study her. Warmth wraps itself around my heart. I hadn’t realized how much I missed her—my best friend, my first kiss... my first grope. I grin at the memory. We’d learned so much together.
I stare at her lips, and her cheeks go pink as though she knows what I’m thinking. We gaze at each other for a long time, some feeling building between us. I give myself a shake. “So what have you been up to?” I ask, breaking the tension between us.
“I’m studying to be a vet,” she replies.
“I’m glad. It was what you wanted to do. Where do you go to college?”
“London.”
I snort. “As far away from Elderfell as you can possibly get. My foster sister was going to college in London before…” I trail off. I’m not sure how to explain where Amber has gone.
“You have a foster sister as well?”
“Had. Yeah—Amber. She’s great, though she never got to London—hooked up with this asshole instead, and they’ve gone…travelling.”
