Page 106 of An Archer's Reckoning

His head snapped up, as if he’d just realized something. “Wait. What happened before you got here? You said you ran into Constables. Are you sure they did not follow you?”

Dittler brayed, clearly amused.

Jess spit more wine and waved a hand at her horse. “They had their hands full when we left them. I am confident we were not followed, but it does appear we should exchange stories. Come over here and sit. You twohaveto try this wine.”

I listened as Jess recounted her journey to the cave, then as Atikus told of our adventure. Something in her bearing had shifted. Whether it was the newfound safety of our hidden grotto or the effects of the tasty magical wine, her spirits appeared higher than at any time since her rescue. The pall that had hung so heavily over Jess seemed lighter.

I caught her staring off into the distance at times, when something seemed to remind her of her father or brother—or even her mother—but the oppressive pain of her loss and the frightful escape that followed seemed to trouble her less than before.

A few times I glimpsed the headstrong, free-spirited girl I was sure she had once been.

“Do you know what day it is?” she asked Atikus as she refilled her glass.

The Mage stroked his beard as if it could impart wisdom. “I cannot say that I do. Why do you ask?”

“My name day is soon—or just passed—I am not sure. I think I am seventeen now.”

Atikus raised a glass, and a broad smile sparkled within his eyes. “To the Queen and her seventeenth year. Long may she reign.”

“Long may she reign,” I echoed from the back of the cavern where I was taking inventory of the supplies left on the shelves.

“Reign.” Jess’s smile fell. “I think the key part of that phrase is now more of a question than a statement—‘May she reign?’”

“Oh, come now. I have lived a long life and seen much change in our world. Be patient. Things have a way of working out.” Atikus offered a fatherly smile.

“I suppose.” Jess took a sip and stared into her cup.

“Hey, Atikus, come look at this. I think I found something,” I said.

Atikus stood, then looked down at his knees in surprise, as if expecting more of a protest than he received. “That wine is truly amazing. We will have to take some with us when we leave. I feel at least a hundred years younger.”

“That still makes you older than dirt,” I needled as I pulled an ancient tapestry down from the wall. “I hadn’t given thismuch thought, but something caught my eye while I was digging through these barrels and crates. What do you make of this?”

Behind where the tapestry had hung was a mirror that stretched from the cavern’s floor to its ceiling. The mirror itself was made of a gold-tinted metal, while an ornate silver frame etched with vines and roses held the piece in place. Strange runes I didn’t recognize were etched on each corner.

Atikus stood before it and leaned close, perplexed. “Jess, come take a look at something.”

He reached a hand toward the mirror, touched it briefly, and let out a “huh.”

His brows knitted together. He cocked his head.

“Is it going to attack?” I teased.

Atikus waved a bony hand without looking away from the mirror’s surface.

He stepped back and allowed his eyes to trace the frame, starting at one corner and flowing all the way around, until he reached his starting point, then he straightened and turned toward Jess.

“Look in the mirror and tell me what you see.”

She raised a brow. “If I do not see my reflection, I will be worried.”

Atikus grunted. “Get ready to worry, then.”

She swapped places with the Mage and turned toward the mirror. It took a moment, but an image resolved in its surface.

“That is . . . that isinsidethe Crypt of Kings where all monarchs of the Kingdom are laid to rest. How—?”

Atikus shook his head. “I’m not entirely sure. I’ve heard tales of mystical items Enchanted to allow travel or perform other tasks a Gift might do, but nothing like this.”

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