Page 10 of The Other Side of the Mirror

Then stopped in my tracks as light reflected in the corner of my eye.

There was a large, gilded mirror across the living room that I hadn’t noticed while fighting the golem. All the commotion had knocked the sheet covering it half off. It fluttered in a nonexistent breeze, as if calling to me.

She had a gate here, all along.

Had she known?

I tore the remaining sheet off the looking glass, and my breath caught as I took in the roses gleaming along its edges. They were sculpted in great detail, each petal and leaf carefully rendered. My focus narrowed on an unfurling bud surrounded by leaves—a perfect match for the burn on Eva’s hand. I winced at the thought of the pain it must have caused her, even if her burn had long since healed. But a portal mere feet away certainly made my job easier.

Picturing the forests that had always been home to me, I slung Eva’s pack over my shoulder, held her tightly to my chest, and stepped through the mirror.

Chapter5

Eva

The golden-haired man was back, clearer than I had ever seen him. His hair shimmered as if reflecting in the sun as he stepped closer. He was otherworldly perfection, that handsome visage leaving me speechless now that I could see him more clearly…especially as a delighted smile crossed his face.

But there was still something about him, in the look in his pale eyes, that made my insides quake and a scream stick in my throat. A golden crown I had never noticed before glinted on his brow.

“Evangeline.” Thatvoice.I knew that voice. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

And then I was slipping, the world spinning as I tried in vain to open my eyes…

* * *

“You giant idiot.”

A lilting female voice cut into the darkness, but my eyes remained firmly shut, as though there were weights on each eyelid. There was a dull roar in my head, my veins still ablaze. My blood was singing, screaming, rejoicing, boiling?—

“I didn’t think?—”

“Obviously.”

Another voice, deeper and male.

“You could have killed her.”

Bash made a pained sound. And I realized I was lying on his lap, his muscular legs beneath my head. His hand was in my hair, the other on my neck, pressing into my pulse. I breathed in that familiar scent of petrichor.

“And how was I supposed to know that her power was so magically locked down evenshedidn’t know it existed?” Bash’s tone was slightly frantic. I felt his fingers tighten in my hair.

“Maybe because she’s been successfully hidden from the False King, her intended, and all of Agadot all this time…and there had to be areasonno one could track her magic?”

I groaned low in my throat and felt a flurry of movement as the trio converged over me.

“Eva?” Bash’s voice was full of concern. “Are you okay?”

I tried to open my eyes and failed, drawing in a sharp, painful breath. Bash’s thumb slid over the line of my chin absently, as if he didn’t realize he was doing it.

“Easy,” said the female voice. “It’s going to take a bit to adjust.”

“What the hell did you do to me?” I ground out, my voice raw.

A bottle was brought to my lips. Bash tilted my head forward as the warm drink flooded into my mouth. I swallowed the tea greedily, the bright taste of ginger and turmeric lending me a flare of strength.

“Are you okay?” Bash’s voice was more urgent this time. “You’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

I groaned again. “You mean anything else? I feel like I’m on fire.”

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