Page 33 of The Other Side of the Mirror

Closing my eyes, I thought back to the beginning of that day, the part that shock made me forget. How nervous my parents were.

There’s something we need to tell you.

“I think they were about to tell us the truth about all this that night. Or, they would have, had we not been interrupted…”

I stood up abruptly, then swayed on my feet. Bash lurched forward, but Marin took my arm first, steadying me. She waved Bash off with an odd little smile.

“I’ll show her to her room,” Marin announced. When she looked at me, her bright green eyes swam with concern, the color of both matching the one of her brother’s. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just dived right in like that. You need rest and food after such a long journey, and you’ve barely had time to rest from the initial shock of your magic.”

“Please, don’t worry about it.” I was strangely comforted by her fretting over me as we started toward a large staircase. “I was just as eager to know what happened anyway.” I looked longingly at the necklace still in her hand. “May I have that back now?”

She stopped at the bottom of a stone staircase, stepping behind me to fasten it around my neck as I held up my hair. I hadn’t realized how much I missed the familiar weight of it around my neck. Especially since it was the only physical reminder of my parents that I brought with me.

“I took the remainder of the binding spell from it when I removed the block on your memories. It’s just a necklace now,” Marin assured me as we walked up the steps. “I’ll have Yael bring dinner to your rooms.” She shot Yael a look over her shoulder to make sure she heard, and I saw her answering nod. “But you should know that you’ll likely gain more memories as time goes on. Some will be lost due to how young you were, but if you do see enough, maybe we’ll be able to pinpoint where exactly you’re from, and who exactly your parents were.”

“Thank you,” I whispered wholeheartedly.

Excitement built in my chest so strongly, I almost didn’t realize we had reached a long hallway. Curved, pale blue ceilings reached up to a point and shimmering gray quartz lined the floor. Marin walked me through a door to the left. My eyes widened at the size of my opulent room. Lofty ceilings met two large arched windows overlooking the city below, the red-tinged sun setting over the mountains beyond. A four-poster bed fit for a queen lay against the far wall, covered by sheer blue drapings and intricately patterned sheets. Through an archway there was a comfortable-looking couch by the window, a table, and a few armchairs making up a small seating area. Walking to the window, I looked upon the bustle of the city. Even with it latched, I could hear the lively noise of a nearby market packed with people buying fresh food and wares.

I wished I had more time to explore this city. More time before I had to leave this place, these people.

Brushing that melancholy thought aside, I opened a side door to an adjoining bathroom. It featured a clawfoot tub that I desperately wanted to sink into and a shower so large it included a bench to sit on. I turned to Marin, to thank her…then blinked as I realized the tasteful chandelier above my bed had what looked to be lightbulbs, not candles, for light.

“I thought…”

“It’s powered by a magical form of electricity. And we also have plumbing, for that matter,” Yael said from the doorway. She was holding a large tray of food, laden with more than enough to feed a family of four. “Humans may think they came up with that technology, but did you really expect the faerie realm tonothave flushing toilets?” She laughed. “We just have different methods of powering things. Water never shuts off, and power never dies when it’s sourced from the magic of the land. Well, until the curse, that is.”

I was fascinated, but my stomach rumbled loudly. Grinning, Yael started unloading the steaming plates onto the table in the sitting area.

“I thought we could join you for dinner,” Yael said, plopping down on the comfortable-looking linen couch without waiting for an answer. Not that it had been a question in the first place.

Marin nodded enthusiastically. “We should keep an eye on you anyway in case more memories pop up.”

“Of course,” I replied unnecessarily. Yael was already fixing herself a plate.

Sitting next to her, I filled my own plate with sauce-covered pasta shells, lemon-garnished fish, and colorful roasted vegetables before stuffing my face. The food was simple but well-seasoned, and I couldn’t remember eating anything so good. I groaned aloud when Yael uncovered a tray of desserts when I was full to bursting.

“Dianthe usually insists on making the chocolate tortes herself,” Marin said, giggling. “She’s on an emissary trip to the west, but when she gets back, I want to see what she knows when you describe that castle to her.”

Hope burst in my chest, and I smiled gratefully at her. She and Yael snuggled up in their post-meal stupor. At my urging, they told me about growing up in Imyr, exploring the city, and finding trouble only fae could get into. I was in stitches after a tale about how Marin and Bash brought home a stray dog only to find out it was a young fae shapeshifter who had done so for his first time and couldn’t figure out how to turn back.

Marin laughed. “Bash was so upset about not getting a dog that he and our father went right out and found Phantom, and that big gray mutt still follows him around like the tiny puppy he used to be.”

Yael gazed at Marin adoringly, playing with her hair, and I made a shooing motion at them. “As much as I’ve enjoyed girls’ night, I’m overdue for a full night’s sleep in that big fluffy bed. You two don’t need to babysit me while I snore. Go get reacquainted.”

Yael gave me a devilish smile and a wink. Marin blushed, waving goodbye before they left, their fingers entwined.

I gazed longingly at the bath but contented myself with a quick shower—eager to wash off my travels but too tired to wait for the tub to fill. Stifling a yawn, I found a silky midnight-blue nightgown in my oversized armoire, then barely made it under the covers before my eyelids fluttered closed.

Before I could fall asleep, an old fear crept in that whispered nothing good could last. But it dissipated into the darkness as I drifted off to sleep.

Chapter16

Bash

There was a familiar scream from across the hall. My eyes flew open, my heart beating out of my chest. I was almost out of my bedroom door before I remembered to pull on a pair of pants instead of running across the hallway stark naked. A few seconds later, I burst into Eva’s room, my shadows having already beaten me there through the cracks in the door. But I saw nothing but her.

She was bathed in moonlight from her open curtains, sitting up and clutching at her twisted sheets. Her heavy duvet had been kicked completely off the bed.

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