Page 39 of The Other Side of the Mirror

My eyes opened to find Bash studying me intently.

I managed a shallow nod, unsure if my voice would work under the circumstances. Or that if I did open my mouth, nothing but my own fears would come out.

Taking a long, measured breath, I slowly counted out the exhale. Then did it again. Bash removed his steadying hand the instant I found a semblance of calm.

“Ready, freckles,” I croaked, not meeting his eyes as if that could hide the lie. It wasn’t an answer. But I wasn’t about to give him one, not when it was obvious he already knew.

I took a small step forward, my nose nearly touching the glass. My nerves multiplied despite my best efforts to control them, like a current under my skin.

Morehaven, I repeated silently, over and over.

What would happen if the mirror chose not to let me through? Would I end up trapped somewhere in between? Drown in a pool of silver, begging it to let me go?

Morehaven, I mouthed.Please.

With Bash’s grounding presence behind me, I took the final step forward.

There was a tingling sensation all over my body as I passed through the glass, its surface rippling violently. My hair stood on end as a strange energy filled me with a wicked sense of déjà vu. The world rushed toward me in an explosion of colors and sound, my stomach leaping into my throat at the sensation that I was flying forward yet falling all at once?—

And then I was through.

Everything was a bright white. As the glare faded, it remained that way. White marble floors shone with an opalescent gleam, the receiving hall blinding in the daylight. A three-tiered glass chandelier splashed rainbows around the room from the extravagant, soaring ceiling. Light poured in from giant curved windows that took up an entire wall. I turned in a slow circle, noting that the mirror I walked through almost reached the ceiling. Shining silver feathers pointed outward along its frame like a peacock’s plumage, edged in glittering white stones. I gaped at all of it, then remembered I wasn’t alone.

Someone who could only be Prince Aviel was standing in front of Rivan, his focus fixed entirely on me. A shorter, stout fae stood a step behind him, wearing a shining silver tailcoat and a deeply ingrained frown.

I stared at the prince, momentarily stunned that anyone could be so impossibly handsome. He wore a white buttoned shirt with silver detailing that trailed down his arms. A dark blue cape hung around his broad shoulders, fastened with silver brocade at the collar. Matching blue pants gripped his muscular thighs, his impeccably polished black, knee-high boots clicking against the marble as he stepped toward me. Golden hair gleamed in the sunlight, his chiseled jaw and ethereal good looks making him seem like he had stepped right out of a fairytale.

The irony of that thought wasn’t lost on me.

Yet there was something disconcerting in his unblinking, pale blue eyes as they took me in…like I had seen them before.

Of course, you have,I realized with a jolt.They’re the same as his father’s.

I may not fully believe in thisanimabusiness, but there was no doubt in my mind after Bash and the others’ single-mindedness in bringing me here that everyone in this realm believed that me bonding with Aviel was the only way to stop the curse, despite my lack of details on how that would actually be accomplished. And as much as I pushed back against the concept, a small part of me wondered if it might be nice that someone could truly be meant for me. Someone so strong he had survived his monstrous father, even after the False King had killed my parents and so many others.

It wouldn’t be the worst idea to give this brave, and yes, handsome prince a chance. Not when the entire realm was counting on exactly that.

I stepped forward, curtsying in the way Marin had quickly instructed me before saying goodbye after breakfast. It felt awkward, like the movement belonged in a dance I didn’t know—though I hoped it didn’t look it. Before I could get my head on straight, the prince was right in front of me, his hand taking mine as I rose.

His lips brushed against it. “I’ve been waiting for you, Evangeline.”

A strange sense of recognition washed over me. Aviel smiled, and I managed a small one in return, my heart hammering in my chest. Maybe this sense of familiarity was theanimabond. I sucked in a nervous breath as those pale blue eyes bore into mine.

Bash stepped up next to me, his head high, and I was reminded that he was a king in his own right when he gave only a short bow. “Your Majesty.”

“Thank you for bringing her to me,” Aviel said in an aristocratic drawl, more declaration than sentiment. He nodded at each of my friends before giving me another small smile. “You and I have much to discuss. But first, I’ll let you say your goodbyes.”

Aviel glanced at his dour companion. “Make sure everything is ready for our guest, Silvius,” he said in the tone of someone used to being obeyed. He turned back to me. “I’ll meet you outside when you’re ready.”

He gave me a long look before he strode to the soaring windows, walking through a glass doorway before disappearing from view. Silvius scurried away, leaving the four of us in the empty hall. I couldn’t help but be grateful Aviel had given me privacy to say goodbye while he waited for me to follow. Especially considering how long he had searched for me.

Yael hugged me first, tightly, before I turned to Rivan…saving Bash for last. Yet I couldn’t shake a sense of foreboding that my friends, the only people I knew in this entire realm, were about to leave me behind. I had lived a more solitary existence since my family’s deaths, my only true effort going into my friendship with Quinn. But somehow…somehow, I didn’t want that closed-off semblance of a life anymore.

Some people spent a lifetime never finding their tribe, or even knowing they needed one. Others were lucky enough to find theirs without even meaning to do so.

I couldn’t shake the feeling I was abandoning mine.

“If you ever need a training buddy, or a friend to talk to…” Yael’s face pinched in a way I was sure reflected on my own. “We’re only a step away.” She gestured vaguely at the giant gilded mirror looming behind us, its extravagant platinum details twinkling in the light. “I’m sure you can visit.”

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