Page 63 of The Other Side of the Mirror

“My fate is my own,” she said, that manic gleam back in full force. “And I have more to do here.”

I had indeed underestimated Alette.

She pushed me forward, the mantle already starting to close behind me as I staggered down the first few steps. I didn’t have the time to convince her, nor the strength to drag her with me. So I didn’t let myself waver as I took off as fast as I could.

The mantle closed behind me, and I stumbled as the light from the room dissipated. But the jagged stone around me gleamed with enough faint blue light to illuminate the stony steps. I hurried down them as quickly as I dared.

Thrusting my hand out to steady myself, I hissed as the rock cut into my palm then came to a sudden stop. My blood glistened strangely from the shimmer underneath.

Meet me in the forest,I wrote to Bash in shaking letters.

Then I lurched down the stairway, praying the message made it to him with my magic still blocked. But I had received his messages, and found a way into his dreams, with the collar on. Maybe there was some magics it couldn’t block against.

I came to an abrupt stop as I almost walked into a stone wall. Shaking, I frantically looked side to side. There had to be a way out…

Unless Alette betrayed you. Unless you’re still trapped, little bird, and the cat was just playing with her prey…

There was a silvery handprint on the wall, and I slammed my bloody palm into it without thinking. It went straight through. The wall was glamoured, I realized, as I took a slow step into it. My body passed through the seemingly solid stone like I was walking into a dense fog.

I heard footsteps and froze midway through. The fake wall pulsed strangely around me, like a sea of stones, as I heard a pair of guards trudging past the wall.

“Cold, tonight,” one grunted, his voice only feet away.

I clasped a hand over my mouth in case they could pick up on my ragged breathing.

“Let’s get a move on. I need a drink to warm up,” said the other one, his voice farther away.

Barely breathing, I listened to their footsteps until I couldn’t hear them anymore.

Go. Now. Before more come.

With a step, I was through the wall, so close to the forest’s edge I could smell the damp earth. I paused for a long second while I scanned for more guards. But I saw nothing. Heard nothing but the wind through the trees as I moved painfully slowly toward the freedom they offered. After being chained for so long, my muscles quaked and seized as I tried to run, screaming at me to stop, to rest. But I forced them to move forward through the manicured gardens, finally reaching the misty forest.

Now what? I thought dully.

I was in shock, I realized. The bizarre sensation of watching myself stumble through the woods enveloped me.

Breathe.

My dad’s old lesson took over, some of the numbness washing away with the familiar four count in and out.

Keep going.The only way out is through.

There was a tingle on my left hand, and I glanced down to see words on my palm, the iridescent letters floating strangely up at me.

Where are you?

The distraction almost tripped me, my vision blurring at the edges. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my sight along with my mind.

Find a landmark and tell him, I thought blearily.

When I looked back, a glint in the darkness caught my eye. Thegreenhouse.

I stopped short and wrote as concisely as I could.

Behind greenhouse. Heading away.

I didn’t give myself the time to catch my breath or ask how close they were. Not with only minutes before someone found Aviel, or he woke up on his own, if that hadn’t happened already. My whole body ached, the bite mark on my shoulder throbbing with every movement. I tried to push past the pain but couldn’t, wheezing at the effort of keeping my battered body moving.

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