Page 10 of The Mirror in the Mountain

I reined in my breathing with single-minded determination. I knew that Aviel was the False King masquerading as his own son and had done so to gain the will of the people after his hundred-year war. I knew that he could leech magic from other fae, and from the very land itself, drawing it from the Source deep beneath Morehaven to give himself unstoppable power. And I knew he must be the true cause of the so-called curse in doing so.

Thanks to my brother, I now knew that the former High Queen had foretold that I would be her heir—and that was why Aviel had sought me out. And I knew Tobias was alive. Safe with my friends, and myanima…who was definitely blaming himself for my capture, even if I couldn’t feel his self-flagellation through our silent bond.

I might not know where Aviel was taking me. But Ididknow if I could get my pointer finger to my opposite palm, I could write Bash a message and tell him where to find me…assuming I could figure that out myself. Because the shackles on my wrists weren’t the same as before: there was nothing covering my hands this time. Perhaps Aviel had realized the band was enough to block my magic and had never noticed or understood what the silver quill on my palm meant. For now, my hands were forced apart, each attached to the box I was trapped in. That didn’t mean they would be forever.

When I got the chance, I had to reach Bash. Relying on him getting to me in time couldn’t be my only plan for escape, especially without any idea of how long we had been traveling while I had been unconscious, or if there would be a mirror that was safe to travel through when we arrived. Yet what else couldI do, chained and magicless, beyond relying on my wits to find a way out once we reached wherever Aviel was taking me?

I lifted my head, grateful my collar hadn’t been attached to the iron behind me, only for my forehead to kiss more cold metal. Something warm and wet trickled down my face. It wasn’t until the saltiness touched my lips that I realized I was crying, silent tears tracking down my cheeks. A sob gurgled up my throat, but I choked it back in case my captors were close enough to hear me break. The urge to scream rattled around within me; tearing into my lungs, my chest suffocatingly taut as the walls pressed in again.

Blinking back the useless tears, I forced myself once more to draw a ragged breath. To pretend I was tightly wrapped in the darkness of my own making, even though the collar made that impossible.

I will endure this too. The only way out is through.

I repeated the words to myself, over and over and over as my prison rumbled forward, wincing as I was knocked against the cold metal sides of the box with each bump in the road. No…not just metal.Iron. That deadened, dissociated feeling reminded me of the cell back in Morehaven. Though the iron’s effect on my magic seemed like overkill with a band already on my neck and shackles around my wrists and ankles.

My stomach swooped as I felt a tingle on my palm. I craned my neck, contorting my wrist around painfully. Something warmed in my chest when I saw a familiar silvery glimmer breaking through the darkness.

You saved us, and now it’s our turn to save you. Hold on, hellion.

Savedus.Cursing my inability to write back, I dug my fingernails into the rose-shaped scar on my palm, wishing I could confirm if that included Rivan. Would Bash even tell me if he had died? If I had failed to save him in time?

A drop of something wet ran down my palm over the words, and I realized my nail had drawn blood, a dark half-moon now cutting into Bash’s silvery scrawl. I looked away, hoping it wasn’t a bad omen—a sign that my fears were right.

I bit my lip as the message faded, returning me to the endless blackness.

Pins and needles spiked up my legs. Shifting, I methodically moved my limbs, welcoming the prick if only as a brief distraction. I needed to relieve myself, and I suddenly realized that that urge could help me, perhaps even give me an opportunity to escape before Aviel could get his hands on me. Heat stung my cheeks as I let my bladder loose, cringing at the warm, wet puddle spreading beneath me.

If it bought me time, I wouldn’t waste the tactic to my own embarrassment.

Because they would eventually take me out of this box—and when they did, I needed to be ready. Preferably to find a way to escape before I got to wherever we were going, and Aviel chained me inside another bedroom.

My stomach lurched at the memory of him holding me down. At what I very well might not be able to stop this time. But I wasn’t defenseless, not now, not ever. I had survived him this far. And I couldn’t let myself worry about that until I had to if I was going to stay sane. Not when the only way I was going to get through this was from sheer will alone.

With one last jolt, the carriage came to an abrupt stop, my body thrown against the side of the box. I gasped aloud as my ribs screamed.

Were we at our destination? Or merely a stop along the way?

There were footsteps, and the echoing click of a lock. Then light. Blinding, blinding light burning my retinas like a reflection of Aviel’s stolen power.

The lid screeched open. I blinked over and over as the world burned in the daylight, a shadowy figure leaning over me.

You missed your chance,I thought determinedly.You missed your opportunity to find me defeated, if only for a moment. Now, I am ready.

Aviel’s face came into focus, though it might as well have come straight from my nightmares. His mouth twisted in a smug, sickening smile as I stared into those pale, depthless eyes, not bothering to hide my revulsion. How he had ever managed to pretend to be my intended, let alone the rightful ruler of this realm was beyond me. All I could now see in those dead eyes was the sort of murderous madness not so easily masked.

“Welcome home, darling.”

Even the sound of his voice made me nauseous, a blatant antithesis to my reaction to Bash’s ever-teasing drawl. But his nose wrinkled at the smell of piss, and I couldn’t help a grim little smile.

“Get her cleaned up and ready as soon as we’re inside,” he barked to someone behind him. Silvius, likely. That weasel was never too far away from his master.

There was a turn of a key and a few more loud clicks, the noise reverberating down my chains. I barely had time to register my manacles falling open before rough hands dragged me upright. Sagging forward, my legs unused to standing after so long, I breathed through a rush of dizziness—those rough hands pinning my arms were the only thing holding me up. While I might now be in even worse danger, at least I was free of that godsforsaken box and the blood-crusted chains that bound me. And, more importantly, my finger could reach my palm. I just needed to wait for a moment when I was sure no one was watching.

One guard made a noise of disgust, either at the sodden back of my clothes or the acrid smell, but I acted as though I was tooout of it to notice anything, keeping my eyes half-lidded. Though I couldn’t keep them from widening slightly as I was dragged from the carriage and finally took in my surroundings.

We were in front of the drawbridge of a familiar bronze castle that glinted in the setting sun. Exactly as I saw it in my vision, down to the very last spire.

Aviel’s words finally registered.

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