Page 120 of The Mirror in the Mountain

Time seemed to slow as I fumbled for the hilt of my dagger, feeling its faint hum against my hip. Aviel stole it from me before I could close my fist around it, its black stone glinting as he raised it above me.

My blood felt like it was thickening in my veins, my struggles barely a whimper. He had taken too much, and my body, my very thoughts, were reacting far more slowly than they should.

“Your magic…and your blood,” Aviel murmured, almost clinically.

I watched him stab my dagger downward as if in slow motion.

But I couldn’t move. Couldn’t so much as twist away as my own dagger pierced my stomach, the black jewel in its pommel glinting up at me.

White-hot agony exploded in my gut. It took a moment for me to realize the scream that cut through the silence was mine.

My blood fell far too quickly as Aviel withdrew the blade. He let me go, and I fell to my knees, gasping for air. I could hear my ragged breathing in my ears, each breath burning like they did in every nightmare.

Then I knew nothing but pain as the darkness took me.

Chapter 53

Eva

Pain woke me as quickly as it had dragged me under. I tried in vain to breathe through it, my vision hazy as I forced my eyes open.

Aviel wrapped my braid around his fist, dragging me into the water.

I struggled, trying to dig my feet into the black stone, fighting against the bands of light searing into my wrists. But Aviel was far too strong, and my magic was only a whisper. He pulled me into the gleaming lake, its water soaking through my leathers, lapping at my blood. I realized a second too late what he was about to do when his hand moved to the back of my neck.

Convulsively, I sucked in half a breath before he pushed me under the water. My bound hands slipped frantically against the glowing rocks, their cerulean gleam all I could see. I thrashed, losing my fight against my panic, but his hold was too firm. Bubbles streamed around me as I flailed, the urge to breathe consuming me.

There was a flash of silver in the corner of my vision, and I realized my dagger had fallen into the shallows beside me, its slender blade refracting strangely through the clear water even as my gaze fixed on the black diamond on its hilt.

I needed to breathe. Couldn’t hold on much longer?—

There was blackness on the edges of my vision when Aviel yanked me back above the surface. I wheezed, my chest heaving as I drew in gasping gulps of air.

Everything blurred, but I could make out a blazing golden light ahead, hovering over the lake. I blinked rapidly, losing my breath entirely when I realized what it was.

A leisurely spinning crown floated slowly toward us, flecks of gold rising above it like embers flying above a fire. It looked like it had been woven together from delicate strands of gold, each whirling around the other in ethereal swivels before tapering into elongated points that dissipated into the darkness. It hung above the lake as if suspended by an invisible string, the tiny stones embedded into it reflecting the luminescence of the cavern around us.

There was something about it that drew me in like it was calling to me—something as undeniable as it was destructive. I pressed my hand against my stomach, breathless from the pain as my blood slipped between my fingers.

As I looked down at the dark swirl of my blood in the water, I realizedIhad summoned it. My blood. Because this was the Choosing, and I was the rightful ruler of this realm.

Which meant I needed to get to that crown first.

But Aviel’s light chained my wrists before me. His hand tightly gripped the nape of my neck, holding me in place at his feet where I knelt in the shallow water. I pulled against my bonds, only succeeding in wrenching a moan of pain from my throat as they seared through my skin.

Aviel had the magic of the land on his side. I had foolishly thought I would be able to beat him this time when it mattered the most.

Stubbornly, I forced that thought from my head. There had to be a way.

I will not give up. I willnotlet him win.

As the crown moved closer, I repeated those words over and over in a silent mantra. And for a second, I felt…something. Something that shouldn’t be there.

I closed my eyes, trying to tunnel into the power that should’ve been entirely drained. Yet somehow, it no longer felt that way. There was a warmth moving through me, a magic that felt like an old friend as it traveled through my bones.

And as I reached for a force I didn't entirely understand, I abruptly realized what it was. That bioluminescent glow had gathered around me, dotted streams clustering around every part of me that touched the Source. Dewdrops of bright blue light lifted from the lake, brushing against my skin as they twirled in an unearthly dance. The magic of the land—my birthright—bequeathed tome, not the pretender before me.

As it sank into my veins, it felt like I could finally exhale. Pure, raw power crackled through me, licking across my lips, binding around my wounds, flitting along my knuckles like a row of ringless jewels. Pulsing under my skin in a current that very well might sweep me away. But I hadn’t stolen the land’s magic like the monster beside me. It had given it to me, chosen me, imbuing it into its rightful ruler.

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