Page 102 of The Mirror in the Mountain

We broke through the tree line only for my heart to slam into my stomach as two rangers I recognized rode at breakneck speed back toward us. Bash’s shadows immediately raced before us, shielding us from view as we retreated into the safety of the forest, while simultaneously warning the expanse of soldiers behind us to do the same in a silent signal.

Something solidified in my stomach as they came to a stop in front of me. “The False King…” The hair rose on the backof my neck as I realized I already knew what they were going to say. “His forces are just ahead. They’re attempting to breach Adronix’s gates.”

Rivan swore loudly, though Yael’s string of curses was far more colorful. Pari swung her mount around from where she had been riding beside me, immediately rushing to tell the others what lay ahead.

Bash’s silence seemed to feed into mine as I dragged my eyes to his, my own fear reflecting in their whirling depths. Adrenaline raced through me, but I forced my panic down even as its accompanying despair almost overwhelmed me.

“We won’t be able to stay undetected for long,” Marin said, her tone unusually grim. “They’ll no doubt have scouts watching for our arrival.”

Slowly, I lowered my hand from where it had unconsciously clasped around my throat. “He hasn’t beaten us to the Seeing Mirror yet. Which means we still have a chance.”

My brother nodded, his face pale. “Then we take this time to make a plan.”

Bash’s gaze turned to his rangers. “Can we fight our way through in time to make it into the mountain first?”

One licked her lips nervously. “Not with their numbers. You should see for yourself.”

Bash’s shadows wrapped around the seven of us before I could ask what she meant, motioning for us to follow. We halted just before the crest of the ridge, the dissonant symphony of clanking metal and whinnying horses that had been hidden by our approach preceding the size of the force ahead. I silently slipped from Nisa’s back, following Bash’s footsteps through the snow as his shadows hid our growing horror.

Aviel had indeed beaten us here, though just barely from the look of it. But his army stretched too far and was too vast for us to have any hope of winning this. They spread across the snow-covered plain below us, reaching all the way to the bottom of a mountain so great its peak was shrouded by the ominous storm clouds that surrounded it. Adronix was an ancient, malevolent giant, its slopes stretching endlessly upward in jagged lines, its black rock jutting through the snow like spears. A blast of wind howled through the trees, blowing an icy gust of snow directly at me as if in welcome.

A colossal iron gate was built into its base, standing sentinel as blasts of fire melted the snow encasing it. The massive chains attached to each side of the doorway were pulled taut, like the mountain itself was resisting the intrusion.

Impending death hovered in the air like a specter seeking its next victim. I could feel it waiting in the eves—its darkness more eternal than anything I could produce.

There was a buzzing in my ears as I numbly looked around me. Yael, Rivan, and Bash exchanged a glance, some silent communication passing between them born of fighting side by side for so long. Marin simply palmed her dual blades as if she was picturing the battle ahead. Quinn’s hand trembled against the hilt of her sword. Before I could reach for her, my brother beat me to it, his gaze fierce as her eyes shot to his.

You cannot have them,I silently swore.Any of them.

Bash’s hand in mind tugged me back from my thoughts, and away from the army between us and the mountain, even as that vow rang in my head. As soon as we reached the horses, he lifted me onto Nisa’s back, his gaze steely.

“How?” Rivan asked hoarsely.

As if in answer, a flash of parchment appeared in front of Yael. She snagged it from the air before it could flutter to the ground. A breeze whirred around her as she read aloud, “Morehaven is abandoned. We will ride north as quickly as we can.”

The parchment crumbled to ash in a flicker of shadow.

A muscle feathered in Bash’s jaw. “A trick. They must have left only enough to fool our scouts if they got too close. He knew we would split our forces and wouldn’t risk being pincered in between two armies. And without Queen Sariyah’s people…”

We’re outnumbered. He didn’t have to say it for me to realize how hopelessly we were outmatched.

I swore under my breath, feeling Bash’s mix of rage, fear, and heady determination across our bond. We couldn’t wait for Eliav’s forces to arrive. And they wouldn’t get here in time anyway. Not to stop Aviel.

“If anyone has a brilliant plan, now’s the time,” Yael muttered under her breath.

Bash’s eyes shot to mine, the warning in them clear.Don’t even think about it.

But I wasn’t ready to give up yet. Without looking away, I pulled up my glove enough to expose my palm, then wrote one word.

Worrywart.

Bash shot me an exasperated look, though a hint of airy amusement floated across our bond.

A whirl of white lifted from the snowy ground, blowing clear over the heads of the army ahead. It flew up and over Adronix until it disappeared into the cloudy peak where I could sense the Seeing Mirror, its call like a siren coaxing me to my death.

“We don’t need to win the battle,” I said slowly, chewing on my bottom lip. “Just the war. Which meansweneed to get inside that mountain.”

A horn sounded that seemed to echo across the clearing, another adding to it. And I knew that our limited time was up. That we had been spotted.

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