Page 104 of The Mirror in the Mountain

Rivan dropped from Arion’s back to come to his knees in the snow, digging his bare hands into the frozen soil as his eyelids fluttered closed. Then his eyes shot open, gleaming with greenish light.

“There’s a tunnel.” Rivan pointed to the right. “Small. Likely used for drainage. About a hundred yards that way, built into the stone. We can take it to the side of the mountain, but it stops there. I’ll use my power to redirect it to those doors.”

Marin put a hand on Yael’s shoulder. “I’m staying here. Someone needs to help Pari rally our forces without you lot in charge.” She straightened. “And I’m Imyr’s queen.”

Yael turned to her, leaning across Indra’s back to catch Marin’s lips in a quick, chaste kiss that promised more. Her eyes stayed on my sister, even as she reached for another arrow—striking true despite her gaze never straying. “Stay alive, Your Highness.”

“You too,” Marin replied, raising both her blades threateningly. “That goes for all of you.”

I bowed my head solemnly.

My sister reached into her pocket, retrieving our mother’s stone. “But if Aviel’s at the mountain…”

“I’ll take it,” Tobias said. “I’m looking forward to a rematch with that bastard, especially if he can’t steal my magic this round.” Light crackled from his fingertips as Marin tossed the stone into his waiting hand.

Rivan swore, and I realized his power still spread through the earth. “They opened the doors.”

He didn’t need to say we needed to hurry, not when we all already knew. Rivan leapt onto Arion’s back, galloping through the trees without a backward glance.

My gaze automatically found Eva’s, our eyes meeting for only a moment before she kicked Nisa into a gallop, tearing after Rivan. The snow streaming through the trees nearly blinded me as I followed.

You can’t have her,I swore to the False King that waited for her and the so-called fate that I refused to bow to.She’s mine, and I’m hers, and we deserve the happily ever after she thinks is the price of winning this.

I idly wondered if willing it into being would somehow make it true.

We reached the edge of the stone tunnel, the entirety of it hidden beneath the snow, a swath of bodies in our wake. My shadows had covered us as we ran from the battle, streaking behind us to silence any soldiers so foolish as to try and stop us.

Smoke whinnied his dissent as I dismounted. I gave him a sharp pat on the rump, and a whispered, “Find Marin”, before he galloped back to the forest, the others’ horses behind him. We were far enough from the battle not to raise attention, especially not under the cover of my magic, but we couldn’t risk anyone finding this tunnel and raising the alarm.

My shadows flew from my grasp as I sidled closer to Eva, spinning in agitated circles around her. A blast of air cleared the snow in a split second, leaving only a frozen bramble of thorns and leaves atop a metal grate. I nodded at Yael in thanks. Rivan’s magic made short work of it, the metal curling in on itself, peeling away the grate like he was brushing away a curtain.

He looked up just as the first explosion went off.

I spun around, watching as a giant orb of spinning magic rose above Pari. Air rushed from her palm, somehow containing Akeno’s fire as she launched it across the battlefield, one after another sailing through the air. Where they hit, they burst apart, exploding outward in a blast of fiery gas and scarlet-tinged snow. Thorin stood in front of them, entirely in his element as he fended off those foolish enough to try to stop them by freezing them solid.

Eva’s mouth had dropped open. Tobias only smirked.

“That’s one way to do it,” Rivan said admiringly before lowering himself into the tunnel.

I took Eva’s hand as we followed. Tobias nimbly leapt down behind us, turning to catch Quinn as she slipped on the iced-over ground, before quickly letting her go. Yael slid down the small slope, using her power to steady herself.

The tunnel was indeed a drain, though it must have been built centuries ago. My shadows kept me from slipping on the frozen muck within as I bent over to keep from hitting my head on the icicle-covered ceiling. Eva ducked down beside me; the tunnel so small that she had to crouch. There was a tremor of fear across our bond, and I focused on the steady count of Eva’s breathing.

It was the dark, I realized as fury nearly consumed me.The confined space. The cold.

My hand found Eva’s instinctually before gritting out, “Tobias?”

A second later, three bobbing balls of light appeared, just enough to illuminate the tunnel in front of us. Tobias stared at the largest one sitting in his outstretched palm. I wondered if I just imagined how pale he had gone until I saw Quinn reach over to squeeze his free hand.

“I’ll go first,” Rivan said as though one of us might try to push past him in the narrow space.

Tobias gave Rivan a slight nod in a voiceless ‘go on’as one of the orbs floated in front of him.

We rushed forward as quickly as we could on the frozen ground, our hands bracing against the icy sides of the tunnels. Not daring to slow our pace when Aviel was already inside and hunting for the mirror. Maybe he had already thwarted the Choosing with myanima’s blood and magic. Perhaps we were racing toward our own destruction.

What if all of this was for nothing?

Rivan came to an abrupt halt. I caught Eva around the waist as she skidded forward on a patch of ice. The tunnel narrowed in front of us where ancient copper piping dripped down into it.

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