Page 108 of The Mirror in the Mountain

“No,” I insisted, my voice sharpening. “I’m not leaving either of you behind.”

Every fiber of my being protested at the thought of leaving them. Leavinghim.

“Bold of you to assume you have any choice in the matter,” Rivan said with forced flippancy. “Not when you know this is what needs to be done. We’re running out of time.”

Bash bared his teeth, snarling against whatever was trying to force its way in from the other side of the door.

Yael stepped forward. “I can help?—”

“We don’t havetimefor this,” Rivan growled. “And unless any of you have a previously undisclosed affinity with rock and stone, then I’m the best person for the job. We need as many people as we can to get Eva to that mirror. You all need to hurry up and stop the False King or all of this is fornothing.”

“You idiots will burn yourselves out trying to hold off an entire army by yourself,” Yael snapped, stepping toward him. “There has to be a better way.”

“We can stop them.” Bash’s voice shook. Something stung on my palm, and I realized my fingernails had drawn blood. “Butyou’ll need all the help you can get to stop Aviel.” Bash’s eyes met mine. His fear seemed to permeate the air between us, fighting through the static of our bond—not fear for himself, but for me.

“You should go with her,” Yael said to Bash. “You’re the one who can go through that mirror with her.”

Bash shook his head, just slightly, like even that effort cost him. “If I let go of this now, they’ll open this door, and I’m not going to let that happen. But if he’s already through the mirror…” Bash swallowed, shadows violently swirling in his irises as his eyes met mine. “Just keep fighting until I get there.”

“I won’t let her face him alone,” Tobias promised, light flickering at his fingertips. His shoulders set as he subtly inched closer to me. “You’re not the only ones with a score to settle. And I know all of that bastard’s tricks.”

Rivan caught my gaze, his voice solemn as he vowed, “I’ll make sure Bash returns to you.”

Bash winced, his eyes closing as the doorway shuddered. His shadows wrapped around his arms as if to steady him as he gasped, “Rivan.”

“On it.” Rivan grimaced as he pressed his hands against the stone floor. A layer of rock began to climb upon itself, bracing the iron door as the stone closed in around it.

“You can do this, Eva. I trust you. But you have to go.” Bash’s eyes were wholly black as his shadows streamed from his hands against the endless onslaught that I knew must be close to breaking him. “Now.”

The edge of panic lacing his tone lodged a knot of fear in my throat, which only grew as I stepped away from him. Like my heart was begging me not to leave him, even as something above us urged me forward. Like the mountain itself was whispering,Run, run, run.

“Promise me…” I swallowed roughly as I looked at him for a long second, my eyes searching his. “Promise me that you’ll come back to me.”

“I promise,” he said, his voice thick. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

I started to turn, but his voice stopped me in my tracks.

“Eva?” He sucked in a deep, gasping breath. “This isn’t the end. I love you.”

Perhaps he also remembered how heartbroken I was that I didn’t get the chance to say those three words back to my mother before it was too late. All I could think was that if this was the last time, I wouldn’t miss my chance.

My voice broke slightly as I said, “I love you too.”

An expression of despairing resignation flickered in his eyes, a few tendrils of shadows reaching back toward me like they could keep me at his side. As I turned away, I tried to shake off the uneasy feeling that those might be the last words we would ever say to each other, even though he had promised to come back to me.

He hadn’t asked me to promise the same. Maybe we both knew it would have been a lie.

Chapter 47

Bash

Eva disappeared down the long stone tunnel, Yael, Tobias, and Quinn at her heels. I hated that I couldn’t fully feel her across our bond with the mountain’s interference.

Would I even know if she was in trouble? If she…

I shoved that thought away. One impossible thing at a time. And I wasn’t about to lose faith in her—not now, not ever.

“I’m not going to be able to hold that army off much longer, even with your help.”

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