Page 19 of The Mirror in the Mountain

Gathering my strength, I braced my feet apart despite the chains rattling between my ankles. Then sunk into my heels, raising my arms in a long-ingrained fighting stance. Settling into my battered body as I readied myself for this fight.

Aviel laughed mercilessly. “You truly think you can stand against me?”

“Oh, I doubt you know how to win without stealing someone else’s magic to use against them, youlittleleech,” I said with a mocking hand gesture, my thumb and pointer finger moving an inch apart.

If he used magic, I knew I wouldn’t last long without mine. But maybe I could bait him into a situation that would give me a chance. No matter what, I wouldn’t give up without a fight.

A slow smile formed on his face. I suppressed my own as he raised both hands, rudely mimicking my stance.

Thank the gods he’s arrogant enough to take the bait.

“I have hundreds of years on you, foolish girl,” Aviel scoffed. “But I can’t say I mind this particular form of foreplay.”

I tasted bile in my throat. Aviel took a step toward me. Before he could use either of our magics, I threw myself at him, swinging out to strike him in the chest with my forearm. He dodged, but I was already moving, rotating my body into my uppercut. My fist connected with his chin with a satisfying thud, the blow reverberating up my arm. Aviel’s head snapped back. I kicked at his side, but he caught my leg with a snarl, wrenching me toward him before throwing me against the wall.

I let out a small cry as my head slammed against one of the pillars. My vision blurred at the impact, my injured ribs screaming. I let my eyes flutter closed as if stunned, and Aviel stepped forward to press his advantage. Coming to life, I reverse scissor-swept his legs, using my knee to tackle his forward leg and taking him to the ground.

Before I could make another move, my own darkness slammed into me, shoving me down. Bands of my magic wrapped around me, holding me prone as I struggled in vain. Slowly, Aviel got to his feet, calmly straightening his shirt as he placed his foot onto my broken ribs. I screamed as he pressed down, white-hot pain tearing through me as I tried to twist away. But there was nowhere to go.

I should have known it would only be a fair fight until I had the upper hand.

“You will learn to remember your place,” Aviel said with one final press that left me gasping.

“Fuck. You.”

I stared daggers at him as my own magic turned on me. Tendrils of darkness forced me around like a doll, twisting around my torso to pull me upright before shoving me back onto the bed.

He advanced, smirking at me. “I’m going to enjoy this.”

Chapter 10

Bash

My dreamwalk had ended in a panic, every fiber of my being yearning to go to her. I had no more patience for waiting. Not when I could still hear Eva’s gasp of pain in my ears, the vision of her bruised cheek so fresh in my mind. Not when she was withhim.

Waiting would be the death of me…or her.

My friends were already gathered around the round wooden table in the war room, grim-faced and fighting leathers donned, dark circles under their eyes betraying their similar lack of sleep—if they had slept at all. But despite their obvious weariness, the determination in their gazes was a testament to their unwavering resolve. The low din of voices and sharpening swords as my rangers gathered in the great hall leaked in through a crack in the door, Marin’s voice cutting above it to shout orders. They had amassed a small arsenal of weapons as I slept, more of my people joining their contingent with every passing minute. The enormous rectangular mirror loomed over it all, its polished surface reflecting the controlled chaos around it, rippling as if in anticipation.

My fingertips drummed on the ancient grain of the oak table, worn smooth from years of use, a silent witness to the strategicdeliberations of more than one war. Rivan had gathered as much as he could about Soleara’s defenses as soon as I reported the reason behind Aviel’s journey north—which wasn’t much. He looked markedly better, the cuts from Aviel’s magic mostly faded. His neck was still mottled with faded bruises, his voice less hoarse as his vocal cords healed. Tobias was as helpful as he could be, roughly sketching the schematics and surrounding area of the castle, as the two of them pored over them, looking strangely conflicted as he did so.

He had the same look on his face as Eva did when she was hiding something. The same tightening of that familiar, downturned mouth, the carefully smoothed expression. But I knew I wasn’t the right person to press, even if we had reached a reluctant truce.

I was only half-listening as Tobias explained the magic that had kept Soleara hidden, flipping through an ancient tome my sister had found in the castle’s library about the Source. It was hard enough to stay focused on the tedious, faded text, my every thought returning to Eva. Especially as the book had only yielded more conjecture about the magic of the land and its bond with the High Queen or King, rather than anything that could actually help her.

“It was a precaution to keep the enchantment while the False King ruled. To keep Soleara protected and out of sight.” Tobias swore. “That Aviel even knew where to look…”

Marin frowned. “Perhaps it was your blood. If it breaks the magic hiding Soleara, then when he took yours to find Eva…”

Tobias grimaced. “Then he’s known about it all this time.”

I paced, wanting to walk right through the mirror Tobias had described in the main hall of the Solearan castle and run to her.

“Don’t you dare,” Rivan rasped.

I had walked to the doorway without even realizing it, my eyes fixed on the rippling looking glass. Whether Rivan had seenthe look in my eye or had simply seen the direction I was going, it was obvious he had tracked my thoughts.

“I was just?—”

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