Page 22 of The Mirror in the Mountain

My injuries were worrying enough that I dared not climb out the window. Aviel had been too overconfident to call for help, but someone would come soon, and they would have no qualms about killing me when they found him dead. I could perhaps get past a few of his guards, but in the state I was in…

Was I willing to sacrifice myself for a better world? I already knew the answer as I pushed up to stand on shaking legs,leaning against the pillar for support. Resolutely, I reached for the dagger he had foolishly left in the room with us.

Then froze as my fingers brushed its hilt, a familiar black diamond shining up at me from a polished silver handle etched with intricate, latticed designs. This wasmydagger. The twin to the one I had returned to my brother. The blade I had thought was lost in that fire. The one Aviel must have stolen that night after he had murdered my parents.

Pure shock hit me as my fingers tightened around it, that diamond seeming to warm in my hand as my thumb brushed against it. But I felt less panicked, less vulnerable with it back in my hand.

Perhaps it was fitting that this blade had returned to me just in time to use it to end the one who had taken it from me in the first place.

Bash’s face floated to the front of my mind, and I glanced down at my hand, suddenly at a loss at what to say. I wondered what my trembling acceptance felt like over our bond as my eyes moved from my scarred palm to the sharpened edge of my blade, trying to find the words for goodbye.

Two hands reached around my chest from behind and yanked. I screamed, railing against the arms holding me, but they immediately let me go.

“You must be quiet, Princess,” said a low, frantic voice.

For a second, I was stuck with how similar this moment was to when I first met Bash not so long ago in a shadowy doorway outside my apartment. Before I believed in any of this—magic and fae and realms beyond my own. Before I even knew who I truly was.

I lifted my dagger in warning, the slender blade seeming to pulse with an inner light even in the dim. But her hands were already raised in surrender.

The fae in front of me had short, silvery hair that contrasted beautifully with her dark skin tone. A slashing scar ran across her cheekbone, barely missing her right eye before slicing through her arched eyebrow. She was smaller than me, but from the look on her face, the strength of her arms, and the cache of weapons at her sides, I immediately knew better than to underestimate her. She took a step back, her deep brown eyes imploring, but it was easy to see she was here to help, especially since she had saved me from that room.

I realized that I could see Aviel through the wall behind me, still slumped forward on the bed. Not the wall...I was lookingthroughthe portrait next to the pillar where I had stood just a moment before.

It was almost funny that my old fear of being pulled through something had just helped save me for a second time, even if it had been a glamor and not another mirror.

Her voice cut through my thoughts. “We need to?—”

“No.” I took a step toward the bedroom, my hand tightening around my dagger. “I can end this right now.”

Loud voices rang out from the hallway. I swore under my breath as Silvius rushed into the room, a contingent of guards in tow. He cursed when he saw his king, the servant quickly running to Aviel’s side.

“Search the castle and the surrounding grounds,” Silvius screamed. “She can’t have gone far.”

There was a rustle of wind, and I turned to see a note disappear from my companion’s hands in a whirl of air magic. I opened my mouth to demand an explanation, but she raised a finger to her lips, then held out her hand with unspoken intention. I stared at it, silently berating myself about missing my chance to finish this. Then my hand clasped around her own.

With the surefooted steps of someone who had taken this path many times, she led me into the dark. My ears rang as Ifollowed her deeper into the tunnel, powering through a wave of dizziness as we reached steps that spiraled downward—not daring to make a noise beyond my own ragged breathing. A faint light glowed at the bottom, barely illuminating our way.

Each step was a struggle, and I leaned against my companion more and more heavily the farther we walked. She gingerly took my elbow to steady me as we came to a stop, and I swayed on my feet.

It felt like forever before she finally spoke, her voice barely a whisper. “We saw you being brought into the castle and knew who you were even before they used your blood to gain entrance. Only a member of your lineage can open the castle doors due to the protection your parents put on it before they left to the mortal realm.” Her eyes scanned my face, but I could only stare at her, my adrenaline crashing in the aftermath of my escape. “Our people haven’t been able to access it for years. Even before your brother’s capture, he was careful to leave its protections in place. I had just made it through the old passages when you almost backed right into the portrait hole…though I’m a little sad I missed you taking down that piece of shit.” She gave me a small smile. “I’m Pari, by the way. Welcome home, Your Majesty.”

My throat was raw from screaming but I managed to whisper, “Eva,” though she obviously knew that already. “There’s no need for titles. But you should know that Tobias is safe. We freed him.”

Her lack of surprise told me she already knew. “He was the one who warned us of your arrival. Though when the False King’s army breached the castle’s wards like they weren't even there, we knew he had you. But Eva?—”

I tripped over my feet as our descent reached a long, musty hallway. Two fae stepped out of the shadows, and I flinched back, though I should’ve known that Pari hadn’t come alone.They were smiling as they walked forward, their lean, muscled forms silhouetted against the faint light of the glowing tunnel. One was dark-haired, one light, both moving in unison as they hurried toward us.

The glint of their blades on their belts sliced through the darkness. One held up a hand and a small fireball appeared, reflecting against the flaxen skin of his razor-sharp cheekbones and his shoulder-length black hair. His companion’s shockingly white hair was pulled back with a leather tie, and I had to suppress a shudder at the pale blue of his eyes. The fact that they were both warriors was obvious, even without the collection of blades adorning their muscled bodies.

As one, they dropped to a knee.

“All hail the rightful Queen,” they said in unison.

“You seem to have me at a disadvantage,” I said dryly, grateful that their eyes didn’t linger lower with the sheerness of my dress. Though perhaps they were just distracted by the blood still drying on my face. As if reading my thoughts, the dark-haired one took the cloak off his back and offered it to me. I tugged it on gratefully.

“I’m Akeno,” he said softly. “And that’s Thorin.”

“We’re here to take you home to your people,” Thorin said, his deep voice gentle. “To the heart of the resistance.”

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