Page 61 of The Uncrowned Prince

Silence fell as Vaniell considered those words and the shared history they implied.

“You went there looking for someone tonight.” That was Senaya.

“So did you.”

The older woman did not deny it.

“You also said you’d forsworn your magic. That you would not help me, because you’d already paid too dearly.” Karreya’s words were an accusation—fierce and bitter. She sounded confused, as well, which made sense. Her truth magic should have warned her if the older woman had lied, so something must have changed since their first meeting.

“Even an old woman can recognize when she is wrong,” Senaya returned softly, and even with his eyes closed and his mind fuzzy with exhaustion, Vaniell could sense her regret.

“I know that I appear to be half dead, but I can still hear you,” he muttered. “Karreya, I’m going to have to ask this again. Who is this person and how do you know her?”

He made the effort to open his eyes and look across the room. Senaya’s face was her own again, and in the warm light of the oil lamps, he marked the lines left by a life of hardship and grief. Her golden-brown eyes held his for a moment and in them he saw neither fear nor judgment, only questions and undeniable sadness.

“I am Karreya’s aunt,” she said quietly, and all of his thoughts slithered to a halt.

He tried to put together all of the clues, everything she’d said, everything she hadnotsaid…

“At first,” Senaya continued, “I refused her request to help locate my brother. I do not wish to see him again, nor do I wish to revisit the reasons I chose to leave my home in the first place. Karreya spoke truly—I set my magic aside and swore to live a different life, if only that world would leave me in peace.”

“But”—she glanced at Karreya, and her face changed—“it has never granted me peace. Everyone I love has been taken from me, in one way or another, and now it seems I must choose once more whether to confront my past. Because it will come for me sooner or later.” Her lips twisted in a wry sort of resignation. “Everyone’s does, I think. And since I cannot stand aside any longer, I have chosen to help my niece survive a world that has nearly destroyed me. If that means saving someone whose history and intentions I cannot yet determine, then so be it.”

At least that explained the nearly identical medallions.

But if this was Karreya’s aunt…

Her father’s sister…

She had changed Vaniell’s appearance, almost without effort.

Senaya was amirror mage.

Gathering every bit of strength he had left, Vaniell rose from the chair, crossed the floor, and leaned against the table, his eyes fixed on Karreya’s. His thoughts were swirling so quickly now, he could not stop them, could barely follow their path, but he could see them taking shape, and it terrified him. Surely it was impossible, but he had to know.

“Karreya.” His voice sounded hollow. Heavy with dread. “Is your father a mage?”

She looked back at him, pale and composed. “Yes.”

“Is he… a mirror mage?”

She swallowed, then nodded once.

“And when did he first disappear?”

Her voice was a hoarse whisper. “About eleven years ago.”

His legs would no longer hold him up. His breath stuttered as if dread were an iron fist, reaching into his chest and squeezing until his lungs emptied and his heart stopped. It might all be a simple mistake. It might still be no more than a coincidence.

But Karreya did not lie, and neither did his instincts.

Both his worlds collided, and the impact stole every conscious thought from his mind. As the floor rushed up to meet him and the light faded, the very last thing he saw was Karreya’s face.

* * *

It felt like days that he wandered in darkness, not quite lucid, hearing voices he knew, but never loudly enough to pull him from the comforting warmth of oblivion.

But at last it seemed that his time had run out—someone was shaking him quite violently and calling his name in a way that sounded more like a threat than an endearment.

---