Page 81 of The Book of Legends
Midwinter’s Second Breath
The dark forest is alive.
The sensation is visceral—every step sinks into moss that pulses in sync with our strides. The trees don’t sag with age; they murmur. Listening. Waiting.
Kainen walks ahead, his black robe trailing behind him like smoke. His fingers graze the pommel of his sword—not out of readiness, but habit. A reminder. He doesn't need to draw it. Not here. Not unless the forest disagrees.
“This is where my mother came from,” he says without turning.
My chest tightens.
He’s never spoken of her without bitterness. But now—no accusation. Just truth. The air here is different. Wilder. Older. Woven with enchantments I feel thrumming beneath my skin. My mother once stood in this very place. And I, unknowingly, carry her legacy. The blood of witches sings in my veins.
Malachi lingers behind, his massive shadow shifting in the moonlight. He doesn't like it here.
Neither do I.
The trees part to reveal a stone circle, half-swallowed by ivy and glowing faintly blue in the moonlight.
“This is them, isn’t it?” I ask, my voice softer than I intend.
Kainen looks at me. The silver moonlight etches sharp lines across his face. “No,” he says, stepping closer. “But you won’t find what you’re looking for without them.”
“She’s gone,” I whisper. “But there’s something of her left. A book.”
“The mirror,” he says.
I follow his gaze to the center of the circle, where a towering mirror shimmers into existence, carved from obsidian and bone, its edges wrapped in ancient runes. My reflection stares back—no glasses, no sweatshirt. Just Selene. A girl caught between two worlds.
“It’s a gate,” Kainen says. “One that opens with blood.”
“I don’t even know if I want to go back.”
He steps in close, his voice low. “Then don’t. But if you do… take me with you.”
My heart stutters. “You don’t belong there.”
“Just like you thought you don’t belong here. Until I found you.”
I should pull away. I should run. But I don’t. I move closer. Close enough to feel the heat of his body.
“What if we can’t come back?” I ask.
He presses his forehead to mine, his voice a soft vow. “Then we burn the world and build one that will have us.”
The mirror pulses.
A witch steps out of the trees. Her hair falls in silvery waves, her eyes deep pools of knowing. “You seek to open a door thatcannot close without consequence,” she says. “You wish to cross the veil of memory… and return with truth.”
“I need the book,” I say. “And my aunt’s ashes. I have to bring them here. With me.”
She nods once. Then slices her palm and presses it to the mirror. Red runes blaze to life as the glass ripples.
Kainen takes my hand.
“You’re not going without me.”
I don’t argue. We step through.
