Page 158 of Mountain of Mirrors and Starlight
She blinked up at him, feeling flayed to her bones. She wanted to reassure him she was fine, but the words wouldn’t leave her mouth.
She clutched his gloved fingers hard. “Don’t worry,” she whispered.
Caer smiled, a broken, tear-filled expression. “No promises there.”
“I’m fine,” said Beau, from the other side of the boat. “Care to wipe my brow, sweet Dillon, and cry tears of relief all over me?”
“Umm, I’ll pass, if I may. Besides, from this angle, you look far too like your father.”
Beau picked himself up, as if the observation were some frightful insult. He stared down at the Mirror, at the smooth, pitch-black depths of it.
Aislinn stared too, and ice stared back, as sharp and painful as metal.
Caer breathed deeply, as if he could feel it too.
Aislinn crawled to her knees, taking off her cloak. Beau stopped her before she could cover it.
“What? What is it?”
He pointed to the frame. A thin band of silver writing had appeared just above the glass.
“Can you read it?” she asked him.
“It’s… very old.” He admitted. “Veryold. Definitely says something about seeing into the future. And then… ‘ask and you shall know.’”
Aislinn crept forward. Whatever assurances Aeron had given, she wasn’t handing over the Mirror without testing it first. She pressed her hands against the glass. It rippled beneath her fingertips like water.
“Mirror, Mirror, on the plinth,” she whispered, “what awaits us in Avalinth?”
She saw them bringing the Mirror home, to much fanfare and rejoicing. A great feast was held. Music sang in her ears. She saw herself dancing with Caer, saw him taking her hand and pulling her back to her room. The door opened, their mouths collided—
She pulled back her hand. “Anyone else see that?”
“See what?”
“Excellent.”
Minerva raised an eyebrow. “It worked?”
“Yes. Showed me the future.” She glanced at Caer.I hope.
“Well, that’s comforting.” Minerva clapped her hands together. “Cover it, lass. Just in case. Then let’s get out of this place. We’ve still a long journey back.”
Theirjourneybackthroughthe Deep was uneventful, almost devoid of any monsters. Aislinn knew she ought to be pleased with that, but she almost felt like the monsters were avoiding them, like there was something about the object they now carried that sent them scurrying. The cloak—and the spells Beau cast on it as soon as he’d regained his energy—should have muted its influence, but sometimes, late at night, Aislinn swore she still heard it, pulsing like a heartbeat in the dark.
Sometimes, she caught Caer staring at it.
They hadn’t spoken much on the journey back. Either he was trying to control himself, or he was merely too exhausted. Minerva pushed them much harder this time, determined to get back to Avalinth as quickly as possible.
Aislinn wasn’t sure she shared her desire. She wasn’t sure it was wise to take it back.
Aeron said he wasn’t going to use it for ill,Aislinn told herself, searching his words.“I shall not remove it from Avalinth. Nor shall I allow anyone else to do so. The mirror will remain here, under the care of myself. I shall not use it for any nefarious purposes. You have my vow.”
It ought to be safe. It could never be used against her people.
So why did it fill her with dread?
Aislinn missed Caer—missed him, and the closeness that had thickened between them. Strange to miss someone in front of you, but there it was.
