Page 108 of The Eternal Mirror
“They knew our defenses,” he says. “The advance force took us by surprise and cut down the sentries. I missed something.”
“It’s too late to worry about that now.”
His eyes narrow, but he nods. “We’ve killed them, but they’ve done what they came to do—disrupted the camp. Thrown us into chaos.”
“Well, hold it together. How far is the main army? Is Khronus with them?”
“Minutes away. Zayne did a flyover. But I’ve sent him to the shifter camp because, yes, my father is with them.”
We’d set the shifters up in a camp a mile away, out of range of Khronus’s beastmaster powers. I’d tried to duplicate my spell to stop them from working, but I can’t seem to make it stick on multiple people at once. It’s a pain because all our best fighters are shifters, but we can’t risk it. Luckily, many of the rebels are actually human from the other worlds, or mixed breeds with no powers, so they are safe from Khronus’s magic. Plus, there are a good number of women in the army. Again, mostly human. It’s a pity we don’t have more witches, but hey, guess what—they’re dead.
“Stay close to me,” Khaos says, his voice all grit and command. “If I don’t know where you are, I can’t think. I can’t fight.”
I nod. I don’t argue. For once. I’m still trying to pull myself out of the nightmare vision. My current reality is just toosimilar.
But I stay close to his side as we make our way through the camp. Bodies lie in disarray, the scent of blood hanging in the air. Firelight gleams off tents, armor, and bare, bloodied skin. We head to the rise. Thorben is there, staring out over the darkness beyond the camp. There’s no moon tonight, and the land is in shadow. But as I stare, I can make out the shadows moving toward us.
Then the clouds shift, and the moon appears. I see Khronus at the head of a huge army, riding a black horse. His guards surround him, also on horseback, followed by a multitude of foot soldiers and beasts—no doubt shifters under Khronus’s control. The army spreads out, surrounding the camp, and a sense of dread fills me.
And then they’re in. Pouring through the perimeter like floodwater, and there’s no more time to think. Khaos has trained the men well; they fight in pairs, back-to-back. But even so, the enemy get through, and soon we’re fighting for our lives.
I don’t want to fight the shifters. They’re probably doing this under coercion, but I don’t know how to free them. I strike down a wolf, and as the body hits the ground, it shifts back to a man—or rather a boy.
I duck as a blade swings past my face. They go down. Khaosti has already turned to cover my back. A blur of motion. Blood arcs. Screams follow. They’re closing in on us.
It’s time for some magic, but last time I did this, it nearly killed me. And I can’t afford to die before I take out Khronus.
I raise my sword and pull the celestial fire from deep within me. I whisper the words of a spell and point my sword at the circle of enemies surrounding us. Crimson flame shoots from thetip, engulfing them all, and they scream and burn. The scent of scorched flesh fills my nostrils.
I feel the familiar sense of wild power filling me. The celestial fire, gifted to me by Selene when I was a baby, is intoxicating.
“Guard my back,” I say to Khaos. He nods, and I head off the rise into the fray. I try to make sense of the fight, only picking off the enemy when I’m sure I won’t take out friends as well. But word must be spreading because they are backing away, except for the shifters who don’t have that option. The swarm is thinning, and through it, I spot someone I recognize.
He's standing tall at the tree line, wearing the black uniform of Khronus’s guard. Giving fucking orders. Gesturing like he knows every inch of this place.
No. Please, no. I want so badly to be wrong.
But then the moon hits his face, and there’s no mistaking him.
Niall.
I stop cold.
Khaosti nearly slams into me. “What?”
I just point.
His gaze follows mine.
“Niall,” I say. And my voice is dead. Hollow. “It was him. He betrayed us.”
Khaosti’s jaw clenches. “I should have guessed,” he growls. “I should have changed our defenses when he disappeared.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
“It’s my job to know.”
Fucking Niall. “Niall!” I roar.
