Page 120 of The Eternal Mirror
I smile. “Of course not. That would be way beyond stupid. Thanks for the warning, but do I look like I want to ‘cease to be’?” I try for a smile like I’m normal and well-adjusted and not an omnicidal maniac.
She frowns. Clearly, I didn’t pull it off.
But I got what I came for. If the only way to stop Khronus is to destroy his entire world, then so be it. Better that, than the future of my visions.
I wake gasping, cold all over.
But I know exactly what I have to do.
Chapter 44
Everything but the Truth
After the vision, I slept like an innocent babe.
Which is sort of ironic, since even I know what I’m planning is...morally dubious. But I’ve seen the alternative, and I won’t let it happen.
I’ve called a meeting in the great hall, where I first met my dad and where he later killed Fury, Khaosti’s beast. I’d been very fond of Fury—and the feeling was mutual. So the place doesn’t hold happy memories. But it’s big enough to fit anyone who wants to come—which turns out to be everybody. And I’m nothing if not pragmatic. The new me.
I visited the kitchen first and stuffed my face with anything I could find. It seems my appetite is back. It’s as though now thatI’ve accepted what I have to do, I can relax. Then I went for a walk while I waited for everyone to arrive.
I’ve spent a lot of time considering what I’m going to say and how much I’m going to reveal about my ultimate endgame.
Not a lot.
As far as everyone is concerned, my main goal is to kill Khronus, restore the splinter to the Eternal Mirror, and make it whole.
To do that, I need the splinter. I need Khronus, and I need the Eternal Mirror.
And once I have those things gathered together, the absolute best outcome would be—I kill Khronus. Except what are the actual chances of that happening? No matter what I try, I can’t get through his wards. So, I have to be ready to try another way.
And obviously, this is an absolute last resort. But sometimes the only way to win is to end the game. And by game, I mean the world of Astrali, including Khronus, but also unfortunately everyone and everything else as well.
Suddenly, my stomach lurches. I race to the nearest tree—duck behind it and puke. Yeah, I’m back to vomiting. Not a good sign. Anyone would think I’m feeling a little conflicted about my plan. But I’m not.
It occurs to me that I’m doing a “Hecate.” I’m hiding my true plan from the people I love because I think they won’t approve. Which means they likely won’t cooperate.
But I’ve seen the future if Khronus takes control—a future where he destroys everyone I love. The visions haunt my sleep. I’ve seen Zayne’s basilisk tethered and tormented. Josh rotting ina dungeon as his new magic is drained. Khaosti—slain or worse. Armies of beasts under Khronus’s control. Witches all but extinct. The stars wiped out.
I straighten, wipe my mouth, and look straight into Khaosti’s golden eyes. He’s never far away. He holds out a bottle of water, and I take it and raise it to my mouth, watching him as I swallow.
“They’re all here,” he says.
“Good. Let’s get it done.”
“Get what done?”
I smile. “Wait and see.”
I head back to the house and to the great hall. As I enter, I hear the echo of my father’s laughter—his anger, his rage. I remember Fury fighting with everything he had, giving up his life before he would give up his freedom.
“Do you ever think of Fury?” I ask.
“All the time.”
The room is crowded. I walk to the front. Zayne is in the first row, and Josh is next to him, Grimlet on his shoulder. Laura is on his other side. Then there’s Jack, Ryke, and the rest of the Wolf pack—they all survived the battle because they were hidden away in the shifters' camp. I think there might be a little bitterness because of that between the factions, but they would have been a liability in the battle. I’ve been working on a spell to protect them from Khronus’s beastmaster magic, but I’m still finding it hard to get spells that protect numerous people to stick. Then there’s Thorben and the Council members, everyone else, most of whom I recognize now.
I wonder if they’ll go.
