Page 122 of The Eternal Mirror
Better sooner than later. Let’s get this over with.
I head over to Khaos and whisper. “Can you give me a few minutes alone with Zayne. He’s going to be difficult.”
Hi eyes narrow but he nods.
I turn back, wave to Zayne, point to the door, and walk out.
For once he doesn’t roll his eyes. Doesn’t smirk. Just follows.
Chapter 45
Who Made Me God?
Gardens surround the house. They must have been beautiful once. Now, like everything here, they are faded, the colors muted.
We walk for a while in silence.
I know Zayne, and I was always aware that we would have to have this conversation. He wasn’t just going to blindly head off to Valandria and leave me behind. And maybe he deserves the truth. I dragged him into this, after all.
A lot of what’s happened in my life was decided at birth. Destiny. Magic. Celestial fire. Nobody asked if I wanted any of it. But I got it all the same.
But I did have a choice with Zayne.
And the thing is, if I’d managed to keep my distance from Zayne and Josh—and believe me, I tried my fucking hardest—then I might have had a chance to actually come through this. Zayne would never have gotten embroiled in my mess. He’d be back on Earth, happily getting into all sorts of trouble. Normal trouble. Not the kind of trouble that involves being kidnapped by megalomaniacal monsters with god complexes. And Khronus would never have had any leverage to bring me to this place.
That’s what love does. Fucks you over.
And I think Zayne might actually understand. After all, he’s been at the mercy of Khronus’s powers before. Khronus nearly made him kill Josh. And Zayne would never have come back from that. He wouldn’t want to live in a world where Khronus has free rein to do as he pleases.
“Tell me what’s really going on,” he says, finally breaking the silence.
I glance back to make sure no one can hear this conversation. How do I word this? I need to convince him to go. “I don’t think I can beat Khronus.”
He stops walking, and we turn to look at each other. “So, there’s no plan with Selene? You made that up?”
“Not quite. But all Selene wants is the Eternal Mirror whole again, before it completely implodes. She doesn’t care—or at least it’s not a priority for her—whether Khronus dies or not. She’s willing to make a deal with him if it gets her the missing piece of the mirror.”
“What happens if the mirror implodes?”
“It reverses creation. The Astral Plane was created by the power of the mirror, and it would vanish as though it had never existed, along with everyone here.”
He frowns. “Then it sounds like she might have a point. And maybe her priorities are right.”
“You are so wrong. The only thing Khronus desires is to be a true god, and if she gives him that, then no one can stop him. Including Selene. And I have seen visions of the world under Khronus.”
He scrubs a hand over his face. “Okay, let’s take a step back. That’s what Selene wants, to fix the mirror. What do you want?”
This is it. “If I can’t kill Khronus, then I will destroy the Mirror.”
His face goes blank while he thinks about that. “You’ll destroy the Mirror, which in turn will destroy the Astral Plane and everyone on it?”
I give a sharp nod.
“And what happens to Valandria and Earth?”
“They should be okay.”
“They should be okay?” he says, quietly at first. Then he takes a step toward me and yells, “They should be fucking okay? Are you completely out of your fucking mind?”
