Page 129 of The Eternal Mirror
The statue of Vortex that towered over the entrance is long gone, replaced with a hundred-foot-tall image of my father. I never really thought much about the god aspect. All Astralis are descended from the gods. It never meant much to me. I remember Amber once asking—what is a god? And to be truthful, I have no fucking clue.
I sent word to my father that I wanted to meet and received a message that he would be here.
I’m taking a risk. But if I die, then Amber will be free. And maybe the pain from the mating bond will fade in time. If she gets time. At least she won’t have to worry about saving me anymore.
I don’t really think that. I’ve already admitted to myself that—unlike Amber—I don’t actually want to die. I accused her of being bitter and self-pitying. I guess it must be catching. But this is actually a calculated risk.
Pillars of marble veined with black—I’m sure they used to be gold—reach up to the ceilings. Walls freshly painted with stories—mostly of his own making, I suspect—of my father’s magnificent life. He has a way of rewriting history. Power hums through the stone like blood in a vein—pulsing, alive, corrupt. I never liked the place. I now realize it is steeped in dark magic.
But what my father isn’t aware of is that I have some dark powers of my own, gifted by Selene so that I could aid Amber in her fight against Lucifer. Hopefully they will give me some protection.
I stride across the main area and through an archway into the inner sanctum, my footsteps echoing across the obsidian floor. The ceiling curves high above like the inside of a beast’s ribcage. The air stinks of incense and ash.
Khronus sits on a throne of twisted metal, on a dais high above me. He looks younger than I remember from my childhood: vibrant, handsome, and awful. Power coils around him in visible threads, like a storm waiting to be unleashed. A crown of the same twisted metal sits on his dark hair.
I walk to the base ofthe stairs and stop.
I used to be afraid in his presence, but no longer. I suspect it was Fury who was truly afraid. Fury was nearly driven to insanity locked in that dungeon. He would cringe in fear in my father’s presence. Now Fury is gone. And Wrath is afraid of nothing.
We look so alike, my father and I. But we are so very different.
He watches me with golden eyes. “She told me you were dead. I grieved for you in my own way.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“I’m glad you are alive.”
Something else I find hard to believe, but I keep my mouth shut.
“You are a dragon. A worthy son of a god. And your dragon will belong to me.”
I feel the pull of his beastmaster magic. But deep inside me, Wrath just chuckles and watches.
His eyes narrow. “How is this possible?”
I just shrug.
“No worries. Your beast will be mine. I shall ride it into battle at the head of my armies as I conquer all the worlds, and their people fall at my feet.”
It occurs to me, not for the first time, that he is fucking insane. Maybe it’s an inevitable reaction to living so long. Hecate was around the same age, and she was definitely not right in the head.
I wonder if the mirror splinter is here. It’s the logical place.
“I’m glad you came,” he says. “I was wondering how long it would take. But tell me—why are you here?”
“To persuade you to stop this madness. To return the mirror splinter to Selene.”
“Why would I?” His smile is pure arrogance. “You have no idea of the power the splinter has given me. And I grow stronger by the hour. Soon I will be a god—not in name. In truth.”
“You can’t use the splinter to reach the Mirror. It will shatter.”
“The Mirror will come to me.”
“No. The Mirror will come to Amber, and she will destroy it before she lets you get anywhere near it. And then, this world will cease to be. All of Astrali will be gone, including you.”
Khronus smiles, slow and wide. “Ah. Amber. How is she? Please tell her that I think fondly of her still. That she will be my queen, and she will smile, or I shall skin the basilisk alive in front of her. And roast the boy on a spit over an eternal fire.”
Nausea churns in my stomach at his twisted visions of the future. Is this what Amber saw? She told me she had seen the world of Khronus’s making. Did she see Josh burn? I’m starting to understand why she would rather destroy everything than let Khronus live.
