Page 134 of The Eternal Mirror
Is he somewhere close by? I don’t feel him through the bond, but everything is muted in this half-place.
I’d better get used to not feeling the bond. It’s the shape of things to come if Selene delivers.
A chill runs through me, and I wrap the sheet tighter around my shoulders and sink to the flagged stone floor, leaning against the wall of the house.
I want him so badly; everything hurts.
Maybe Selene will never sever the bond. Maybe she can’t. Or won’t, or...
This is the way it has to be. Because I’ll lose him anyway. And without being tied to me, he’ll have a chance. And I’ll be able to focus on what I need to do.
Destroy the world.
But the people I love will be safe.
I shove my hands into my pockets—and my fingers brush something hard. I pull it out. It’s the matching coin to the one I gaveJosh when we said goodbye. I told him I’d look at it every night and remember him.
Now I stare at it so hard my eyes burn.
He’s out there—alive, maybe even safe. Because of me. Because I loved him enough to let him go.
Maybe love isn’t the problem.
Maybe it’s the answer.
And I’m hit by a blinding insight.
I’ve been pretending love doesn’t matter. But it’s the only thing that ever has. It’s why I’ve done everything. Why I’ll tear down this world.
To save the people I love.
And me? I’m Lucifer’s daughter. I was never meant to grow old. Born for one reason—to destroy my own father. There’s a name for it: patricide. And it’s frowned upon in most societies.
I curl up in a ball, pull the sheet over my head, and close my eyes.
I don’t try to go to sleep. And as soon as I stop trying, bam. I’m asleep and straight into a vision I’ve been praying for, but which I’m totally not ready for.
We’re standing in my dream reality, facing each other. “It’s done,” Selene says.
“What’s—”
But I know, because just like that, I feel it.
Disorientation.
Like gravity has shifted. I stumble. My body doesn’t quite belong to me. For so long, he’s been a compass inside me. Now my magic wobbles. My breath catches. I feel...alone.
“Why?” I ask. “Why now?”
“Because your mate came to me and asked for me to release you both.”
“Khaos asked you to sever the bond? I don’t understand.”
“He wants to give you what you believe you desire most.”
“But—”
“No more.” Her voice holds an equal measure of anger and sadness. With maybe a hint of disappointment. “You have what you wished for. I hope you don’t live to regret it.”
