Page 152 of The Eternal Mirror
And I’m still here.
All around me, the remnants of the army fall to their knees. At the edge of the clearing, I see the others approach, and one by one, they drop to their knees: Thanouq, Josh, even Zayne. That’s something I never thought I would see.
Maybe I am a goddess after all.
Wrath comes in to land in front of the mirror, and then Khaos is back. I shift to stand beside him.
“You did it,” he whispers.
“We did it,” I reply.
Not because we were fated to.
But because we chose to.
Chapter 58
Together We Rise
We sit in the ashes of what used to be a war.
The clearing is quiet now. Smoke curls upward in soft spirals. The Mirror hums in the background—low, pulsing, not quite at rest.
I should be dancing. Laughing. Buzzing with victory. But I’m bone-tired. The kind of tired that lives in your soul.
Selene is seated beneath the mirror. She looks like she’s praying. Josh is sitting cross-legged in the scorched grass, throwing pine cones at Grimlet, who yelps and dodges them with dramatic flair.
Zayne is pacing.
Thanouq is organizing what’s left of the army to clear up the bodies. He keeps casting me furtive glances, as if he’s figuring out how to write the next page of his prophecy.
Khaos hasn’t left my side. His hand is clasped in mine, holding tight, as though he can’t quite accept that we’re both still here and alive and together. I think the trouble is that neither of us knows what to do next. How to be happy.
“So,” Zayne says, finally breaking the silence, “Are you king now that you just killed your dad?”
Khaos snorts. “Hard pass.”
“They would follow you,” Thanouq says. “They need a strong leader.” He doesn’t actually say it’s Khaosti’s duty, but the implication is there.
“Fuck that,” Khaos says. “The Council will take over. There’s no need for a king.” He casts Thanouq an amused glance. “Anyway, kings are outdated and immoral.”
Zayne chuckles. Maybe he’s starting to warm to my asshole boyfriend. He turns to me. “What do you want to do? Go back to Earth? Maybe you could finally go to college like you planned. You always said you wanted to be normal.”
Normal.
Right.
Another ship that’s well and truly sunk. “I don’t think so.”
I look around and see Josh, alive if a little changed. He has a chance to grow up now. Zayne, still sarcastic, and no doubt heading for trouble. Thanouq with a kingdom to run.
I’m sure they all have plans, now that they have a future.
Me? I don’t know what I want to do. All I know for certain is I want to do it with Khaos.
“The position as my queen is still open,” Thanouq says.
I hear a low growl from beside me. Khaosti.
