Page 21 of The Eternal Mirror
I pull off the road onto a narrow verge, cut the engine, and drop my head back against the seat. The silence rushes in like a tide.
And then it hits.
Not pain—this time it’s something deeper. Older.
A thread tightening between worlds.
I close my eyes, and her name echoes through me like a storm rolling across a wide black sky.
Amber.
Chapter 8
The Place Between Worlds
Something jolts me awake.
I blink open my eyes to a dimly lit room. I’m lying on the bed, with Josh clinging tightly to me in his sleep. His hands remind me of Grimlet’s claws, the way he would hold on so tightly, as though that would keep him safe from the horrors of Hell. I hope Khaosti is being kind to the little gargoyle, though kind is not a word I tend to associate with Khaos.
Across the room, Zayne is sprawled in the chair. I offered him the bed, but he said, “What the fuck for? There’s no fucking way I’m going to sleep.” I can hear his gentle snoring.
My body aches for sleep, for the black void where nothing hurts and no one needs saving. But my eyes won’t close. My mind won’t shut up. Fear claws behind my ribs—sharp and relentless.
How do I keep Khronus from hurting Zayne or Josh without giving away too much of myself? I need to be intriguing enough to be worth keeping alive, but weak enough that he underestimates me and gives me the chance to get us all away from here.
It would help if I knew what he wants.
More power, obviously. To be worshiped, definitely.
I don’t get it. Why would anyone want that? I just want...
A vision of Khaosti fills my mind. My chest tightens. I can still feel the press of his body, the warmth of his skin against me, the way his mouth moved over mine, as if he was memorizing it. That last time we made love, we knew we were likely going to die, and it was still the most sublime moment of my life. For a brief time, I forgot about the future and whatever pain and loss it might hold (a fucking lot, as it turns out), and just lived in that moment.
My heart rate picks up, and the bond jerks tight—hot and sharp, like barbed wire around my heart. I suck in a breath and press a fist to my chest. It’s him. Somewhere out there, it’shim.
Where is he?
Still on Valandria? Or has he already traveled to Earth? Or—gods forbid—here?
I’ve been trying not to think about him because it hurts too much. Part of me wants to pretend he doesn’t exist, to be free of the fear of losing him. Of being forced to watch him suffer and die.
But I can feel him inside me, part of me, whether I like it or not. I concentrate on the bond and feel a spark.
“Amber?”
The word slices through the silence.
I jerk upright—my pulse spikes, heat rushing to my face. But there’s no one here. Just me...and the bond, humming like a live wire under my skin.
But maybe he is calling me. I close my eyes and sink into myself, concentrating on the bond, feeling its first tentative tug, then stronger, pulling me under.
And I’m in another place.
The darkness wraps around me, thick and endless. And there’s no sound. Nothing. I am floating in an empty space. It’s peaceful.
I have a feeling that this is not the first time I’ve been here.
And then there’s light. Not a soft glow, not a flickering candle, but a blaze of silver radiance that sears through the nothingness. It draws me forward, whether I want to go or not. My body feels weightless, floating through the void, untethered from my messy life.
