Page 45 of The Eternal Mirror
And for one insane second, I swear he’s here.Not just alive. Close.
Then it fades. I’m left panting in the dark, sweat cooling on my skin, my heart thudding like it’s trying to punch its way out of my ribcage.
Fuck.
There’s a tap on the door, and I go still. Then I throw back the covers and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. The stone floor is cold against my bare feet. Josh is curled up under a blanket on the other side of the bed. Zayne’s sprawled across the sofa, boots kicked off, one arm over his eyes.
I don’t wake them.
This meeting was my idea. No point in dragging them into it.
I dress quickly—black shirt, pants, boots. I asked Khronus for some clothes, and he provided. Nothing flashy. Nothing that screams, “Hey, I might be a goddess.”
Another soft tap at the door.
I crack it open.
It’s Corvus. “They’re here,” he says. No greeting. Just those two words, low and sharp.
I nod and follow him down the corridor. We don’t speak. It’s too risky. Not that there’s anyone around this late, but Khronus has eyes everywhere. As we approach the door, he halts, and I come to a stop beside him. “How do we do this?” he asks. “You said you had a plan.”
I grin and then whisper the words of the spell...
“Veil the flesh and dim the light.
Hide me now from mortal sight.”
A shimmer washes over me, and just like that, I’m gone. Don’t you love magic?
Corvus is staring at me—or rather where I was a moment before—with narrowed eyes. Then he gives a quick nod. “Stay close,” he mutters.
He walks purposefully toward the entrance. Two guards are stationed there. One of them scratches his neck and glances around as we pass. Some people are more sensitive to the presence of magic than others.
We’re crossing the courtyard now. The stars are bright above our heads, and the air is cool against my skin. The palace gates loom ahead, tall and gleaming. They’re closed, but Corvus leads the way to a small side gate. He taps three times, and it opens, and we are outside the palace and into the city.
I make a mental note to test the mirror magic outside the palace walls before I go back. It would be good to know.
But right now, somewhere out here—the wolves are waiting.
I follow Corvus around the palace walls. We come to a burned-out building. “It was the old stables,” he says. “Khronus had them torched last year. They were harboring insurgents.”
The stone walls still stand, scorched and cracked, ivy crawling over the gaps like it’s trying to stitch the building back together. “I’ll leave you here,” Corvus says, and then he’s gone.
Inside, the air smells vaguely of smoke and ash. Four men stand in a loose semi-circle around a dead fire pit.
The one in front is tall, lean, and broad-shouldered. His hair is tied back, and his beard is scruffy. Scars mar his hands. His eyes flash silver when he catches my scent.
Guess the spell’s not quite airtight.
I drop it with a whisper.
They go still. One of them snarls—just softly—but the leader raises a hand and steps forward.
“You’re Amber,” he says.
“Yup.”
“You know the prince?”
