Page 77 of The Eternal Mirror
“And you likely never will again if I have my way.”
His lips twitch. “You match the decor. Pink suits you.”
“Fuck off.” I stomp across the room and plop myself down at the table. My stomach rumbles. I do a quick check that there’s nothing nasty in the food, then I pick up a bread roll and nibble it.
I push a plate toward Khaos. “Dinner.”
We eat mostly in silence. The tension builds with every bite until finally, he drains the goblet, sits back, and looks at me. “We need to leave here. Now.”
“No.”
“We go back to the first plan. Destroy all the mirrors. Cut him off. The rebels will finish him in the end.”
“That was the plan before I found out about the Eternal Mirror.”
He runs a hand through his hair, frustration stamped on his face. “You don’t even know what that truly is. If it even exists. Maybe it’s just another fairytale.”
“It’s real.” But he’s right in a way. I know it’s real; I saw it. But I know nothing else—what it does, or more importantly, whether it will give Khronus the power he craves.
“You saw what he’s like. You heard what he said. He’s not just power-mad. He’s obsessed with the Mirror. Obsessed with you. You can’t stay here.”
Again, part of me knows he’s right. But I’m stubborn. I can’t leave those witches behind. Or Winter’s brother. “I can. And I will.” I meet his eyes. “Until I know how to stop him.”
“We can come back. Free the witches. Destroy the mirror. But not like this. Not with you sleeping in the queen’s bed.”
I flinch.
He gets up, his chair crashing down behind him as he comes around the table. He takes my face in his hands and kisses me. Hard. Like he’s trying to remind me of something we both keep forgetting. Heat floods me, and I want to drown in that kiss, to forget everything but Khaos and the way he makes me feel.
When he pulls back, he’s breathing hard.
“I’m not letting him have you.”
“He doesn’t,” I whisper. “He never will.”
“Then come with me.”
“I can’t.”
He shakes his head. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”
“I’m hard to kill. And we’ll never be free while he’s alive. He will put me and anyone I love in danger. And if he gets the Eternal Mirror, nothing will stop him.”
The silence crackles between us.
He reaches for me, and I back away.
If I stay, he’ll kiss me again, and I’ll likely do anything he asks just for more kisses. I’m weak like that. So I do the only sensible thing.
I head for the door and run.
Chapter 26
Where I Fall Hard
Istand on the palace rooftop, staring up at the sky and breathing in the clean air.
After I left the room, I wandered the palace, heading upward in search of fresh air and a view of the sky. There were guards everywhere, more than the last time I was here. And plenty of Khronus’s tame witches. But no one stops me. I finally found my way on to this little roof top.
