Page 83 of The Eternal Mirror
Inside the mirror, the rings burn bright, drawing me in. The tug is stronger than yesterday.
“Soon,” Khronus says. “See? It grows more powerful with every moment.”
I take a step back now and glance around the room. The silver threads are glowing brightly—at least, most of them are. One has gone dark. Someone has died.
“One of the witches is gone,” I say.
He shrugs. “Sacrifices must be made.”
I wonder if she agreed. Somehow, I doubt it. The dead thread doesn’t lead to the cell where Sheela’s mother is. I’m grateful for that, at least.
Khronus is practically rubbing his hands together with glee. “It’s almost ready,” he says. “Soon, we’ll become gods.”
“How exactly do you think that is going to work?”
“At first, I was just experimenting. So much power, so much magic,” he says, like he’s reminiscing about a childhood hobby. “The spell that created your father—it was...timely. He was becoming a problem. The perfect opportunity to test my new power and eliminate a source of irritation.”
My fists tighten at my sides. A fuckingsource of irritation? Is he for real?
“Then it gave me the beastmaster gift, which has brought mesomuch pleasure.” His smile is shark-sharp. “But the real breakthrough came later. Feeding the splinter.”He grins. “I’d already drained a few mirror mages—curiosity, mostly. But their magic didn’t just sustain it... it amplified the power. I was able to draw on it myself.” He steps closer. Reverent. Glowing with the ecstasy of his own madness. “And then—one day—it opened for me. Just a crack. Through it, I glimpsed the Eternal Mirror. And in that moment, I knew...this was no longer a tool. It was a calling. A divine destiny.”
Asshole.
“So, I feed it. Nurture it. When the time is right, the splinter will take me to the Eternal Mirror itself. And when I pass through, I will become more than a man. More than a king. I will becomecreation.Destruction. The next True God.”
I glance at the splinter, the whirling silver rings. Yes, he’s clearly insane, but I suspect he’s also dangerously close to succeeding. This isn't a delusion. It's a blueprint.
“But,” I say, “if you pass through, where will the mirror take you?”
He frowns. “Wherever I wish to go.”
I’m not sure that will be the case. Selene said that she and Vortex couldn’t go through the mirror again, not without destroying this world—it was like a one-way ticket. Presumably that wouldn’t happen if Khronus went through, but where would he end up? And could he ever get back? Hmm…maybe that’s an option. Stuck in some other reality. Unfortunately though, Selene also said that if he tries to use the mirror while it is incomplete, the results would be catastrophic.
“Where did it come from?” I ask, nodding my head toward the splinter. “Where did you find it?”
“One of the Coven of the First Flame had a vision. She saw the Eternal Mirror crack and a splinter fall through the stars. She found it and eventually it made its way to me. I knew then that it was sent by the First Gods to help me achieve greatness.”
I don’t like to burst his bubble but… Okay I’m lying. I’d love to burst his fucking bubble. “Actually, it broke off when Selene killed Vortex.”
His frown deepens as he thinks this through. “You know this how?”
“I know it because I have visions as well.” I shrug. “It’s a witch thing.”
“So Vortex is dead,” he muses. “That makes sense. He was no doubt killed at the moment of my birth.”
“What?” I suspect I just made things worse. That’s what happens when you go around trying to burst other people’s bubbles.
He steps closer, reverent. I resist the urge to take a step back.
“This splinter was sent to me because I am the heir to Vortex’s powers.” His voice is low, full of awe.
Again--what the fuck?
“This is a fragment of Vortex. Broken. Cast out. Reborn. And you...”
He reaches for me. I flinch back before I can stop myself.
“You are my Selene,” he says, almost tenderly. “But this time, you won’t betray me. This time, you’ll stand beside me—as it was meant to be. We will be together for eternity.”
