Page 86 of The Eternal Mirror
A smile tugs at my lips as Sheela throws back her hood. I step forward and hug her hard. Then I turn to the second figure. It’s Killian, which is unexpected, though I don’t know why. He did once tell me that he wanted a little more excitement.
“Hey, nice dress,” he says. “And nice digs.”
I growl then ask, “To what do I owe this honor?”
“I told you I would come,” Sheela replies. “I’m here for my mother.”
“And I’m acting as bodyguard and...” Killian shrugs. I catch a glance between him and Sheela. That’s interesting.
“You can come out,” I call. The bathroom door opens, and Khaos appears.
Shock flashes across Corvus’s face. He bows. “Prince.”
Khaos nods.
“There is one more thing,” Corvus says. “The Wolfpack wants to meet. Tonight, same place.”
I can get the witches away and everyone to the relative safety of the rebel camp and then come back with Khaosti to show them he’s alive and well. I catch Khaosti’s eye and give a nod.
“Okay, we’ll be there.”
I head over to the table and help myself to some crusty bread and cheese. I sit munching in silence for a while, waiting for someone to say something. I’m actually glad to see Sheela; I know she said she would come, but I thought we would get back to the rebel camp before she set off. I don’t blame her. If it were my mother... Also, I suspect that if we manage to free the witches, including her mother, they will need some serious healing, and she’s much more experienced at that than I am.
Corvus clears his throat. “I need to get back, but you asked me to let you know if Khronus has any plans to leave the palace. He’s called an emergency Council meeting tonight.”
Well, that’s scarily convenient.
“Then we go tonight,” Khaos says.
I nod, but a shiver of unease runs through me. I suspect Khronus doesn’t entirely trust me. Is he setting a trap? But it doesn’t matter. We have to take the risk because I feel like the walls are closing in on me here, that my chances of fleeing are growing weaker by the minute. And I think of those blackened silver trails in the mirror chamber. How many more will there be by this time tomorrow?
None if I have my way.
“Yes, we go tonight.”
Chapter 30
When There’s No Plan B.
We spend the day laying low.
Sheela wanted to go straight to her mother, but apparently, Khronus is still there, no doubt sucking up magic that he has no right to and gloating over his mirror and his imminent transformation into the re-embodiment of the first god, Vortex.
Sheela and Killian traveled through the previous night, so I offer them the use of the bed. And they take it. Boy, do they take it.
At one point, I bang on the door and shout, “Keep the noise down, we’re supposed to be laying low.”
I’m going crazy, with lots of pent-up energy. I need to go for a run or…something. But that something isn’t happening. Not here anyway. “You want to get out of here?”
Khaos glances at the bedroom door and nods. “Hell, yes.”
I make Khaos invisible, and we take ourselves out. We’re silent for a long time, but I can feel him beside me, and the bond hums happily.
Khaos gives me directions and takes me on a tour of the palace, all the places he spent time growing up, including his old room; it’s stripped bare, with no feel of him, but we both lie back on the four-poster bed and stare at the canopy.
“So, if you don’t want to be king,” I ask, “what do you want to do when you grow up? You know, when this is all over?”
“I don’t know. I feel like my whole life, until the last few months, has been about following orders. Maybe I just want to spend some time seeing the worlds. I don’t want to make plans.”
