Page 91 of The Eternal Mirror
Sheela hurries up to us. “We need to get them away from here. They need healing and care.”
“I know. I know.” Amber is pacing in front of me, frustration evident in every line of her body.
“Give yourselves up,” Khronus shouts. “And they will be spared. They will be looked after. You can still be my queen.”
“And what about Khaos?” she shouts back.
“For him, there is nothing.”
“Such fatherly love,” she mutters. “And I thought I had it bad.” She turns her back on Khronus and paces some more. She's all pent-up energy. It's sexy as hell. If we get away from here, we—
She stops abruptly and turns to face me. “Oh my god. I’m so fucking stupid.”
“You are?”
“He’s taken the mirror from the palace. That’s where he went tonight, not to any stupid council meeting.”
“So?”
“The mirror was what was blocking my mirror magic from working here. But if it’s gone, then...”
She gives me a huge smile, then stands on her tiptoes and kisses me full on the mouth. Then she turns and lifts her middle finger to Khronus.
I’d laugh if we weren’t in dire danger.
She takes a deep breath and then whispers the words of a spell.
The air shimmers between us, and a beautiful mirror appears.
“Did I mention that I love you?” I say.
She gives me a strange look and answers, “Let’s go.”
Chapter 32
Fifteen Minutes from Home
Ihustle them through the mirror. Khaos is the last one to go, and for a moment, I think he’s going to insist I go through first. Doesn’t he trust me?
I love you.
His words echo in my mind. I almost said them back, but guilt locked them in my throat.
I’m not going to lie. It did occur to me to get them all through, shut the mirror, and stay behind. I need to find where Khronus has taken the splinter, and I need to have a go at killing him. But if I stay now, I’ll probably find myself in a magically warded cell with no chance of getting out. I think I still have value, and he’d likely keep me alive, but maybe I would soon wish I was dead.
I suspect he’s the vindictive type.
So I’m leaving.
I can feel the magic of Khronus’s tame witches hammering at my protection spells. “I’ll be right behind you,” I say.
He searches my face, then nods and disappears through the mirror. With one last look around me—my gaze clashes with Khronus, and I blow him a kiss—I step through the mirror. On the other side, I turn immediately and whisper the words that will close it, and it fades away.
Then I turn back to look at our little group.
Killian is still out cold—he had to be dragged through the mirror. The witches don’t look like they can go much farther; even Hella is wilting. Like last time, I didn’t want to land us right in the middle of the rebel camp, just in case they panicked and shot us as intruders. But we’ve only got a fifteen-minute walk. Then they can rest, and we can treat them. I suspect what’s ailing them is beyond any normal healing, but we have to try.
Khaosti is standing close by, watching me. But I don’t know what to say to him right now. I’m a mess. So, I head over to where Killian is lying on the ground, still in wolf form. Sheela is standing beside him, one arm wrapped around her mother’s shoulder.
