Page 97 of The Eternal Mirror
It’s around midday, nearly lunchtime, but I can’t face company right now. I must be in a bad way. I close my eyes. I remember the exercises Hecate gave me to clear my mind when she was trying to help me awaken my magic. But the thought of Hecate just depresses me further.
I count my breaths and sink down into the darkness inside me. Frenzy wakes up briefly. But then sleeps. And so do I.
When I open my eyes, the sky’s still blue, but the edges are bleeding gold. Birds are doing that annoying end-of-day chirping thing, like they don’t realize the whole world is about to explode. Again. They’ll die along with everything else if the Eternal Mirror implodes. But would that be such a bad thing? I remember the twisted, tortured creatures in Hell. Better death than that.
God, I’m cheerful.
I sit up and hug my knees to my chest. Then I realize I’m not alone. Zayne is standing at the edge of the clearing. He strolls over and stands over me, hands in his pockets. “I didn’t want to wake you,” he says.
“You didn’t. It was the birds. They’re noisy as fuck.” I squint up at him. “Don’t loom.”
He takes that as an invitation and sinks down onto the grass beside me, legs stretched out. He looks around. “This reminds me a little of the clearing back at Hecate’s village. Where I used to train.”
He’s right. Maybe that’s why I feel so comfortable here. It was a beautiful, magical place before the shadowguard destroyed the village. Why does everything lead back to a horrible thought?
My hands shake a little. I press them into the grass.
After we destroyed Hell, there was a moment—just a breath—where I felt it. Happiness. Hope. That maybe we were done. That maybe, just maybe, the fight was over.
And it was beautiful.
Only it didn’t fucking last.
Zayne snaps his fingers in front of my face. “Hey,” he says. “Don’t look so tragic. It’s not the end of the world.”
“Isn’t it?” I say gloomily.
“You’re a little ray of sunshine today. I bet it’s because you had no lunch.”
“Probably.”
“By the way—you were epic in that meeting. It was crazy earlier; they were all just shouting over each other. Except for your boyfriend. He was just watching them and waiting for you.”
“I don’t want to be epic. And it doesn’t matter, does it?”
He waits.
“I mean...we win. We survive. We burn the bad guys to ash. And it still goes to shit. The world just resets to its natural level, which is pretty low. Like it can’t stand the idea of peace.”
He’s quiet. Not arguing. Not comforting either. Just...letting me say it.
“After Hell,” I say, “I thought we’d get time. You know? Days. Weeks. Maybe even years. Enough for Josh to grow up without watching someone die.”
“He still could,” Zayne says. “Well, without watching anyone else die. We don’t know what’s next.”
I shoot him a look. “Was that supposed to be reassuring?”
He gives a half-shrug. “It’s not about what’s next. It’s about now. We’re still here.”
I exhale slowly. “For how long?”
He watches me for a second, then pushes to his feet. “You need anything?”
“A time machine. Or a strong drink.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
He leaves.
