Page 140 of The Eternal Mirror
“I can send you to Valandria,” I say. “To the others. You’ll be safe at least for a while. There’ll be enough time for you to work out where to go, where to hide if we fail.”
He shakes his head. “I’ll stay. You need all the help you can get.”
“There’s no point in you dying for nothing. This fight won’t be about numbers; it’s about magic. Go to safety, Killian.”
He thinks for a moment, and a look of longing fills his dark eyes. “Can you send me home?”
“To Earth?”
He nods.
“I can do that.” I think for a moment, then whisper the words of a spell, and a mirror forms in the kitchen. He pushes himself to his feet. “I thought—when you told me Lucifer was dead and Hell was no more, that it was the start of a new world. But it’s the same shit, isn’t it?”
“Worse.”
He snorts, then pushes himself up and goes to the mirror. The glass ripples. He hesitates. “He thinks he’s won. Prove him wrong, Amber.”
“We will.” Maybe. Sort of.
Khaos steps up beside me. He doesn’t touch me or speak. We watch as Killian steps through the mirror, which fades into nothing, leaving us alone again. I’m glad he’s survived, and I think he’ll be okay if he’s given the chance.
And now, the final battlefield waits.
“Are you ready for this?” I ask Khaos.
“No.”
“That makes two of us. But let’s go end it anyway.”
One way or the other.
Chapter 54
Beneath the Mirror
We break through the tree line into the clearing, and I stop dead.
I’ve felt it growing in my mind all the way here, like a pressure that needs lancing.
The pavilion lies ahead, bathed in moonlight. Marble pillars wreathed in faded vines. This is where my mother and father said their vows, but also where she created Lucifer’s Mirror in the Hell version of this place.
Their ghosts linger here. Mist lays heavy, shifting and swirling. It reminds me of the places in my visions where I meet Selene.
And floating above it all—
The Eternal Mirror.
It’s massive. The silver rings slowly spiral; the surface ripples with endless silver. Not a reflection—more like...potential. It hums, like it’s breathing or waiting or trying to say something. That last one is scary. I’m not sure I want to hear what it wants to say. But in my heart I know the Mirror is not evil. I suspect it transcends good and evil. It just...is.
But maybe it’s caught on to the idea that I’m seriously considering destroying it. Though from what Selene told me, I’ll only destroy it here, not everywhere. Apparently, the mirror’s ultimate destruction is not possible. It will go on making new, unpleasant worlds for all eternity. Or maybe somewhere, in some form of reality, there’s a beautiful world, full of lovely people, doing nice things. I try to imagine it.Nah.
As I stare, the Mirror moves closer, as though drawn to me.
The air around it feels thinner, sharper, like it’s draining magic just by existing.
Beside me, Khaos exhales slowly. “Is that it?” he asks, though we both know the answer.
I nod. My mouth’s dry, my stomach’s churning. This is it—the source of everything. The thing that made the gods.
