Page 15 of The Eternal Mirror
“Is he all right?” I ask.
“No. He’s totally fucking traumatized. He’ll need therapy for the rest of his life. He’ll probably wake up and ask for Pete.”
I almost smile at that—Pete is our foster father, also known as the foster father from Hell. At least Zayne’s still able to joke.
I push myself up further so I’m leaning against the wall behind me. We’re alive. At least that gives me something to work with.
“Seriously, Amber, how did things get so fucked up?” He swipes his hand over his face. “That guy is a fucking psycho. I’m starting to actually feel sorry for that asshole Khaos. That’s how bad things are.”
“Yeah, he had a horrible childhood.” I don’t think it was so bad when he was younger. I think he spent most of his time with his half-brother Khendril. Then Khendril vanished when Khaos was eleven—actually, to look after me—and Khaos was left to the less-than-tender mercies of his father. “When he was eleven, Khronus forced him into his wolf form and kept him like that for six months.”
“Jesus, it’s a wonder he’s even sane. I had a few hours of it, and I was ready to tear my own head off. And I would have as well, rather than hurt Josh. But I couldn’t help myself. It was like I had no control over my actions. He was saying kill, and I would have done it. And I would have killed myself at the first chance afterward.” He takes a deep breath. “What I’m trying to say is—thank you. What you did was incredibly brave and really stupid.”
“Not so stupid. I was the same as you. I would rather have died than let him hurt you two.” My eyes prick, and I blink, then sniff. “Anyway, enough of the sappy stuff. What happened? How did we get here?”
“You mean after you fainted?” He smirks, and it’s so good to see a glimpse of the old Zayne that I don’t mind him making fun of me.
“I blacked out—probably a witch thing. But not before I saw you puking your guts up.”
“At least I didn’t faint. And not much happened. I didn’t see your boyfriend’s dad again. A bunch of guards appeared, one of them picked you up, and the others hustled us here. They locked us in—I checkedthe door.”
“How long have I been out?”
“A couple of hours. You were smiling in your sleep, so I didn’t try to wake you. Might as well enjoy yourself while you can.”
I take stock of myself. I don’t think I’m damaged in any way, and deep inside me, I can feel my magic awakening. It’s nowhere near full strength, but it’s there. A little more, and I can think about making a mirror and getting us all out of here.
Once I get Zayne and Josh to safety on Valandria, I’ll come back and destroy every mirror in the Chamber. And with no mirror mages left, Khronus will be stuck here. Much like my father was in Hell.
“Did you come on your own?” Zayne asked. “Where’s your asshole shadow?”
“I left him behind. His father would have killed him this time. And my coming here was a bit of an impulse. What happened? How did they take you?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. One minute I was heading to find Josh, and the next someone knocked me out, and I woke up in that arena.”
So clearly, he doesn’t know about Winter’s involvement.
I need to decide. Should I tell him? I'm not sure how deeply he was involved with Winter. I know they were sleeping together because Josh tattled on him—he’s such a little snitch. But was Zayne’s heart involved? Or just his hormones? Either way, I think he's going to be devastated by the news of her death. But he's a grown-up. He deserves to know the truth. How do I start?
“Winter's dead,” I say.
He goes completely still, shock stamped on his face. “She can't be dead. I saw her just before I was knocked out. She was okay. She was fine.” He glares at me, as if willing me to take it back. I hold his gaze and finally, his shoulders slump. “What happened?”
“She betrayed us,” I say. “She’d been approached by spies working for Khronus. They wanted me. They infiltrated the headquarters while everyone was busy fighting, but when they came to see her, she told them that I wasn’t there. I was gone. And so they took you and Josh instead.”
He runs his hand through his hair and presses his fingers to his eyes, as if he can make the thoughts go away. “I don't believe it. Why? Why would she do that? I thought she—” He breaks off.
Was he going to say he thought Winter loved him? Maybe. I can't bear to see him hurting like this. What a crappy mess everything is. And it all comes back to Khronos. “It wasn’t Winter’s fault,” I tell him. “It really wasn’t. Khronos has her brother somewhere—likely here in the dungeons maybe. I don’t know. He’s her only family; the rest are dead. She was told that they would kill him if she didn’t give them the information they wanted.” I swing off the bed and cross to where he’s sitting. Kneeling beside him, I rest a hand on his taut thigh. “Think about it. I would probably have done the same for you or Josh. We all have to make horrible decisions occasionally. She was so broken, Zayne. Whatever she did, it didn’t come easily—and she died for it.”
“How? How did she die?”
“Does it matter?”
He sighs and drops his head into his hands, staring at the floor for a moment. I sit back on my heels and hope he's not going to cry. Is that selfish of me? Maybe, but I don't know whether I can deal with Zayne crying. He's always been so strong.
“Was it quick?” he asks.
Oh, gods. What do I say? That she bled out on the floor of the corridor? That she was still alive when we found her? Which was probably quite a while after it happened.
