Page 3 of The Eternal Mirror
And a shudder runs through the world.
A crack forms in the mirror, splitting its surface. Silver light fractures.
I drop to the ground.
My hooves hit scorched earth. I shift back. Skin bloodied. Bones bruised. I stagger forward and stare at him—what’s left of him. Vortex lies still. No breath. No light.
Behind him, the mirror pulses. Wounded. Dangerous. Forever changed.
I stand in the wreckage of what we were, uncertain if anything this broken can ever be made whole again.
Victorious. Bleeding.
Shattered.
Because I know in my heart that I didn’t kill him to save this world.
I killed him because he stopped loving me.
Chapter 1
So Much for That Hawaiian Vacation
It occurs to me, as the mirror spits me out somewhere on the world of Astrali, that I may have been a little impetuous.
But I’m not exactly thinking straight right now.
In fact, I’m fucking pissed.
My name is Amber.
Daughter of Ravenna. Spawn of Lucifer. Mirror mage. Alicorn shifter. Nightmare wrapped in glitter and fire.
And—against all the odds—I just fulfilled my destiny. I killed my father and destroyed Hell.
I figured I was due a celebration. I had it all planned. Just Khaosti and me. A beach in Hawaii. Cocktails. Lots of cocktails.
Instead? I escaped the destruction of Hell only to find that Khronus, King of the Astrali—and my boyfriend’s dad—had decided to kidnap my foster brothers and threaten to kill them unless I hand myself over.
So here I am. Not happy.
I stumble and crash to my knees, hitting the ground hard. I stay on all fours, my head hanging low. Then I raise it to the stars and scream, roaring out my rage and my grief. I give myself just a second to let it all out because if I don't, I might explode from the enormity of the emotions tearing me apart.
Then I clamp my lips closed and push myself slowly to my feet.
First things first. I turn around and face the mirror, then pick up a rock from the ground at my feet and hurl it into the glass. It shatters into a thousand pieces; no one is coming through that fucker. It’s necessary because I wouldn’t put it past Khaosti to follow me, despite his promise not to. Even in another world, I feel him.
A tug in my chest. Hot, sharp, impossible to ignore.
I press my palm flat against my sternum, as if I can smother it.
Khaosti.
The bond flares with heat—rage, longing, love—so tangled, I can’t separate one from the other. I stumble back a step and clench my fists.
I love him. I hate him.
And I left him behind.
