Page 30 of The Eternal Mirror
It’s a nice reminder that not everyone here is evil. They’re probably just trying to survive, like the rest of us. The other guard is giving us a funny look, but he nods his head to Corvus and opens the door, waving me inside. I glance back at Corvus, not wanting to leave my new friend, but he’s standing at attention, and I guess I’m going in alone. I take a deep breath and head through the door.
I feel Khronus’s magic straight away, dark, malignant, pressing against me.
The room is much smaller than yesterday’s; it could even pass for cozy. But still more white marble—it gets really boring after a while. There’s a comfortable seating area, only spoiled by the man lounging in the chair opposite the door. He stands as I enter and waves me to the chair across from him.
“Good morning,” he murmurs. “I trust you slept well.”
“Not really.”
I sit down. There’s a small table, and it has cakes and a steaming pot of what smells like coffee. I reach out and pick up a pastry—hey, eating settles my nerves, and this guy makes me very nervous.
He pours me a coffee and places it on the table close to me, then sits back down. He’s smiling today, positively oozing charm, but his magic slicks across my skin like oil, cold and corrosive, reeking of things that should never be. I remind myself that only hours ago, he would have stood and watched my little brother being torn to pieces by my big brother.
I chew for a minute, finish my pastry, which is very good, all light and sweet and...
“So,” I say, “Where do we go from here? I mean, what is it you actually want with me?”
“You intrigue me,” he says. “When I first heard of you, I thought you must be a child of Khendril’s that he was hiding from us, and that is why he had run. And why Khaosti took an interest in you.”
Ugh. That would make Khronus my grandfather and Khaos my… I am so glad that’s not true. “Total load of bollocks,” I say. “But why would Khendril have to hide me?”
“The guardians are forbidden to have children.”
“Jesus.” I shake my head in disgust. “And you wonder why so many of them decided my father was the better option.”
He goes still. “You know about the shadowguard?”
“Duh, yeah. But you don’t have to worry about them. They all died when Hell was destroyed.”
“Did you really destroy Hell?”
His words drip with doubt. And that’s a good thing, because I don’t want to sound too powerful. I want him to lower his guard around me. “The spell was my mother’s,” I say lightly. “But I’m the one who spoke it.”
He jumps to his feet and paces the room. He’s obviously playing down the scary-as-shit vibes today, and he looks so much like Khaosti; it’s sort of freaking me out. I eat another pastry. I should have bought a doggy bag—Josh would love these. Finally, he sits back down. “I have sent out people to check your story.”
“How do you do that?”
“If the shadowguard are gone as you say, we will soon know. But on balance, I believe you. It is too far-fetched to be otherwise.”
“Tell me about it,” I mutter.
He studies me, eyes brooding, lips pursed—again, so like his son. It doesn’t look as though he’s going to tell me why I’m here. I suspect he doesn’t know himself for sure. But I “intrigue” him.I’m a mere whim, something he doesn’t understand, and therefore wants to possess. Dissect. Break open and sift through for power.
“Okay,” I say, “I’m here as you asked. Can you please let my brothers go?”
“They cannot really be your brothers.”
“Yes, they are, and that was the deal.”
“I’ll think about it. In the meantime, perhaps as a show of good faith, you could introduce me to your beast.”
I want to snap at him that she’s not a beast. And does he really think I’m going to shift for him like a performing monkey...or alicorn? Is he crazy? Does he thinkI’mcrazy?
“I don’t think so,” I say quite mildly.
His features harden for a second, and prickles run over my skin. I resist the urge to scratch.
“Can you do anything?” he sneers. “Can you give me a reason to keep you alive?” He glances away as though he thinks I’m not worth looking at.
