Page 5 of The Eternal Mirror
Chapter 2
Take Me to Your Asshole...er Leader
Oh crap.
A whole troop of soldiers is leaving the Chamber and marching right for me. Were they guarding the mirrors? Waiting for me to pop out of one of them? Have they seen me? Should I run?
Maybe this doesn’t have to be a disaster. I’m such a cup-half-full gal, but I have an idea. Not necessarily a good one, but it will get me to Khronus quicker. So I stay where I am and raise my hands.
Except, it suddenly occurs to me that maybe, he doesn’t want me alive. What if he wants me dead? No doubt I will find out shortly.
I watch as the soldiers get closer. There are six of them. The man in front looks like an officer—he’s wearing a fancy uniformof black and purple. The other five are all in black—very ominous. They have swords at their sides.
I wait for them to notice me, to stop, maybe arrest me, to do something.
Instead, they just march straight past, their eyes facing forward, as if I don’t even exist. I’m not invisible, am I?
I stand for a moment, staring after their retreating backs as they disappear through the gates. Then I give myself a shake and hurry after them. They’re already way ahead— their legs are a lot longer than mine. So I break into a run. I catch up and jog beside them for a second. Now I do get some sideways glances. I wave a hand.
“Hey, stop for a minute, will you?”
For a second, it looks like they’re going to ignore me, but finally the officer holds up a hand, and they all stop. So I do as well and turn to face the man in charge. He peers down at me, a frown forming on his face.
“We are on the king’s business,” he says. “Be on your way.”
“Yeah, well, I think I might actuallybethe king’s business. I think you might be looking for me.”
The frown deepens.
“I’m Amber?”
Nope, no response.
“You were expecting me in the Chamber of Mirrors?”
That does get a response. His eyes widen. He looks me up and down again, and he doesn’t seem impressed. “You are the witch the king is waiting for?”
He doesn’t sound like he believes it. I’m the first to admit I don’t cut a particularly impressive figure. I’m only just over five feet, and I’m sort of covered in dirt and blood. I stand up tall—well, as tall as I can. “Yeah, that’s me.”
He’s silent, and I scowl. I’m impatient now. I want Zayne and Josh out of whatever hellhole Khronus has tossed them into. I don’t have time for this.
“Take me to your leader.” I’ve always wanted to say that. “Look, he’s going to be super pissed if I make my own way there and tell him you let me go.”
Something flashes in his eyes. Fear, maybe. I’ve heard that Khronus has a nasty habit of tossing people he doesn’t like off the palace roof. Maybe the soldier is seeing his life flash before his eyes on the way down. He makes a gesture with his hand and suddenly, I’m surrounded. Someone grabs my hands from behind, and before I can even think to do something about it, I feel the cold metal of cuffs clicking shut around my wrists. I’m pretty sure I could spell my way out of them, but it’s not far to the palace; I can put up with a little discomfort.
Then we’re moving. They march, still in formation around me, and I still have to jog to keep up—it’s a good job I’m fit. The streets are wide, but people get out of our way as we approach. Their glances turn curious as they spot me surrounded by the soldiers. Then they turn their backs, as if they’re trying to pretend they didn’t see me after all.
Did Zayne and Josh come this way when they were brought in? Probably. It must have only been a few hours ago. Nothing too bad could have happened in that time. Could it?
Nausea churns in my belly. It’s a familiar feeling.
For a brief few minutes back in Valandria, I thought we were all safe, that the fear was in the past. We could all be fucking happy.
Deluded or what?
Maybe I’m not meant to be happy. It’s not my fucking destiny to be happy. I’m sick of destiny. I’m going to make my own from now on. I’m going to get Zayne and Josh out of here, go pick up Khaos, and then find some nice, quiet place to live where no one can find me. Including the gods.
Through the wall of black-uniformed muscle in front of me, I catch a glimpse of our destination: The Star Palace, the heart of Aurion. It’s beautiful...if you like that sort of thing. It’s also big. I mean huge, towering over the rest of the city. And it’s over-the-top ostentatious—a gleaming white marble edifice with a multitude of spires that rise up into the night sky, almost touching the stars.
