Page 62 of Sweet Nightmares
When mirrors were sleeping or inactive, they were simply mirrors—solid silver glass. Hence, they got their names as mirrors—not doors, which Jane honestly thought would have been a better name for them. When mirrors were active, they swirled with magic and pulsed like living, breathing things, taking on the personalities of the gods that rested inside them.
Nightmare had a massive, commanding personality, and so too did his mirror.
Enthralling.
The Lake of Mirrors were all dormant. But they sparkled with a heavy darkness. It was an attraction that people often came to look at, because while it was dormant, it was still beautiful and sinister.
It was truly an experience to behold them.
The Lake of Mirrors glimmered. A sea of pink peonies, white roses, and ice-blue forget-me-nots laced the silver and was lined with diamonds—all frozen under an expanse of ice. It was the cursed crown jewel of New Swansea. An intricately crafted tiara, jewel after jewel, rose after rose, banded together into a magnificent creation.
But in its beauty lurked a dangerous power.
Jane tried not to get distracted by the mirrors because she needed to search the Eucalyptus trees for evidence. Luckily, they were now in sight. It only took her five minutes to find a clue—a cave set into the rock at the western edge of the district. Voices dripped from inside it.
Curiosity climbed up her throat, and she took a step closer—but sometimes, it felt like Jane must be forged from bad luck, because she immediately stepped on a twig.
In a blink, Jane was surrounded by ten people—vampires. Seven men and three women. All looking starved.
Fuck.
Well, magic, you got us into this mess. You better get us out of it.
The ringleader—presumably—stepped toward her and sniffed the air. “You smell… Strange.”
“What a compliment.” Jane smiled. “A woman always loves to hear that she smells strange. I know it’s not because I am on my cycle.” Jane took a step back from him but ran into one of his minions behind her.
Her heart stormed, pounding like a thunderclap. The worst part was that they could hear it, too, with their vampiric hearing.
“Just out of curiosity, do vampires like it when a woman is on their cycle? I have always meant to ask Emrys, but I always manage to forget.”
The ringleader cocked his head. “Ah, so you know what we are. Curious, since humans are not supposed to know of our existence.”
Jane held up her arm, its blood-painted tattoo visible. “I am a Council Member.” Though, Jane had only gone to three council meetings, and they were boring and filled with useless information Emrys and Nightmare had already shared with her.
“The Blood Council,” he seethed, clutching her chin tightly. It was not pleasurable, like when Nightmare did it.
Jane smiled through the fear ticking in her chest. “I would not recommend it. The meetings are very tedious.”
He squeezed her face harder, his claws piercing into her skin and causing a trickle of blood to fall down her face. The iron hit her nostrils a moment before the blood touched her lips.
The vampire licked it away, his tongue running over her lips and cheek. Every muscle in Jane’s body grew taut, and disgust licked her core.
His eyes became heavy lidded. “Oh, you’re divine. I am going to enjoy sucking you dry. Or perhaps I’ll keep you, and you’ll do the sucking.”
“I wouldn’t do either if you prefer to live,” Jane said. “You do not want to make an enemy of my husband.”
A low, dark laugh rumbled in his chest. “I am not afraid of humans, girl.”
It was Jane’s turn to laugh.
He glared at her but said, “Time to take you to our little meal.”
In an instant, he grasped her by the waist and dragged her into the cave, placing her down in a makeshift living room.
Jane’s stomach rolled, and she leaned over, catching herself with her hands on her knees. Bile climbed her throat. Oh, that speed was worse than the travel void and teleportation.
The place hummed with enchantment, making what would usually be a cold, bleak, and dark cave into something livable, even nice—a mirror enchantment.
