Page 176 of Rain of Shadows and Endings

“Right.” Axel smirked. “Like the female in the mirror?”

Theon scowled at his brother. “She was there.”

Tessa was looking up at him in confusion. “You saw a female in a mirror?”

“Yes.”

“Or so he says,” Axel said.

“What did she look like?” Tessa cut in before Theon could reply to his brother.

“Allow me,” Axel drawled dramatically, and Theon sent him a dry look as he sat back in his chair, crossing his arms. “She had silver hair and silver eyes. More weapons than he could count. She had gifts of shadows but also fire as bright as the stars, and Theon saved her from imminent death when another in all black approached to kill her.”

“I did save her from imminent death,” Theon ground out from between his teeth.

“And yet no one else has seen her,” Axel countered, propping his head on his fist with a mocking grin.

“Where is this…mirror?” Tessa interrupted, a crease forming in her brow.

“The Underground,” Theon answered.

“So it’s a cursed mirror?”

“Not everything in the Underground is cursed, Tessa. Some would even argue such curses are blessings.”

“I will take your word for it,” she muttered. Then she added, “Is there something special about this mirror?”

“Yes,” Theon answered at the same time Axel said, “No.”

Tessa glanced back and forth between them before turning to Luka. “Do you believe there is something special about this mirror?”

“I believe everything is not always as it seems,” Luka answered, finally looking up from his godsdamn phone. Sapphire eyes connected with hers as he added, “Whether that be mirrors, traditions, or people.” Tessa held his gaze but didn’t say anything, and Luka’s eyes slid to Theon. “I just sent you something you may find of interest, but read it later. We should be going.”

Theon glanced at this watch and nodded. “Can you walk to the Pantheon in those?” he asked Tessa with a quick look at the heels she was wearing. They could drive, but it seemed pointless when they were only blocks away.

“We’re going to walk? Outside?” she asked, her eyes brightening, and Theon couldn’t help the grin that played on his lips.

“As opposed to walking inside?” he asked, pushing to his feet and beginning to roll down his sleeves.

“You’ve forced me to stay inside for weeks, Theon.”

“So you will be fine walking in those?”

“Yes,” she answered immediately.

The males grabbed their suit jackets, and a few minutes later, they were on their way to the Pantheon. The clouds provided a chill to the air, but Tessa didn’t seem to care as she tipped her face to the sky as they walked. None of them spoke much, and ten minutes later, they were showing their phones to Pantheon sentinels to show they had been set to the appropriate mode.

Everyone except Tessa.

“You do not have your phone,” Theon demanded, gripping her elbow and spinning her to face him.

“It was dead,” she replied.

“What part of ‘have your phone on you at all times’ was unclear?”

She glanced at the sentinel before she stepped closer to him and hissed, “What difference does it make if I am to be with you at all times?”

“Because you will not be with me at all times today. You have to meet with the private Source instructor at the end of the day.”

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