Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
She’s going to object here. Get offended or something. And she even starts to do this, but then she gives up. “Fine. I do want something. When you’re done with it, of course, I want the Coyrah mirror.”
I actually deflate a little. Because I really thought she was gonna help me. “You’re lying.”
“About what? I just told the truth.”
“You want my mirror.”
“That’s what I said, Syrsee.”
“But that’s all you want. You don’t even know how any of this works, do you? You’re just guessing that the Coyrah mirror works these mirrors in the mist.”
She’s getting ready to lie, I can tell. But she stops herself. “Fine. I don’t exactly know that for sure, but I do know this—that mirror is the source of your power. Why else would the Guild have had it all these years? Why else would Tristin bring it back to you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Because it’s yours, Syrsee. And that means it has power. It’s the only power, that I can think of, at least, that might help me avoid eternal nothingness. And I get it. Why should you care about my end? You shouldn’t. But…” She shrugs here. “It would be nice if you did.”
This might be the most truthful thing Lucia has ever said to me.
It would be nice, I have to agree there. I mean, if I were in her shoes. Or my own shoes, actually. It’s about being alone. Lucia, like me, has probably been an outsider her whole life and ‘nice’ is the perfect word to describe what she is asking for. It would be nice to have someone show up in my moment of greatest need and give a fuck.
To help me get past it, just because they care.
“Fair,” I say. Letting out a long breath. “But I want to know more. How did you find out about the mirror?”
“I’ve been in that Coyrah dreamwalk hundreds of times. In fact, that’s the only dreamwalk I’ve ever taken. That’s why I had so much control over it. I know that place. And while I have never seen that mirror in the dreamwalk, I noticed something about that moment the original Coyrah tamed the aquis equī. She looked into the water.”
I shrug. “So?”
“The water is a mirror.”
This feels weak, and I’m not convinced, but then again, that girl Echo was looking into a pool of water when we found her. “A mirror is a… door?”
Lucia makes a noncommittal shrug. “I think so. This idea didn’t really come to me until I saw Tristin give you the Coyrah mirror. That’s when all the pieces started falling into place. So there has to be something to the mirrors. Why else would they be part of the human vampire legend?”
“Hmmm. Maybe. But it’s all we have to go on, so I guess we start there. One more question though. Why the ice castle? Why would you want to go there?”
“You said it yourself. The dreamwalk is a trap. My soul was sold a long time ago. I’m using you to hide from the Darkness right now, but if Josep wins it’ll come to claim me. And it will get me. Even if it doesn’t win, I won’t get a reprieve. The ice castle is my only option.”
“Because it’s the only place you can go.”
She nods. “Yes. And while it is a trap, it’s a trap I can live with. I’m OK with a delusion if it means I won’t be cast into the pit of eternal emptiness. And anyway, it’s not like I have a lot of choices. So… what do you say? Is it a fair trade if I come with you for support and guidance?”
She doesn’t know any more than I do. All she was ever after was my power. Typical these days. But I don’t say no to her request. Because she has been helpful. I doubt I would’ve even gotten this far without her, so she deserves a reward if we win. “If I don’t need it, then… fine. But I’m not promising anything. I might need it, Lucia.” I shrug. “I might. So that’s the best I can do.”
She sucks in a deep breath and slowly lets it out. “Deal.”
We shake on it and then we turn back to the mirrors and just look at them for a moment.
They all look the same and this worries me. On the other side of each mirror there is a gold and purple mist, but there has to be something specific about each of them. If not, I’m screwed. Because I don’t know where all my shattered pieces are. Even knowing that Paul has a small child version up in some village by White River might not be enough, so if the mirrors depend on me knowing the specifics of where I’m going, I won’t be able to find even one of them.