Chapter Fifty-Three Amunet
FIFTY-THREE AMUNET
Deep, impenetrable darkness. I didn’t exist here; nothing did. There was no air, no sound.
And then, suddenly, there was.
A gentle breeze swept across my face. Not the warmth of a breath, like Shaya’s breeze. Not the hot gust of Ashorah or Dead Man’s Forest. No, this was… something I had never experienced before.
I blinked my eyes open to one of the most gorgeous ceilings I’d ever seen. Made of pure gold that glinted in a soft morning light, shapes of various sizes pressed in as if by a giant’s branding iron. Hexagons and diamonds and circles, all outlined in polished silver—a kaleidoscope of wonder.
Brows furrowing, I pushed myself up. I found myself, inexplicably, on a luxurious mattress, with covers of pristine white drawn up over my body. Gone was the exhaustion of the past few days, along with the nausea, sweat, and buzzing in my head.
Where the fuck was I?
“Athar?” I called. The only response was my own echo.
I swung my legs off the bed, feet sinking into the plush white rug.
It wasn’t just the ceiling that was made of gold; the floor and walls were, too.
I made my way over to the bank of windows cut into the left wall.
As I leaned out, taking in the gorgeous garden, a soft wind caressed my face.
I was several floors up, the perfect vantage point from which to take in not only the garden, but the landscape of vivid greens beyond it—grass and palm trees and shrubs, spreading into the distance.
Alive. More than alive. Thriving. The sun was nestled like a golden egg in the blue palm of the sky.
It didn’t beat down but bathed. Encouraged living things to bask in it. My heart skipped a beat.
That was not my sun.
Which meant…
“Athar!” I shouted, a touch more frantic.
Nothing. Not even a mocking chuckle.
My heart thundered, breaths coming in panicked puffs. Athar had sent me here. I’d trusted a trickster god like an idiot, a gods-damned imbecile, and now I had no idea where I was. I spun away from the window and leaned against the cool gold wall, eyes squeezed shut, trying to find some solidity.
Power tingled at my fingertips. I glanced down in surprise. It felt… more tangible now. No longer on the periphery or just beyond my reach. My breaths came easier as it wove up my arms in ribbons of comfort.
The door across the room opened, and I tensed, feet spreading into a stance that would make Jasim proud.
A girl with long raven-black hair smiled at me.
“You’re awake,” she chirped. She held a gold tray in her hands, balancing a chalice and a small bowl of fruit.
Gingerly, she set it on the ottoman at the foot of the luxurious bed.
“You’ve been asleep for fucking ages, so I thought you might be hungry. ”
I squeezed my eyes shut until I saw stars. But when I opened them again, she was still there. My mind stuttered.
The gentle waves around her face were not familiar, nor was the ease of her smile or her strong frame. Her sleeveless turquoise gown showed off defined biceps and forearms crawling with veins. But the emerald-green eyes that glittered out of a tan face… those were very familiar.
They were mine.
I murmured, “You’re…”
She cringed sympathetically. “A bit of a shock, I know. Here, sit.” I was so dazed that I allowed the girl to lead me to the plush chair beside the window. When she held the chalice out to me, I took it. Clear water rippled gently within.
While I was nowhere near death any longer, I was still incredibly thirsty. But even with the shock of seeing my double, I had enough sense to hesitate.
“It’s safe,” the girl said. To prove it, she took the chalice and sipped it. She beamed and handed it back. “See?”
Self-preservation kicked in, and I gulped it down so fast, some of it streamed over my chin. The whole while, I stared.
She was identical to me and also incredibly different. Not just in her appearance but in the way she carried herself. No weight dragged her shoulders, no misery creased her face, no attitude shone in her eyes. She was lighter than I ever was.
“Sorry for just barging in,” she said. “I should have given you a chance to prepare. Although yelling out, ‘Qareen incoming,’ probably wouldn’t have helped.” She laughed, a melodic, carefree sound. She swapped out the now-empty chalice for the bowl of fruit.
It was unnerving, looking into my own face and seeing a different person gazing back.
“What’s it like not having hair?”
My brows lifted.
“Sorry, was that rude?” A delicate blush spread over my qareen’s cheeks.
“I’m just so curious. I never thought I’d actually get to meet you.
” She tilted her head like an inquisitive puppy.
“I always thought I’d look ugly with a shaved head, but you’re very pretty.
Bet you don’t get lice, either. Well, obviously, since I get them all the time.
” She snorted to herself. “There isn’t much I’d want to trade places with you for, but lice is one of them.
Agitating little fuckers. And Shaya.” She gasped and leaned forward.
“What’s it like, being connected to him? He must be so—”
I straightened. “You’re not connected to Shaya?”
She shook her head mournfully. “I tried once. Brought a goat to his temple and everything. But I just couldn’t bring myself to hurt the innocent creature.”
I blinked at her. Same face, same voice, and yet she was an entirely different person.
The opposite of me in every way.
Who I would have been without Shaya. Kind. Happy. Couldn’t even sacrifice a goat, while I’d been ready to sacrifice…
I set down the bowl of fruit and drew a deep breath, pushing aside shock and inexplicable jealousy to think.
Athar had sent me to the Mirror Realm, my qareen’s presence made that much clear.
My qareen, who had evidently watched over me while I was unconscious.
She could have killed me then, but she hadn’t, which made me think that somehow my qareen was the only one in existence who did not wish to switch places with her host. Or was too cowardly to do it.
See why you were chosen. That was what Athar had said. The message Shaya had for me. Maybe something to do with my qareen.
“How long was I asleep?” I asked her.
“You appeared in the foyer last night and slept well into the afternoon.”
Hours, then. “Have you met anyone else since?”
Her brows furrowed as she shook her head. “The citadel is empty.”
“Citadel?”
She nodded.
My gaze drifted back to the miraculous view outside the window.
The Mirror Realm did not conjure places out of thin air, but I didn’t know of any location called the citadel.
Wherever we were, it was not in Ashorah.
Maybe it was another secret of Dead Man’s Forest, like the Cirra Tribe.
But if neither Athar nor Shaya had appeared to my qareen, then she was not what I was sent here to find.
Briefly, I debated killing her just to be safe. But she stared at me with wide, guileless green eyes. A puppy at the foot of its master, tail thumping eagerly, and I thought I might have better use of her.
“Is there anything here relating to Shaya? Or maybe the Gods-Chosen?”
The girl perked up. “Yes! A whole room, in fact.”
Relief and a touch of excitement swirled through me. Athar hadn’t tricked me after all. “Show me,” I instructed.