Chapter 21 #2
My instincts urge me to step into the ring of crystals, and I warily obey.
I don’t spot any other traps—aside from Ever’s waiting reflection—but when I stop in the center of the circle, Ever’s singular likeness morphs into dozens all around me.
Each one is exactly the same, and each one is watching me with a shrewd gaze.
My eyes flit from one Ever to another while I work through the puzzle staring me in the face.
“What are you doing?” I ask the reflection directly in front of me, and a half smile tilts her lips.
Instantly I search for her dimple, but it’s not made an appearance.
“Like you said, I’m caught. Might as well have a little fun with it.” She shrugs and I glare at her.
Fun?
I don’t find anything about this fun.
My anger heats from a simmer to a boil, but I look past the volatile reaction and study Ever’s face.
Her tone is flippant, but the tight line of her shoulders tells me there’s more to this than she’s letting on.
I watch her, every version of her, and think it through.
She could be buying time for the others to escape, or maybe they’re about to ambush us, yet none of that rings all the way true.
I walk lazily to the edge of the circle and study the tall crystal before me as though the answer might be etched across the surface.
I run my fingers over Ever’s image, studying her reaction, and then slowly move on to the next pillar to do the same.
One by one, I make a round, gently touching and exploring each flat reflection like it was the real thing.
Ever doesn’t say a word, and neither do I, but her breaths quicken, and I notice a smattering of goose bumps on the arms of one reflection, but they’re gone by the time I move on to the next.
I approach a crystal on the opposite side from where I started, and something about it reminds me of the mirror Ever hung in her room.
It’s tall and rectangular, and when I approach it, something in the air changes.
I study the reflection, noting the same hard surface and two-dimensional features, and yet something about the Ever in front of me has me rooted in place. I lean closer and can practically feel her sharp intake of air as my gaze burns a hole through hers.
“It’s time to go home and face the consequences of what you’ve done,” I censure, and her eyes harden into two jade-green gems.
“And what is it that I’ve done?” she demands, a slight growl clipping the consonants in her question.
I tsk and rest both of my hands against the crystal’s surface, like I’m trying to cage Ever between my outstretched arms. “Is your list of wrongs so long you can’t remember?” I bait.
Her attention drops to my lips and then snaps back up the second she realizes what she’s doing.
“I think you and I might have very different definitions of right and wrong,” she counters.
My stare narrows into a glower. “And where does killing a Conduit fall on your moral spectrum?”
“So you did know what she was,” Ever replies, her tone low and accusing.
“No, my father told me after, but thank you for confirming that you knew and killed her anyway.”
She studies my face and then crosses her arms over her chest. “And if I told you she deserved it?”
A coil of smoke slips out of my nose unbidden. “And what about the innocent Relacours you murdered when you slit their Conduit’s throat and then shoved a knife in her heart?” I snap.
“There are no innocent Relacours,” she growls back.
I stare at her, dumbfounded, searching her face for any hint of remorse, but it’s not there. She looks so composed, as though killing an entire line of magic was just another Tuesday for her. And maybe it was, because what the fuck do I even know about the person in front of me?
She stands there, so calm and controlled, while I’ve been on the verge of a frenzy for days hunting her. Now she’s here, her arms crossed instead of reaching for me, and I think it might be the thing that finally tips me over the edge.
“Well, it’s between you and the king now. You can save your excuses for him,” I tell her, my words devoid of the emotion churning in my gut.
“And how about you and me? What’s between us, Spare?”
I scoff. “Betrayal.”
Her hands drop, and she mirrors my menacing lean. “I did not betray you.”
My answering growl is filled with rancor. “You betrayed everyone! You put everyone at risk!” I bellow, and the accusation echoes through the cavern like a jeer from a gathering crowd baying blood.
Ever’s glare is fulminating as she places a hand on the barrier right where mine sits. She opens her mouth to say something, but before she can, she rips her hand away from the crystal’s surface with a pained hiss.
“What the fuck?” she snarls as she looks from the burn on her palm to where my hands are resting against the barrier. Understanding dawns on her face, and she looks up at me with alarm. Then she turns to run.
I shove more of my affinity into the crystal, and finally the thermal shock shatters it.
I waste no time stepping through the falling shards, ignoring the stinging nicks and throbbing slashes as I leap for Ever.
With a triumphant roar, my hand meets warm skin, and I grab her arm and roughly spin her to face me.
She snarls defiantly up at me, and before I can stop myself, I claim her mouth with my own, and like a glowing sun, our bond flares to life in my chest right where my heart used to be.