10. Nelle Meeting the Cracked Mirror
Nelle: Meeting the Cracked Mirror
Nelle couldn’t help but notice that Kit was almost silent throughout dinner.
In fact, he seemed almost frightened of her, quickly excusing himself before dessert, as if he couldn’t stand to be in her presence.
If that was the case, Nelle couldn’t blame him.
Besides, she was almost thankful for the quiet, her head was spinning as she processed the events of the last two days.
She wasn’t sure she’d have been able to hold a conversation, even if she’d wanted to.
Sensing this, Kemma flew off to the kitchens, declaring that she needed a nap in front of the warm fire.
As such, Nelle found herself wandering the castle alone. The music that had led her to the tower hadn’t come back since she’d entered the room, leaving the castle eerily quiet. She shivered. She didn’t like it.
Perhaps what you need is a good night’s sleep, she told herself, trying to remember the way back to her room. It wasn’t a bad idea, she knew. She’d barely slept the night before, and an early night might allow her to approach breaking Kit’s spell with a clear mind.
Yet, when she found herself wandering back to the black tower. She fought her actions, trying to force herself to turn back, but she kept putting one foot in front of the other.
As she walked, the voice in her head began crooning, That’s right, little Loli. Don’t fight the mirror’s pull. I tried, and do you know what I learned? It’s not worth the fight. Give up. Give in. Let the mirror have you.
“No.” The word slipped out of Nelle’s mouth. “No, please, I don’t want it.”
The voice in her mind cackled, sending shivers through her body. Just give in, Loli. It will make everything else so much easier.
“No. Please,” Nelle begged, as her fingers found the door handle and clumsily turned it. Her feet propeled her inside, and she felt the door close behind her. Her stomach dropped. “No, please. This isn’t right.”
“What’s not right, little princess?” The deep, booming voice of the mirror surrounded her.
This time, instead of remaining cloaked in darkness, a golden mirror came into view, as if illuminated by a spotlight.
Silver flames flickered behind glass, and behind those flames, the face of a beautiful man appeared.
His features flickered and changed every few seconds.
At first, he appeared as a man with dark hair and high cheekbones.
Next, he became a muscled giant with flashing eyes and ebony skin.
After a moment, he transformed into a man that vaguely resembled Will Scarlett, his blond hair carefully askew and blue eyes shining with mirth.
However, one part of the man always stayed the same—the part beneath a huge crack. Beneath the crack, he bore red skin and something that might have been a horn, though Nelle couldn’t be sure.
“Have you looked your fill, little princess?” the man in the mirror asked, his tone bored, as if he had already tired of her curiosity. “Pick a form and stick with it, if you please. Changing forms to suit your tastes is tedious.”
Nelle could only stare at the man in the mirror. “I’m sorry?” she said, her brow crinkling in a frown.
“You should be. You’re mine, little princess, as all the women of your family are.
You belong to me,” the mirror hissed. “It doesn’t matter how long you fight; it doesn’t matter how far you run from me.
I will always bring you back to me. You can’t resist me.
You saw it tonight—even though you didn’t want to come back here, you had to come. Didn’t you?”
Nelle fought the bile that rose up in her throat. “I’m…I’m not yours,” she whispered, her hands curling into fists. “I’m not?—”
“Stop arguing, Lolienna. You’re wasting time,” the mirror scowled. “Do you have anything to report?”
Nelle could only stare at him. “To report?” she repeated.
“About your search for the mirror shard,” the mirror said, rolling its eyes. “Remember? You are going to help me acquire the last shard of the mirror so that my power can once again be complete.”
A shiver of revulsion went through Nelle’s body, and she found herself shaking her head. “No. No, that’s not right.”
“You don’t get to decide what’s right and wrong, little princess,” the mirror snarled. “I do. Remember, you belong to me.”
He’s right, daughter, the voice in her head joined the conversation. We belong to him. There’s no way to break free.
Whispers of fog surrounded Nelle, sending the temperature of the room plummeting. At the same time, a now-familiar veil covered her mind, wresting control away from her.
The mirror hummed a twisted version of the lullaby that had led her to the room. “That’s right, let me in. Let me take control, Lolienna. You can’t fight me much longer.”
In the last moment of coherency, a whispered plea spilled from Nelle’s lips. “Oh, Maker, help me.”
At that moment, bright light poured from her fingertips, and, simultaneously, the veil lifted. The mirror gave a cry of anguish as the tower lit up with light as bright as the sun. Even the voice in her head gave a little wail, as if the light hurt it as well.
Nelle didn’t stop to ponder where the light had come from or why. Instead, she turned and fled the room, her heart pounding in her ears.
Once she was back in the shadowy corridor, she pressed her hand to her heart. That was too close, she decided. She tiptoed back to her room, praying that she wouldn’t disturb Kit.
“Nelle?” She bit back a curse as the dragon hybrid appeared in his doorway. “What’s going on? Are you alright?”
She stared at him. He was bare-chested and rubbing his eyes with one giant hand. “Did I wake you?”
“Yes…well, not you exactly.” Kit snorted a little and a small puff of smoke left his nostrils. “Your magic. I smelled chemicals and ice, and it made me think that…that you’d lost control of your magic again.”
Nelle cocked her head. “You can smell my magic?”
“I’m not sure, but that’s the best explanation I can come up with,” Kit admitted.
“This castle always smells of honeysuckle, particularly when some magic is at work cooking or cleaning or whatever. And Kemma reeks of it, if you don’t mind my saying so.
I smelled it on myself after you changed me, not that I really understood that at the time. ”
“My magic smells like honeysuckle?” Nelle asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.
Kit hesitated, then nodded. “Most of the time, that’s what I smell on you. It lingers on your skin, like dewdrops on morning grass. But when you use ice magic, it smells different…like something has rotted and been kept alive with chemicals or something like that.”
Nelle’s spirits plummeted. “That’s…not a pleasant image.”
“No. And the smell is even worse,” Kit agreed.
“Could you always do that?” Nelle wondered. “Been able to sniff out different people’s magic?”
“No.” Kit frowned. “No, that’s a recent development. Fey can sense certain types of spells. We have a knack for seeing through enchantments, for example. But smelling magic? I’ve never heard of one of my kind being able to do that.”
“I wonder if that’s a dragonish trait,” Nelle mused. “I’m going to check the library and see if there’s any books on dragons’ senses.”
“I’ll show you where it is,” Kit said, ducking into the bedroom and reappearing moments later with a sleek black robe. Once he’d thrown it over his shoulders and knotted the belt, he offered her a smile. “Shall we?”
“We shall,” Nelle said, following him down the dim hallway.
“So, what had you using your ice magic?” Kit asked, looking over his shoulder.
Nelle nibbled her lower lip. “I’m…I’m not sure,” she lied.
Kit’s golden eyes hardened. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. But please, do me the courtesy of not lying to me.”
A chill swept through Nelle’s body. “I didn’t mean?—”
“I’ve acted as a diplomat across Afeyra.
I’ve navigated court politics, made nice with some truly despicable people, spent my summers in the Court of the Fey.
I watched my family—” Kit stopped himself and took a breath.
“I don’t appreciate lies, Nelle. I’ve seen them rip apart friends and loved ones.
We are neither, and I know for sure that I don’t trust you.
I doubt you trust me, especially after today.
Lying will only serve to corrupt what little trust we’ve built, so, please, for the sake of the Maker, tell me if you don’t want to talk about something, but never lie to me. ”
“I won’t,” Nelle said softly, not trusting her voice. She studied him. “You’ve spoken of family before. Do you know where?—”
“My father is where I left him,” Kit said, cutting her off.
“He’s been trying to run the kingdom on his own for the past year and a half.
My brother tries to help, but his loyalties are…
divided.” He spoke the last word carefully, as if he weren’t sure that it was the right one to use.
“He can’t be at court all the time. And he recently…
” He turned away from Nelle, a muscle jumping in his jaw. “I’m worried about him.”
“Where is he?” Nelle asked softly.
“I don’t know,” Kit admitted. “No one knows. I would be out there looking for him now if I weren’t—” Once again, he stopped himself before continuing.
“I need you to break the curse on me as soon as possible, so that I can find him and help him, if need be. We might not always agree about everything, but he’s my brother. I can’t just abandon him.”
Nelle nodded. To some extent, she understood. If Kai had disappeared, she’d do whatever she had to in order to bring him back. “What’s your brother’s name?” she asked.
Kit hesitated for a fraction of a second, then said, “Robert. He hates that name, though.” He cracked a small smile.
“He was always trying to come up with nicknames as a child.” He cleared his throat and motioned to the remains of a charred door.
“Through there is the library. Let’s see if there’re any books on dragon features. ”
Nelle nodded, though her thoughts were far away. Something about her questions had caused Kit to withdraw from her. What had it been?
Kit didn’t wait for her to enter the library.
Instead he strode in, not looking back and began prowling amongst the bookshelves.
Nelle watched him as he did, noting the furrow in his brow and the way he wouldn’t quite meet her eyes.
Kit had told her he didn’t like lies. She believed him when he’d said that.
But it seemed he didn’t think lies of omission counted.
“Aren’t you coming in? Or are you going to stand there staring at me all night?” Kit asked from across the room, not looking up from the book he’d pulled from the stacks.
“No, I’m coming in,” Nelle said, stepping through the door.
Immediately, she felt the temperature difference. The room was at least ten degrees cooler than the rest of the castle. Involuntarily, she shivered. Why was this room so much colder?
Kit met her eyes. “It’s always this way. I promise, it doesn’t smell like…like your ice magic does. It’s safe.”
Nelle nodded and ducked her head, thankful that he had answered her question. Without another word, she crossed the room and began searching the stacks, trying to keep her mind off of the dragon hybrid across the room and the questions swirling in her mind.
At the same time, the cold in the room drew closer to her. The voice in the back of her mind was still there, and, unbeknownst to her, it had been stealthily regaining its hold on her. Then, all of a sudden, it pounced.