Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Evadine
Istaggered backward and nearly tripped over my own feet. Branock’s firm hand landed at the small of my back, steadying me.
“Who is that?” he asked.
My lips parted.
“It—it’s me.” I swallowed hard, scanning the younger version of myself in the mirror.
Without thinking, I ran my fingers along the frame, gently tracing the outline of the mirror.
She—I—was maybe ten or eleven, wearing a familiar light blue dress I used to love.
“What do you mean, trapped?” I asked her.
“It’s your fault,” she repeated, her words low and raspy and grating against my ears.
“Do you even know what you’ve done? You put us here.
” She pounded her fists on her side of the glass, and I jumped at the vibration that went up my arm.
“I can’t get out! I’m stuck here because of you!
” she screeched, spit flying from her lips.
I didn’t even realize tears had formed until they fell down my cheeks. “What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything!” I wanted to reach for her, to pull her out. Surely, something inside the mirror had made her crazed. Demonic and feral. Someone had to save her.
“You will,” she snarled back at me. “You’re going to lose everything. You’re going to lose yourself. You’re going to be trapped forever, and there won’t be anyone left to save you.”
I pressed my lips together, forcing my wolf half to remain calm even as it thrashed and scratched against my mind, begging to be let out.
It always reacted like this to my heightened emotions.
When I felt the walls caving in, when the fears that lingered in the back of my thoughts came to light, I just wanted to turn it all off.
I shook my head frantically and clutched the edge of the mirror. “You’re wrong. I’m not trapped—look, we’re fine! Everything is going to be okay, Eva,” I said shakily, using the nickname our father gave us.
“I know what you fear, Evadine,” my younger version sneered. Our name felt bitter leaving her lips. “I know your deepest desires and what haunts your nightmares. You can’t lie to me. How could you do this to us? How could you give up your life? Your freedom? Your identity?”
Each word was louder and louder, booming with enough strength to make the glass quake. I flinched as if I were struck, more tears streaming down my face.
Was she right? Everything I’d been afraid of with this marriage, every worry I’d had, every outburst and moment of anger…it all came back to this. Was I trapping myself? Was I giving into a life that would steal my independence, transform me into the image of someone I never wanted to be?
“No—no, it’s okay. I can fix this,” I said, gripping the mirror firmly with one hand and wiping my cheeks with the other. “I can get you out. It doesn’t have to be like this.”
Branock must have realized what I was going to do a split second before I did it, but he was too late.
“Evadine, no!” he shouted, reaching for me.
I put my hand on the glass to pull my younger self out, and my body went crashing through.