“This can’t be real.” I examine my blood-soaked knuckles, proof that at least I was real.
When I look back up at the reflection, it’s changed. Knox has disappeared and the nicer version of me is standing alone. She looks pissed. Her polished red fingernails drum against her folded arms. I take a step closer to the mirror. The reflection sees me and smirks back, like she has a secret she’s dying to tell me.
She holds out her hand. “Everything you’ve ever wanted is here, with me. Let me show you.”
I startle at the familiar voice. My mother’s voice.
“Mom?” The mirror changes again, and there she stands. Dressed in the jeans and T-shirt she wore on the day she died.
“Come on, love. I’m right here. I’ve been waiting for you.” Her eyes sparkle with tears, and my own vision clouds in response. I bring my hand up to my mouth to stifle my sobs.
“You’re dead,” I manage to splutter between gasps. I take a step back. “No. This isn’t real. You’re not really here, none of this is real.”
My mother’s face turns ugly as she throws her head back with laughter.
I look around the expanse, trying to find a break in the illusion, but it’s just empty space. A blinding void of nothing. I sprint away from the mirror, determined to find an exit. My mother’s hurtful laughter echoes all around me.
There must be an end somewhere.
The ground shakes again: more mirrors erupt through the ground. Each one blocks my path, forcing me to hurl myself from side to side in order to get around them. As I pass, I try to catch glimpses of what each mirror holds. I think I see some sort of banquet feast in one, then a huge pile of money in another.
Are they showing me everything I’ve ever dreamed of? Do I need to pick one?
The biggest mirror of them all springs up right in front of me, cutting me off completely from my escape attempt. My feet skid on the white floor as I try to stop myself from colliding with it. My heart flips at the image it reveals. I stumble and almost fall straight through the looking glass into the open arms of Knox, but I catch myself on the gilded frame at the last second.
“Tell me how to get out, please!” I beg. I don’t even care that he isn’t real. I need to get out.
“Choose one,” the mirrors say in unison.
I glance around to see I’m completely surrounded, each one framing different versions of me.
“Which one should I choose? Will I get stuck inside if I do?”
In the grand mirror before me, Knox throws head back with malicious laughter. “Are you so pathetic that you can’t work it out for yourself? Must I provide all of the answers for you?” He sneers and my heart aches.
So I close my eyes and think.
This is no different than the other training sessions. It’s always a test.
But what are they testing me on? They all show my desires. Which desire is the right one to choose?
Damon’s words flood into my mind.I’ll tell everyone you broke the rules and drank your Master’s blood.
This is a test of loyalty.
I’m being presented with endless possibilities before me, ones that satisfy my own greed or gluttony or pride. I need to choose the one with Knox inside. I need to prove I’m loyal to him, to claim him as my Master.
But what if I’m wrong and I get stuck inside of there with a fake version of him?
Fuck.
Only one way to find out. I’m so close to the end and getting what Itrulydesire—my mother’s killer dead by my hands. I lookback at the mirror version of Knox. I steel myself, rolling my shoulders back before stepping through.
The mirror’s glass ripples at my touch, and it feels like wading through satin sheets. When I reach the other side, Knox is nowhere to be found. Instead, I’m in a medieval-looking room, complete with exposed dark wooden ceiling beams and candlelight in every corner of the cream-colored walls.
I’m also surrounded by the other Familiars. But far fewer than before. I notice that Megan isn’t here.
“Did we all make it through?” I ask, glancing around at everyone.
