I look at her, then back at Thane. “You haven’t taken it yet.”
“No.” Thane’s silver eyes are steady. “We’ve been preparing others first. Making sure the chamber was stable.”
“But now it’s our turn,” Stellan says.
The weight of that settles over the room.
“So we take the Oath,” Jace says. “All of us. Then we go after her.”
“Together,” Rhett adds, and there’s no question in his voice. Just certainty.
Wes nods. Theo’s eyes are already distant, seeing something the rest of us can’t. When he focuses again, he just says, “Yes.”
“What about me?” Seth’s voice is rough. “My mirror’s gone. I don’t know what happens if I try.”
“Then we find out,” I say. “If you’re willing.”
Seth looks down at the snake coiled around his wrist, glowing faintly silver. “She bonded me even when she thought I was the one who betrayed her. Even when she was terrified.” He meets my eyes. “I’m willing.”
Thane’s expression shifts—something that might be approval. “Then we do this together. All of us. In an hour.”
“And after?” Jace asks.
“After the Oath, Seth leads us through,” Stellan says. “You opened the passage once already,” he adds, looking at Seth. “Through Bree’s mirror. You can do it again.”
Seth nods slowly. “I can try.”
“That’s our way in,” Thane confirms. “The bond connects you to her. You follow that connection back through the mirrors, and we follow you.”
“And if Riley wakes up?” Jace’s voice goes hard.
“We keep pretending,” Thane says coldly. “Let her think nothing’s changed. Let her believe we’re still fooled.”
“We have an hour to pack, gather supplies” I finish. “Then, we get Bree back.”
Zira looks around the room, something flickers in her eyes. “Good. It’s about time.”
I watch Seth pull on the borrowed shirt—Wes’s shirt—and something about that small act of normalcy steadies me. We’re still here. Still functioning. Still planning.
Still fighting for her.
Rhett turns away from the group, heading toward the stairs. Jace follows without a word. I know where they’re going—somewhere they can process this while gathering supplies without breaking in front of everyone else.
Theo sinks onto the floor, head in his hands.
That leaves me, Wes, Thane, Stellan, Zira, and Seth in the aftermath.
“We’ve got this.” Thane says, and it sounds like a promise. “Let’s move.”
I move toward the stairs, needing air, needing space to think. As I pass the largest mirror, I catch my reflection—and for just a second, I swear I see something else.
A flicker of silver mist where there should be none.
Wrong.
I stop, staring harder, but it’s gone. Just my own face looking back, tired and trying to hold it together.
But the feeling doesn’t fade. That crawling sensation at the base of my skull that says something’s watching.
