And the mirroropens.
Not shattering. Not melting. Just… opening. Like a doorway that was always there, waiting for permission.
Beyond it, I see silver mist and drifting ash. Darkness that feels alive. And somewhere in that void, a faint thread of warmth that might be her.
Seth takes a breath, steadies himself, and steps through.
The glass swallows him whole.
For a moment, nothing happens. Then every mirror in the chamber flares at once, their light converging on the central portal. The Oath sigil reappears above us—half bright, half black, spinning slowly.
I feel the burn in my chest. An invisible tether stretching between us and Seth, between us and wherever Bree is. Between us and the Void itself.
“He made his choice,” I say, turning to face the others. “Now we make ours.”
Gray’s eyes catch the light—just for a second, they flash silver like his animal’s. Wes’s pupils are blown wide, the air around him humming with barely contained hunger. Jace’s grin looks too sharp, too eager. Theo mutters fragments of vision under his breath, words I can’t quite catch.
And Stellan—his voice drops lower, resonant with something ancient when he speaks: “Together. Or not at all.”
We join hands. Fire, air, shadow, light, hunger, vision. The circuit closes, and power surges through us—volatile, amplified, barely controlled.
My fire wants toburn. To consume everything in its path until I find her.
But I hold it steady. Channel it into purpose instead of rage.
“Three,” I say.
Heat builds beneath my skin.
“Two.”
The Ether hums, answering.
“One.”
We step into the light.
The world dissolves.
Heat, mist, silence.
For a moment, I’m nowhere—suspended in silver nothing, feeling the bonds between us stretch and strain but hold.
Then my feet hit solid ground.
I open my eyes to ash drifting through silver air. The sky above us isn’t sky—it’s void, endless and hungry. The ground beneath us is smooth black stone that reflects nothing.
The others materialize around me, one by one. Gray stumbles, catching himself. Jace lands in a crouch, blade already drawn. Wes presses a hand to his chest like he can’t breathe. Theo sways, Stellan catching his arm to steady him.
Thane appears last, silver eyes scanning the landscape with predatory focus. “We’re scattered,” he says quietly. “Seth’s bond pulled him through first. We followed, but the Void doesn’t play fair with arrivals.”
“Where’s Seth?” Jace asks.
I turn in a slow circle, searching. But there’s nothing. No landmarks. No direction. Just endless drifting embers and ashen light.
Then I hear it.
A laugh. Faint and distant, carried on wind that doesn’t exist.
