Riley’s reflection shrugs, but there’s something sharp in her expression now. Alert. Like she heard it too, even from wherever she is.
“The Void has residents,” she says simply. “Most of them aren’t friendly.”
The Void.
My stomach lurches. I know this place. My Ether brought me here before—dragged Thane with me when I lost control. We were here together in this awful emptiness before Ethos threw us back.
“You put me in the Void,” I breathe, horror crawling up my throat.
Riley’s smile sharpens. “I told you—I didn’t put you anywhere. I had nothing to do with it.”
Before I can ask what she means, movement flickers at the edges of the mirror. Familiar faces rushing into the chamber—Rhett in nothingbut jeans, the others close behind, all of them looking frantic and afraid.
My heart lurches. They came looking for me. Of course they did.
I press both hands against the glass, trying to get their attention. “I’m here!” I shout, even though I know they probably can’t hear me. “I’m right here!”
But they’re not looking at the mirror. They’re looking at Riley, and the way their faces shift from panic to confusion to something like relief makes my heart feel like it’s breaking.
They think she’s me.
But why wouldn’t they? She looks exactly like me, stands in the space I should be in, wears my face with a confidence that must seem like healing to them.
Rhett takes a step forward, and I see the exact moment he looks into the mirror. His expression changes—just for a second, something uncertain flickering across his features. Like he’s seeing something that doesn’t quite make sense.
I meet his eyes through the glass, and for just a moment, I let everything I’m feeling show on my face. The terror, the confusion, the desperate need for him to understand that something is wrong.
But then Riley’s reflection shifts, and whatever connection I had breaks like a snapped thread.
“See?” Riley whispers, not even bothering to look me in the eyes. “They’re fine. Better than fine, actually. I can give them what they need, what you never could.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Certainty.” She finally turns to face me fully, and there’s something almost pitying in her expression. “You’re always afraid,Bree. Always questioning whether you deserve them, whether you’re enough, whether you’ll hurt them. I don’t have those fears.”
“Because you don’t know them!” The words come out sharper than I intended. “You don’t know what they’ve been through, what we’ve built together—”
“Except this little trip to your realm seems to have given me your memories too,” Riley interrupts.
Memories… she can’t… that’s not possible. I don’t have hers.
“Memories aren’t the same as—”
The mirror surface ripples, and Riley meets my eyes for a moment, a smirk on her face as she steps back, away from the glass. The connection flickers, their images growing dim.
“No, wait!” I slam my hands against the surface, but it’s already too late.
The mirror goes dark, then simply… disappears.
I’m alone in the nothing.
“No, no, no,” I whisper, crawling forward to where the mirror was, hands searching empty air. “Come back. Please come back.”
But there’s nothing. Just Void stretching in every direction, so complete it makes me dizzy. I can’t tell if I’m standing or floating, if there’s ground beneath me or if I’m falling through space.
I make it to my feet and stumble forward, arms outstretched, searching for anything solid. A wall, a door, another mirror—anything that might lead me back to them.
My foot catches on something, and I fall hard onto what feels like stone. Sharp edges bite into my palms, and when I pull my hands back, they come away wet with something warm.
