But I knew the Mirror couldn't kill Trevor. The best thing I could do for him was to find that flawed mirror and get us out.
“It can't kill him!” Narcissus echoed my thoughts. “It only looks as if he's being hurt. Trust me; he isn't. Now, come on!”
Narcissus grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hallway. It ended in a simple, steel wall and a full-length mirror hung on it. It was an exact replica of the mirror I'd been pulled through, gilded narcissus flowers and all. And in its center there lurked a black smudge. I ran for the mirror and as soon as I stood in front of its tiny flaw, I shouted the anti-curse.
“Diakopi!”
A shivering started; a trembling that invaded every surface. Narcissus' stare shot to mine, but I only held it for a second. I was too busy peering around myself in wariness. I expected the Mirror to fight and wail, but it only shattered. The sound of breaking glass was piercing; ringing in my ears until I covered them with my hands. Suddenly, it stopped; the silence nearly as jolting as the shattering.
“Remember my warning, Godhunter,” the Mirror said in sad resignation.
And then everything went dark.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The dark brightened, and I opened my eyes. I was standing in my dressing room covered in a fine, sparkling powder. Kirill, Trevor, and Narcissus stood beside me. The Mirror was gone; even the frame had disintegrated. Narcissus just stared around himself in shock, but my husbands shouted in relief and hugged me between them; glittering mirror-dust falling from us like sea spray off waves.
“Vervain?!” Odin's voice came through the door. “Is that you?”
“It's me!” I called back. “We're all here. Open up!”
The sound of locks sliding came through the wood and then the door was flung back and a crowd of people was revealed. Not only were my other husbands and boyfriend there, but also Nemesis, Morpheus, Fenrir, Vidar, Vali, the whole God Squad, and several of my lions. They all made relieved sounds and then cheered as the men and I stepped out of the dressing room.
There was a lot of hugging and a few tears but halfway through it, I noticed Narcissus standing off to the side with Nemesis.
“—your last chance,” I caught the tail end of what she was saying. “If you go back to your old ways, I will come up with an even better punishment.”
We all stopped to stare at them. I heard the Mirror's voice in my memory; warning me about Narcissus. But what was done was done. As much as I wanted to give Narcissus a second chance, I was glad that Nemesis would be watching him. If he screwed up and proved the Mirror true, she'd put him back on ice, or glass, as it were.
“I have changed, Nemesis,” Narcissus said calmly. “And I'm grateful for the chance to prove it. You won't have to cast your revenge upon me again.”
Nemesis didn't seem swayed by Narcissus' speech—she is the Greek Goddess of Revenge, after all, and she'd probably heard hundreds of versions of it before—but she finally nodded and turned away from him. Nemesis approached me and shook my hand.
“You did well, Godhunter,” Nemesis said. “I'm sorry you got caught in my enchantment, but I'm glad you were able to use the safety clause to get out. Honestly, I don't understand it; the Mirror shouldn't have been able to pull in a goddess.”
“It had some help,” I said and grimaced. “An old enemy of mine—well, an enemy from the future—you know, what? Let's just go with 'enemy.' He warned Narcissus that I'd be entering the Mirror and advised him to get me to sacrifice myself and then take my magic; that it would make him strong enough to break the curse.”
“Yes, Morpheus told us about Qaus,” Re said. “We've started searching for him. I'm tracing the Mirror through the auction house I bought it from. Hopefully, the trail will lead us to Qaus or one of his associates.”
“Good.” I nodded. “But there's more; Qaus cast his own spell on the mirror so that it would pull me in.” I glanced at Kirill and Trevor; and yes, Trevor was back. “I think you two just got yanked along with me.”
“I'm grateful that we did,” Trevor said. “I'd hate for you to have been alone in there.”
“I'm glad that last scene was just an illusion.” I laid my palm against Trevor's cheek. “That one nearly got me.”
“It wasn't pleasant, but it seems that it was all in my head. But even if it had been real, you needed to get to that flaw to get us all out of the Mirror,” Trevor said. “It was the right call; remember that in case anything similar happens in the future.”
“It had better not,” I said in a dangerous tone.
“What illusion?” Kirill asked.
“You don't want to know,” Trevor and I said together.
“We'll look for the other two gods as well,” Azrael interrupted. “Gish and Disani. I'd imagine they'd be in on whatever Qaus had planned.”
“And I imagine that this won't be the end of it,” Odin said grimly. “Once they discover that the Mirror has been broken, they'll devise a new plan.”
“Where's Lesya?” I asked suddenly.
