Cupping my cheeks, he stared into my eyes. “Love you.”
I pressed myself against him, desperately trying not to cry. We had very little time left for each other.
Forget battle strategies and the Blade of Alessa and whatever you need to do before you can wield it,he said.Right now, there’s just us. I love you. If nothing comes of this, if we don’t make it through the battle, we will have had this. You. Me. It’s a blessing, and I won’t let him take that from me too.
Vexxion.Desolation crushed me. Each heartbeat was a countdown to an inevitable end. My throat tightened and tearsblurred my vision as the terrifying reality sunk in. We may only have now.
But when did we ever have anything else? I worried more about losing him than myself. Even the thought made every breath torturous, heavy with grief that would drown me. Our dreams might soon be dashed against the jagged rocks on the shore of Lydel.I love you. Let’s make now last a lifetime.
Dance with me?
I smiled through my tears. Here he was again, soothing my sorrow and bringing out my smile.Here?
Why not?
We’ll bump into things.
How his beautiful sapphire eyes sparkled with humor.Not if you let me lead.
My laugh snorted out.I’m still not a good dancer.
You will be one day.
You have more hope for me than I do,I said.
You’re perfect. Remember that. Everything you are and everything you will be is . . . exquisite.
I melted into his arms, and he swept me up, swirling me around as he hummed.
I was wrong to think this man was made up of only sharp edges. He was imperfectly perfect, which was exactly what I needed.
I’d love him until every part of me no longer existed.
I wokesometime during the night and rolled over to face the window.
Drask’s inky gaze met mine before he twitched his head toward the other side of the room. Unease slashed through me, leaving claw marks behind.
I slipped from the bed.
The moon remained hidden behind heavy clouds, but something sparkled on the other side of the room. Mesmerized, I tracked in that direction, finding the mirror fragments lying on a broad table. Each facet winked, nearly blinding me, as if someone shifted them in sunlight.
Look, and you will finally see.
I whirled around, but the fairy I’d freed from the wax didn’t float in the air behind me. Her words did, however, echoing softly in the room.
Vexxion stirred on the bed before his breathing deepened.
This is for you, not him.
Yes.
With trembling fingers, I gently slid the shards into place, assembling them until they slowly reformed the mirror. Each piece I moved into position fused itself into a solid, as if it had never been broken.
Finally, with only one sliver left, I paused. Was this a mistake or . . . No, this was a gift, and despite gifts burning me in the past, I needed to see what the king had been keeping hidden.
With a careful nudge, I tucked the last piece into place. The mirror flashed light before going dark. Swirls erupted below the surface, and I leaned closer, determined not to miss a thing.
The smoke cleared, and I gazed down at the center of a village, though from a distance. Mountains loomed far away on the right, and the wasteland spread out on the left.
