And then it hit me.
I knew that architecture.
Not by memory.
By instinct.
By the way, my body tried to recoil even as the mirror held me.
Mariselle’s compound.
I watched Older Me step farther inside, and I saw her pause, just for a heartbeat, like she was bracing herself before walking into the mouth of something that wanted to swallow her whole.
Then she lifted her chin and kept going.
My lungs stopped working.
“No,” I gasped, loud enough that in the cellar my voice echoed off the stone.
The mirror released me so suddenly that my hands slid off the glass like it had turned slick.
I stumbled backward, heels catching on uneven stone, and the world spun.
For a brief, humiliating moment, I windmilled my arms like a woman who had once possessed dignity. Then my foot found nothing but air, and I fell.
Hard.
My shoulder slammed into the stone floor. My hip hit next, pain flaring bright enough to blur my vision. My head thudded against something, maybe the edge of the pedestal base, maybe the floor itself, and stars burst behind my eyes.
I lay there, gasping for breath as the sconce flickered, and I swallowed against nausea, pushing myself upright with trembling hands. My shoulder screamed. My hip throbbed. My palms were damp with sweat.
But pain wasn’t what held my attention.
The thing that held my attention was the mirror.
It looked normal now, just a faint shimmer in the surface as if nothing had happened.
It pretended it hadn’t just shown me my worst nightmare of being connected with Shadowick or walking into the Priestess’ compound.
My stomach rolled again, and I pressed one hand to my mouth, breathing through my nose until the urge to be sick eased enough for me to think.
“No,” I said again, but this time it was steadier. Angrier. “No. I don’t accept that.”
I got to my feet, wincing, and stepped back to the pedestal.
The stone was smooth, cool beneath my fingertips.
It had always been reactive. Responsive. Moody.
If it wanted me to see something, it invited me to see it.
If it wanted to withhold, it resisted.
Fine.
I planted my feet.
I put both hands on the edge of the pedestal and shoved.
