“Why are they still waving?” I grit out to Erik as I glance over my shoulder to find him also waving at me. Um, I wouldn’t have pegged the burly guard as a waver. He seems more like astab first, ask questions latersort of guy.
Eron appears at the far end of the courtyard, his silver embroidered coat flapping behind him as he shakes his head while striding toward me. At least he’s not lowering himself to this ridiculousness.
His eyes land on the shattered mirror at my feet, and he grimaces. “Daphne, you’ve broken an unbonded mirror, and now it’s causing your reflection to influence everyone who can see you.”
I blink. They are doing this because I am? Impossible. I clench my fist, and everyone around me stops waving to curl their fingers tight. Oh...
I bring my hand to my face and boop my nose with my index finger. A laugh erupts from my throat at the sight of dozens of snooty folks doing something so ridiculous. “How do I get them to cease?”
Eron grasps my shoulders and spins me away from the mirror. “You stop looking at it.”
“Guards, clean this up,” Erik snarls as Eron leads me away.
“Why didn’t they tell me?”
“They cannot. You must work it out for yourself. It’s part of the complex magic.”
“I’m not a fan of complex.”
He chuckles low. “Yet it seeks you out.”
“Wait, you told me.”
“I’m the king,” he says like it explains everything. We enter the castle and aim for the same fancy throne room from earlier. The fracture on the floor is narrower. A self-healing home is a must for me. Also, if I am to make my life with the knights, which includes a dragon, it seems like a sensible choice.
My gaze takes in the enormous beautiful mirror taking up most of the raised dais behind Eron’s throne. Knowing this is the mirror Malice broke and stole shards from is like staring at an Idol. They’ve added a long dining table to the center of the room, filled with tea and cake.
“This is the Mirror of Whispers?” I say in awe.
“Sadly, yes, this is the original. A mirror which binds my power, and now my mind. Until the shards are replaced, I will remain less than whole.”
I sigh. Malice holds these pieces, or at the very least knows where they are. I can feel it.
“You look a lot better than when I last saw you,” I note as Eron pulls out a chair to the left of the head of the table. I fold myself into it and try not to wince as the wound on my shoulder tugs, releasing a trickle of blood.
Eron frowns at it and snaps his fingers. “Fetch the healer and my commander.”
There are no visible folks answering his command, but I have to assume they are doing his bidding.
Eron folds himself into the high-backed chair at the head of the table. “Malice making herself known after all these annuses was a complete surprise. Her magic is potent, and I was taken off guard.”
“Are you recovered?” I ask.
He grins as he grabs a teapot and pours me a steaming cup. “She might be powerful, but she is still no match for a king. The only reason she bested me was the element of surprise.”
“She stole my sword and then my body,” I tell him, given he was knocked out.
“That’s unfortunate.”
I scowl at him. “It’s more than unfortunate, Eron. She is impersonating me. Idols knows what danger she poses to my sister and my knights.”
He slides a tower of mini cakes my way. “You think they won’t have figured out she is not you?”
I fold my arms, even though my mouth waters at the prospect of cake. “Everyone likes to believe those closest to them would know in an instant, but that is rarely the reality.”
“That’s true. But then again, you aren’t everyone.”
My arms drop. I’ve always found it exhausting holding on to any negative emotion. They drain me fast. “I want to be back with them,” I whisper.
