I thought of the soldiers pillaging Tolston, searching every home. “You were looking for it. You knew it was in Tolston.”
“Of course I did. You havenoidea the magic that mirror contains.”
“It contains the truth,” I said. “I can expose you, Calista. Once my allies arrive, we will take the mirror from you and summon the nobles of the court. I’ll use the mirror to show them who you really are.”
She barked out a harsh, grating laugh. “You truly are clueless, aren’t you? This is so much more than just an enchanted mirror. It is bound to my very essence. I can sense when it is near. Its magiccallsto me. But go on, take it. Try to use it and see what happens.”
She shoved the mirror into my hands, her eyes gleaming. I clutched it tightly, my skin prickling with unease. This felt like a trap. The gleeful look on her face told me shewantedme to try it.
Calista’s smile only grew. Even with her mirror in my hand, she knew I was doubting everything about my plan. She knew I couldn’t win if I didn’t know for sure the mirror would work.
The throne room doors crashed open. My heart lurched as seven familiar faces appeared: Denton, Stella, Gareth, Huck, Tansy, Penelope, and Lark—the human nobles. My closest friends stood in the open doorway, flanked by soldiers wearing red bandanas and brass breast plates.
The rebels.Myrebels. They were war-torn and bloody, but they were alive.
A smile broke across my face. They’d done it. They werehere.
Calista’s head whipped toward the newcomers, her face twisting with rage. “Guards!” she shrieked.
“No one is coming,false queen,” Denton said, his voicebooming. “The castle is ours. All that stands between our true queen and her crown… is you.”
As one, the soldiers and my human friends raised their swords. Pride swelled in my chest, and tears burned in my eyes. Until this moment, I hadn’t truly realized the loyalty these people had to me.
I was their queen. Their leader. And they were prepared to die for that truth.
I lifted the mirror. “Step down, Calista,” I commanded, my voice ringing with authority, “or I will show the world who you really are.”
Calista’s nostrils flared, her eyes wide as she looked around the room as if searching for allies. She would find none.
We had won.
A low, manic snarl built up in her throat. Spit flew from her lips as her features twisted. Huge, leathery wings sprang from her shoulders, and her pale skin darkened until it was an ashy gray. Darkness spilled from her feet, spreading across the floor like ink.
“You want to expose my true nature?” Calista hissed. “Go ahead. I’ll kill all of you before you utter a single word.”
Before I could object, Calista’s darkness swallowed me whole.
And then, the throne room erupted in screams.
My ears were ringing.Pain and chills and a strange sense of frailty gripped my limbs, freezing me in place. I wanted to vomit and scream all at once, but I couldn’t move.
It felt as if a very piece of my soul was missing. As if I was on death’s door, my limbs as weak and feeble as an old man.
I’d given my magic to Eira. My magic was my very life force.
I was truly dying.
And yet I was still here. I had awakened briefly, catching sight of Eira’s tear-stained face as she looked up at me in desperation and relief. I couldhearher screaming my name.
Darkness took me. As much as I wanted to be with her, that abyss pulled me under. Fading in and out, I caught echoes of Eira’s conversation with Calista. The false queen had said the mirror was bound to her very essence.
The words struck something familiar within me, something important… but I couldn’t grasp what it was.
The darkness claimed me again. For a moment, I thought I’d finally succumbed to death. But the rotting stench that stung my nostrils was horribly familiar. It brought me backto the surface again, my senses awakening. Dread coiled in my chest.
Demon Fae.
Calista had dropped her glamour.
