“What are you going to do?” Caspian calls after me.
“Save my mate. Then destroy that fucking mirror for good.”
I find Baylin and Arkan outside Hilda’s private chambers.
“She’s been in there for hours,” Arkan grunts, eyes wild, hair a mess from running his fingers through it.
I look between them. “The spirit of the mirror survived when we broke the glass. It’s making her do things she’d never do. It’s not her.”
Baylin snarls.
“How do we get it out of Hilda?” Arkan roars.
I clench my jaw, fighting to keep it together. “There’s a witch a couple of hours away who might know.”
“And if she doesn’t?” Baylin growls.
“Then we figure it out ourselves.” I start walking. “Because we’re not losing our mate to some fucking devil spirit.”
We quickly gather supplies. Weapons. Water.
Before we leave, I stop in front of Hilda’s door one last time.
“Let’s try the bond.”
We all reach for her.
Nothing. Just empty void.
Then…for just a second…a pulse. Faint. Desperate.
Help me.
“She’s alive,” I breathe out. “Trapped but alive. Fighting. Thank fuck.”
Baylin’s eyes flash. “Then we fight.”
“Damn right.” I head for the door. “Let’s go get our mate back.”
* * *
ARKAN
The witch lives in a cottage that looks like it grew out of the forest itself.
We approach cautiously, but she’s already waiting on the porch when we arrive. Old. Sharp-eyed. Dangerous.
“Three wolves,” she observes. “Looking for something.”
“Information,” Callum says. “Our mate is possessed. We need to know how to break it.”
She studies us for a long moment. “Possessed by what?”
“A mirror spirit. Dark magic. It’s been feeding on her for years.”
The old woman’s expression darkens. “Mirror spirits are powerful parasites. They burrow deep. And possession happens when the host is vulnerable…broken open, defenseless.”
“Can we kill it?” I ask impatiently.
