They were mine.
I murmured, “You’re…”
She cringed sympathetically. “A bit of a shock, I know. Here, sit.” I was so dazed that I allowed the girl to lead me to the plush chair beside the window. When she held the chalice out to me, I took it. Clear water rippled gently within.
While I was nowhere near death any longer, I was still incredibly thirsty. But even with the shock of seeing my double, I had enough sense to hesitate.
“It’s safe,” the girl said. To prove it, she took the chalice and sipped it. She beamed and handed it back. “See?”
Self-preservation kicked in, and I gulped it down so fast, some of it streamed over my chin. The whole while, I stared.
She was identical to me and also incredibly different. Not just in her appearance but in the way she carried herself. No weight dragged her shoulders, no misery creased her face, no attitude shone in her eyes. She was lighter than I ever was.
“Sorry for just barging in,” she said. “I should have given you a chance to prepare. Although yelling out, ‘Qareen incoming,’ probably wouldn’t have helped.” She laughed, a melodic, carefree sound. She swapped out the now-empty chalice for the bowl of fruit.
It was unnerving, looking into my own face and seeing a different person gazing back.
“What’s it like not having hair?”
My brows lifted.
“Sorry, was that rude?” A delicate blush spread over my qareen’s cheeks. “I’m just so curious. I never thought I’d actually get to meet you.” She tilted her head like an inquisitive puppy. “I always thought I’d look ugly with a shaved head, but you’re very pretty. Bet you don’t get lice, either. Well, obviously, since I get them all thetime.” She snorted to herself. “There isn’t much I’d want to trade places with you for, but lice is one of them. Agitating little fuckers. And Shaya.” She gasped and leaned forward. “What’s it like, being connected to him? He must be so—”
I straightened. “You’re not connected to Shaya?”
She shook her head mournfully. “I tried once. Brought a goat to his temple and everything. But I just couldn’t bring myself to hurt the innocent creature.”
I blinked at her. Same face, same voice, and yet she was an entirely different person.
The opposite of me in every way.
Who I would have been without Shaya. Kind. Happy. Couldn’t even sacrifice a goat, while I’d been ready to sacrifice…
I set down the bowl of fruit and drew a deep breath, pushing aside shock and inexplicable jealousy tothink. Athar had sent me to the Mirror Realm, my qareen’s presence made that much clear. My qareen, who had evidently watched over me while I was unconscious. She could have killed me then, but she hadn’t, which made me think that somehow my qareen was the only one in existence who did not wish to switch places with her host. Or was too cowardly to do it.
See why you were chosen. That was what Athar had said. The message Shaya had for me. Maybe something to do with my qareen.
“How long was I asleep?” I asked her.
“You appeared in the foyer last night and slept well into the afternoon.”
Hours, then. “Have you met anyone else since?”
Her brows furrowed as she shook her head. “The citadel is empty.”
“Citadel?”
She nodded.
My gaze drifted back to the miraculous view outside the window. The Mirror Realm did not conjure places out of thin air, butI didn’t know of any location calledthe citadel. Wherever we were, it was not in Ashorah. Maybe it was another secret of Dead Man’s Forest, like the Cirra Tribe. But if neither Athar nor Shaya had appeared to my qareen, then she was not what I was sent here to find.
Briefly, I debated killing her just to be safe. But she stared at me with wide, guileless green eyes. A puppy at the foot of its master, tail thumping eagerly, and I thought I might have better use of her.
“Is there anything here relating to Shaya? Or maybe the Gods-Chosen?”
The girl perked up. “Yes! A whole room, in fact.”
Relief and a touch of excitement swirled through me. Athar hadn’t tricked me after all. “Show me,” I instructed.
