Thea stood to one side of the mirror, assessing me as I slowly approached. I hesitantly stepped in front of the mirror, closing my eyes and taking a deep, lung-filling breath. Letting all the air out of my lungs, I opened my eyes, ready to face this next test. A familiar face stared back at me, a confused look etched across its features. At the centre of the reflection’s chest, there was the faintest flicker of light, which one could easily miss if one weren’t paying attention. Staring at this version of myself in the mirror made me feel unusually calm. For the first time in a while, I felt safe and comfortable.
Thea walked over, placed her hand down the front of my dress, and grabbed hold of my medallion, breaking me out of my trance.
“Tsk, tsk, Aurelia.”
My heart sank as I grabbed the medallion back from Thea.
“We don’t know one another,” she said, “and I understand wanting to keep your cards close to your chest. But know that I am here to help you. I am not here to the benefit of King Julian or Queen Oriana, or even Prince Sterling. You deserve to know who and what you are, and for me to help you with that, I’m going to need you to trust me.” Thea took a few steps back to put space between us. “Who gave that to you?”
I stared at the floor, unwilling to answer her question. I wantedto trust her, but I couldn’t fight my instincts, which were screaming at me not to say a word.
Thea continued, apparently unbothered by my lack of response. “Whoever it is, they have considerable arcanal powers. That medallion you are wearing has been imbued with a powerful protection spell—it’s most likely why the blood-and-water rite couldn’t detect your arcanal bloodline and why no aura showed up for you in the aura mirror. Curiously, although they went through all the trouble of protecting you from arcanal detection, they cut some corners on preventing the medallion itself from being detected. You saw that faint flicker of light, right? Guess you can’t get it all right all the time.”
The slight to Magda angered me instantly. That familiar buzzing ran along my skin, and my vision darkened. “This was given to me by someone who sacrificed themselves for my safety. I cannot allow you to talk about them that way. Apologize now.”
Thea stared at me, grinning. “There she is,” she said as she chuckled. “I meant no actual disrespect to you or your loved one. What they did was incredible—no matter their proficiency with cloaking spells, this mirror would have detected it. Even Hecate herself could not outsmart this mirror. That’s what it’s meant to do.” Thea made her way over to me and gently took my hands, her fingers lightly massaging between my thumbs and forefingers. “It’s all right. You can relax now. We don’t have the luxury of time to get well acquainted with one another, and since you wouldn’t tell me anything, I had to provoke you for a response. I’m sorry for upsetting you.”
I pulled my hands away. “This doesn’t exactly help the trust thing, you know,” I retorted.
“I’m aware, and for that I’m deeply regretful,” Thea replied sadly. She made her way back over to the desk and sat down in the large, cushioned chair situated behind it.
“What now?” I asked, adjusting and patting down my skirt.
“I thought that was self-explanatory. I need you to remove themedallion so we can see your aura.” Thea directed her gaze toward the aura mirror.
Reluctantly I made my way over to it and inspected my reflection again. I couldn’t rationally explain my hesitation to remove the medallion. All I knew was that I was becoming increasingly emotional at the thought of removing it. I had no idea where Magda had obtained the medallion, and I couldn’t even begin to think about what kind of arcana it possessed, but one thing I did know was that removing it felt wrong.
“I… I don’t think I want to do that,” I finally stammered out in response.
Astra came up beside me, rubbing her head against my thigh in a reassuring gesture. Nocturna followed her sister’s lead, nudging my hand with her head.
“Hmm, interesting,” Thea commented.
“What is?” I replied as I looked down at the mountain cats.
“They can sense your emotions. They know that you are unsure of how to proceed and are offering you comfort. The bond between the three of you is strong and beautiful to see.”
I knelt to hug Astra and then Nocturna. “They are everything to me. They’ve been there for me through some awful things and have protected me fiercely.”
Thea smiled. “Some fae possess the ability to befriend animals. They can connect with them on a similar emotional level to how fae would connect. It would appear that it’s a skill both you and I have in common.”
I looked up at Thea, recognizing the effort she was making to alleviate my trust issues. “I didn’t necessarily befriend them. They found me. My grandmother raised me, and when I was sixteen, she passed away.”
“I am so sorry, Aurelia,” Thea said softly. “That must have been difficult and scary for you.”
“Thank you, and it was. One night I was coming home drunk from a tavern. I didn’t realize that I was being followed…” I hesitated to continue. Thinking about that night always made me feel ill. “As I was entering my home, I was assaulted. Before too much could happen, these two burst through my front door and attacked the man. They’ve been with me ever since.” I stared at the girls fondly.
“It sounds like you were destined to meet, then,” Thea replied, smiling at us.
I shook my head. “I think they were sent to watch over me. I don’t know how to explain it, but it felt like my grandmother had sent them to protect me.” Tears welled at the thought of my grandmother. “That’s why they mean so much to me. Not having them around has been difficult.” I pulled at the cuff of my sleeve as I looked at Thea. “Thank you again, for bringing them back to me.”
Thea waved at me and sniffled.
“What you said earlier, about making friends with animals, it makes sense now. I have been wondering how they came to make comfortable company with a total stranger. Guess that explains it.” I ruffled the fur on Astra’s head and stood up to face the aura mirror.
I took a deep breath and then carefully lifted the delicate chain the medallion was attached to over my head and bent over to place it around Astra’s neck. “Hold on tight to that for me, please?”
Astra nudged her head into my hand in response. I turned to face the aura mirror. A large lump had formed in my throat, and my chest tightened as I took in my reflection. The same woman from earlier was staring back at me, but this time the look on her face was defiant as the blackest light glowed brightly around her. Her eyes were a lavender grey, similar to how my eyes used to look, with one exception: they glowed brightly and intensely. The tightness in my chest intensified as my brain slowly pieced together what I was looking at. I began to feel dizzy, and my breath became short aspanic set in. The woman in the mirror was no longer staring at me defiantly; she was now grabbing at her throat while a look of terror spread across her face.
