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I hum softly as his kisses map where his hand held my neck. My heart tightens, the sensation building in my throat. He took me how I wanted, and instead of the pain and lingering dark thoughts that would usually swirl for days after, I feel nothing but softness. He was rough but careful, checked with me to ensure I was alright while fulfilling my desires.

A sharp sting on my shoulder has me shifting. My voice is rough, and I clear it before trying to speak again. “I think the mirror cut me.”

Valen lifts just enough to check. “You’re bleeding⁠—”

He cuts off, his post-orgasm softness disappearing. I turn to inspect my shoulder, too. “What… the fuck?!”

In the shards of the mirror is Tori’s face staring back at us, equally shocked.

CHAPTER 15

LUCAS

“Lucas…”

Tori’s voice has a gentle echo as if we’re in a long, empty corridor. Yet, there’s a horror in the moment. The pieces of the fractured mirror are scattered, jumbling the parts of her face like a puzzle needing to be pieced together. The shard that cut me reveals a tear dripping down her cheek, tinged red from my blood.

“Tor!” I shove off the tub and nearly throw Valen over the edge in the process. I grab him, my gaze tearing away from Tori’s shattered pieces to make sure he’s okay. His hand covers mine, his eyes wide and chest pumping. I turn back to the mirror to find it reflecting the black marble of the bathroom once more.

We stay like that, clutching each other and hardly believing what we saw was real. “You saw that, right?”

Valen doesn’t answer. He keeps staring at the pieces of the mirror.

“V?” I shake his arm. “Valen!”

He blinks, turning to me.

I point to the mirror. “Tori was in that mirror, right? She said my name?” When he doesn’t say anything, my tone pitches high. “For fuck’s sake, Valen, I need you to answer me. Am I going crazy or did you see that too?”

Valen shakes himself, his now-unkept hair shifting with the movement. “Yes.” He clears his throat. “Yes. I saw. And… heard.”

“How is that possible?”

Valen’s eyes close. His chest expands and slowly falls. When his eyes open, that impassive mask he’s so good at slips in place. He swirls his fingers towards the mirror. The shattered glass gathers and floats over to a corner. He takes the still-running spray and rinses his body off efficiently before handing it to me. “Clean yourself. I’ll be right back.”

I take the nozzle. “Where are you going?”

He steps out of the tub and summons two towels over. He sets one for me on his abandoned stool before roughly drying himself off with his. “To my room. I won’t take long.”

He leaves swiftly. A pressure builds in my chest and I swallow it down. I quickly rinse the evidence of our… I draw a blank. “Lovemaking” sounds very wrong, but “fucking” seems too disconnected. My neck prickles with the memory of his gentle kisses, and I miss the feel of him lying on me as I came down from the lingering bliss.

Tori was here. Valen saw her. It helps me refocus, and I soap myself up before washing the suds away. By the time I’m clean and rubbing the water off me, Valen has returned. He’s put on a fresh pair of slacks and a white shirt, but didn’t bother buttoning it. It leaves his chest exposed, and my gaze lingers on his lithe muscles.

He twirls a thin, black stick between his long fingers and holds a book in front of his face with his other hand.

“What’s that?” I ask while securing the towel around my hips.

“My mother left me her personal library before she fled.” He manages to flip the page one-handed, and I try not to appear too impressed.

“Are those the books in your room?” I perch on the stool, bracing for soreness but finding none. Damn, he is good. I wasn’t even that well prepped. Or maybe I was that desperate for him.

“Yes. Mirrors have a long history with weavers. The priesthood used them in all sorts of rituals, and they’re one of the few relics still in use today.”

“I’m shocked the Order does anything that the priesthood used to.”

“I can assure you that the list is very short. The old temple within the Archweaver estate is the last priesthood structure left standing within the Astrum Forest. The sacred mirror within is how Alvius Androclaria ascended to become the first Archweaver. All Archweavers and Heirs that followed have used it for their Ascensions.”

“So they couldn’t get rid of the mirror despite it showing how they’re all hypocritical assholes?”