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But Sheela is already through the gate. I totter after her, my legs shaking and Fury nudges me, probably wiping the blood off his nose.More ugh.

“Can you remember the way?” Sheela asks. She’s still panting from the run.

“You’re not coming with us?”

“No.”

“Won’t Khronus torture you or something?”

“Probably. If I stayed here. But I have friends in the north who are expecting me. I always knew it would come to this one day.”

“So why not come with us?”

“Because there is work to do here. This was once a good place. There are many who believe it still can be.”

“You mean a rebellion.”

She just shrugs. “Go. You have your own work to do. You and Khaosti. But I think we will meet again.”

“I hope so.” I’m not a big hugger, but I step forward, wrap my arms around her and hug her hard. “Thank you,” I murmur into her shoulder. Then I let her go and step back.

She glances at Fury, a frown forming between her eyes. “I just hope we don’t come to regret it. Good luck.”

“You too.” Then I run. Because I want off this goddamned planet or world, or whatever it is so badly I can taste it. Fury runs beside me, and we don’t slow until we reach the Chamber of Mirrors. We jog side-by-side through the rooms until we reach the mirror that will take us to Valandria. We stop.

“Just don’t think this means I’ve forgiven you for telling your father about me.”

His nostrils flare, but obviously he doesn’t say anything.

I turn back to the mirror and whisper the words of the opening spell. The mirror ripples, just as I hear a horn blowing in the distance. We’ve been busted.

“Go,” I say to Fury.

He stares at me stubbornly. Grrr. Then he looks from me to the mirror. He wants me to go first. Maybe he thinks I won’t follow, and he’s not happy about that. And it’s probably a good idea anyway. I don’t want him jumping into the cave and landing on top of Zayne or Josh. That likely wouldn’t end well. I wince as I remember the guards. Dead within seconds.

The horn blows again.

And I grit my teeth and leap through the mirror into darkness.

Chapter 12

We Escaped. We Cried. We Snacked

Iland lightly on the other side—not to boast, but I’m getting good at this.

I blink a couple of times. I’m in total, absolute blackness, which makes sense, because if I’m in the right place, I’m in a cave deep beneath a mountain. I sniff, and the air feels different, smells different—slightly cool, damp, and mineral-like.

Something moves in the darkness in front of me, and I go still, just as a torch flashes on. Relief floods through me as I catch a brief glimpse of Zayne and Josh. While I know in theory how these mirrors work, I’m never quite sure they’ll send you where you expect.

I’m just about to open my mouth and say something when Fury leaps through the mirror behind me. He slams into me, sending me hurtling forward. I crash into Zayne, and we both go down. Luckily, I’m on top, and I hear the air leave Zayne’s lungs in a whoosh.

“Crap. Shit,” he mutters.

I lie still for a moment until I hear a growl behind me. Time to get back to work. Quickly, I roll to my feet, praying I can diffuse the situation before any more jugulars are ripped out.

The torch lies on the floor where Zayne dropped it; I snatch it up and flash it straight into the wolf’s eyes. They glow crimson, and for a moment, they remind me of the shadowguard. I shake my head to dispel the image. I really hope they’re not going to stay that way. It’s not a good look.

He growls again, and my mind flashes back to the dead guards. I have only seconds to think of something before he leaps into action. Otherwise, Zayne’s going to end up without a jugular. Fury is quivering with rage, and I can see his muscles tensing as he readies himself to jump, but he’s going to have to go through me.