Page 37

36

Her eyes were as wide as two moons as she sat on soft grass, looking through an ornate frame and onto a blurred Evrardin who looked straight past her, perplexed.

Could he see her? Mara wondered.

She stood and turned. It was similar to the plane she found herself in during the bonding ceremony. But it was much lighter where she now stood. She realized she was standing in a clearing, but there were gray buildings in the distance all around her. She refocused on the oval-shaped blur she knew was Evrardin, still in the small room at the tavern. She watched in amazement as he reached out like he was going to stick his hand in through the mirror and manifest itself before her. But his fingers stopped as they met the glass.

Mara had the urge to look around her, the strange buildings in the distance emitting a faint fog, making them radiate like motes in the sun. The only sound was the whistling of the wind through the crowned trees behind her.

Even with its aberrant, dull beauty, she couldn’t suppress the intense anxiety that triggered in her body. She remembered the last time she was in the Veil all too well. The hands that clawed at her, the voice that spoke her name.

She shuddered and hustled toward Evrardin, standing helplessly before his grainy image and took a deep breath. If she made it through one way, she’d be able to get back just the same. She didn’t quite believe her own words as she pictured the blood spilled beneath her mother, but she stuck her hand out anyway and watched as it sliced through the glass like a puddle. “Oh,” she muttered.

A familiar hand wrapped around hers, fingers settling over her wrist, and tugged her with a hard yank. Mara came tumbling out the other side of the mirror, colliding with Evrardin’s chest as he fell to the floor. She landed on top of him with a grunt, his arms gripping her waist, her head resting against him. She squeezed her eyes tight; she was worried she’d never be able to pry them open again.

She must have been shaking because Evrardin whispered soft words in her ear. “You’re okay,” he told her quietly, his hands getting a little too comfortable as they splayed over her back, keeping her close.

She finally let her eyes flutter open and she tilted her head to look at the captain currently clutching her in his arms.

She hadn’t noticed she had been crying until his thumbs swept under her eyes to clear away the tears. “What just happened?” she asked, glancing behind her, trying to see if she left a trail of blood.

“I was about to ask you the same thing.”

Realizing she was sprawled on top of him, she hastily pushed herself away and caught herself against the bedpost.

Evrardin sat up and marveled at her. “You really went through,” he said in disbelief, sitting back on his hands.

She looked at her palms, making sure she was in one piece. “I… I did.”

Her lips wanted to tip into a smile, but she was quickly reminded that this was exactly what Acastus wanted. She could finally do the thing he needed her for.

It was like he could read her mind because his eyes shifted in dread.

“You can’t tell him!”

Evrardin got to his feet and rested his palm on the hilt of his sword. “I wish I couldn’t.”

Mara’s face bunched up and she began to breathe rapidly. “No. No, you can’t. Please, Evrardin. You can’t tell him.”

“You know I can’t lie to him if he asks.”

“But… asking isn’t commanding.”

“I’ll try to skirt around the topic. But, liten rev , if he demands me to recount anything important happening, I’m afraid I’ll…” He couldn’t finish his words.

The tears welled truthfully now. “Don’t call me that,” she said through a broken lilt.

“Princess,” he coaxed.

She took a deep breath before composing herself and opened the door. “We should get back.”

Evrardin hesitated before following her out.