Page 15 of The Eternal Mirror (Lucifer’s Mirror #3)

Brown looks at the other three. “They’re all shifters?”

I nod.

“I believe the Chamber of Mirrors is still being guarded. Perhaps your father expects you to...visit.” He sits for a moment, presumably considering the problem. “We will need a distraction—something that lasts long enough for you to get out of the chamber.”

“Hopefully, they’ll believe I am coming from Valandria so won’t be watching this mirror.”

He gets to his feet. “I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, I will send you food. Let me know if you need anything else.”

The door clicks shut behind him.

We’re alone again.

For a few seconds, nobody says anything.

Laura leans her head back on the couch and closes her eyes.

Jack fidgets, like he’s got a tick under his skin.

Killian stares into his beer as though it might reveal the meaning of life.

Grimlet curls up on the back of my chair and closes his eyes, wings draped over him like a cloak.

Silence.

It stretches. Taut and heavy.

“I thought this was going to be more exciting,” Jack mutters .

“Give it time,” I say. “I suspect you will have more excitement than you can handle before long.”

He smirks. “Bring it on.”

I hope his attitude lasts. But I doubt it. I stare at the dark window. My reflection stares back.

Still me. But not really.

I’m not the same man who stood here a few months ago. I was an obedient son once. A good soldier. Loyal to a monster.

Not anymore.

The door opens and Brown enters, this time pushing a trolley loaded with bread, hard cheese, bowls of thick stew, a jug of water, and mugs.

“It’s done,” he says. “You’ll have a window—ten minutes, maybe fifteen.”

“Enough,” I say, standing. “Thank you.”

“I’ll leave you to eat,” Brown says. “I’ll come for you when it’s time.”

He leaves, and this time the silence isn’t so tense. It’s edged with purpose.

We eat.

Jack digs in like he hasn’t eaten in days. Laura’s a little more cautious, sipping from her mug between bites. Killian just picks at his bread.

I chew mechanically, not tasting anything.

“I guess now’s a good time,” Laura says between bites. “For the part where you explain what the hell we’re walking into.”

I lean back and drain the rest of my water .

Then I tell them.

About Hell. About Lucifer. About Amber’s sacrifice. How she destroyed it all—burned it down to nothing and walked away with blood on her hands and power in her bones.

“Then we got back to Valandria to find that my father had taken her brothers.”

And she’d walked out on me. Logically, I understand why she did it. But when has logic ever played a part in my life? She could have talked to me about it, discussed options. But no, she just fucking turned her back on me and walked away.

She left me, just like everyone else has.

And in that moment I recognize the anger that has been boiling inside me since that moment. Rage at Amber for walking away. I get that she was scared. But instead of turning to me, she turned away.

And ran.

“She made a mirror and headed to Astrali to confront my father. That’s where she is now,” I finish.

Jack swears under his breath. Killian’s face goes blank. “So that’s the plan. We’re going to get Amber back,” he says.

“And Zayne and Josh,” Laura adds.

“Yes, we’ll get them all. But not by charging through the front gates. We need to be smarter than that. And I need to be stronger, if we are going to beat my father.”

Though the truth is, I’m already stronger. I have Vortex’s dark fire and I have Wrath, both given to me to help Amber destroy her father. But maybe they can also help me destroy mine .

Do I want him dead?

Hell, yes.

“Why?” Laura asks. “What is he?”

I exhale, long and slow. “He’s not just a king. He’s a god. Or near enough. He was descended from the First Gods, Selene and Vortex, who created all the worlds.”

She frowns. “So does that make you a god as well?”

I just shrug. It all comes back to that question—what is a god? I don’t know. So I don’t answer. “My father has ruled Astrali for over five thousand years. You don’t keep a grip like that without being the worst kind of bastard.”

“Is he a shifter?” Jack asks.

“No. He’s a beastmaster. The only one. “

At least he’s the only one I’ve ever heard of, but I wonder—was he always a beastmaster?

I know he’s been dabbling in dark magic for a long time.

Did he somehow create the power? Or was he born with it?

I have never heard anything to the contrary, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned since leaving Astrali—my father has a way of rewriting history he doesn’t like.

Maybe Selene knows. But whether she would deign to tell me is another matter. All the same, maybe a little praying is in order.

“And a beastmaster is...?” Killian asks.

“He can force you to shift and then he can control your every move.”

“That’s not good.”

“No. It’s very fucking bad. So we’ll stay out of his way until we are ready. ”

No one speaks after that. What would be the point? I don’t think any of us is particularly interested in small talk.

Finally, Brown returns. “It’s time.”

We get to our feet. I reach for Grimlet, and he opens one eye, then launches onto my shoulder.

“This way,” Brown says.

We follow him out of the library, along the hallway to a door that leads to the stairway heading down underground. A stone staircase winds down into the dark. Torches line the walls, flickering on as we approach. The air grows colder with every step. The smell of damp stone and old magic thickens.

Last time I walked these steps, Amber was with me. I feel her like a ghost behind me now and the mating bond tightens around my heart.

Nobody talks.

The stairs feel endless. Each footstep echoes like a warning.

Finally, the staircase ends at a metal door that swings open, revealing a small chamber carved from rock. The mirror waits at the far end.

The glass itself is dark. Silent.

Sleeping.

“Is it safe?” Jack asks.

“No,” I say.

He grins. “Awesome.”

I take a breath and step forward. My palm presses against the surface and I whisper the words of the spell.

The glass shimmers .

Then breathes.

Then opens.

I turn to face them. “No hesitation. No stopping. Once we are on the other side, we run.”

“Sounds familiar,” Killian says.

“You ready?” I ask.

They nod.

I step through, and the glass swallows me whole.