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

Take Me to Your Asshole...er Leader

O h crap.

A whole troop of soldiers is leaving the Chamber and marching right for me. Were they guarding the mirrors? Waiting for me to pop out of one of them? Have they seen me? Should I run?

Maybe this doesn’t have to be a disaster. I’m such a cup-half-full gal, but I have an idea. Not necessarily a good one, but it will get me to Khronus quicker. So I stay where I am and raise my hands.

Except, it suddenly occurs to me that maybe, he doesn’t want me alive. What if he wants me dead? No doubt I will find out shortly.

I watch as the soldiers get closer. There are six of them. The man in front looks like an officer—he’s wearing a fancy uniform of black and purple. The other five are all in black—very ominous. They have swords at their sides.

I wait for them to notice me, to stop, maybe arrest me, to do something.

Instead, they just march straight past, their eyes facing forward, as if I don’t even exist. I’m not invisible, am I?

I stand for a moment, staring after their retreating backs as they disappear through the gates.

Then I give myself a shake and hurry after them.

They’re already way ahead— their legs are a lot longer than mine.

So I break into a run. I catch up and jog beside them for a second.

Now I do get some sideways glances. I wave a hand.

“Hey, stop for a minute, will you?”

For a second, it looks like they’re going to ignore me, but finally the officer holds up a hand, and they all stop. So I do as well and turn to face the man in charge. He peers down at me, a frown forming on his face.

“We are on the king’s business,” he says. “Be on your way.”

“Yeah, well, I think I might actually be the king’s business. I think you might be looking for me.”

The frown deepens.

“I’m Amber?”

Nope, no response.

“You were expecting me in the Chamber of Mirrors?”

That does get a response. His eyes widen. He looks me up and down again, and he doesn’t seem impressed. “You are the witch the king is waiting for? ”

He doesn’t sound like he believes it. I’m the first to admit I don’t cut a particularly impressive figure. I’m only just over five feet, and I’m sort of covered in dirt and blood. I stand up tall—well, as tall as I can. “Yeah, that’s me.”

He’s silent, and I scowl. I’m impatient now. I want Zayne and Josh out of whatever hellhole Khronus has tossed them into. I don’t have time for this.

“Take me to your leader.” I’ve always wanted to say that. “Look, he’s going to be super pissed if I make my own way there and tell him you let me go.”

Something flashes in his eyes. Fear, maybe.

I’ve heard that Khronus has a nasty habit of tossing people he doesn’t like off the palace roof.

Maybe the soldier is seeing his life flash before his eyes on the way down.

He makes a gesture with his hand and suddenly, I’m surrounded.

Someone grabs my hands from behind, and before I can even think to do something about it, I feel the cold metal of cuffs clicking shut around my wrists.

I’m pretty sure I could spell my way out of them, but it’s not far to the palace; I can put up with a little discomfort.

Then we’re moving. They march, still in formation around me, and I still have to jog to keep up—it’s a good job I’m fit.

The streets are wide, but people get out of our way as we approach.

Their glances turn curious as they spot me surrounded by the soldiers.

Then they turn their backs, as if they’re trying to pretend they didn’t see me after all .

Did Zayne and Josh come this way when they were brought in? Probably. It must have only been a few hours ago. Nothing too bad could have happened in that time. Could it?

Nausea churns in my belly. It’s a familiar feeling.

For a brief few minutes back in Valandria, I thought we were all safe, that the fear was in the past. We could all be fucking happy.

Deluded or what?

Maybe I’m not meant to be happy. It’s not my fucking destiny to be happy. I’m sick of destiny. I’m going to make my own from now on. I’m going to get Zayne and Josh out of here, go pick up Khaos, and then find some nice, quiet place to live where no one can find me. Including the gods.

Through the wall of black-uniformed muscle in front of me, I catch a glimpse of our destination: The Star Palace, the heart of Aurion.

It’s beautiful...if you like that sort of thing.

It’s also big. I mean huge, towering over the rest of the city.

And it’s over-the-top ostentatious—a gleaming white marble edifice with a multitude of spires that rise up into the night sky, almost touching the stars.

Are Zayne and Josh somewhere inside that monstrosity?

We’re drawing closer and I can see the great gates of gold. They are wide open, and there’s a statue on each side that must be a hundred feet tall. They’re both depictions of Khronus.

Apparently, all the Astralis are related to the gods.

Khronus and Khaosti, and me I suppose, can trace our lineage directly to Selene and Vortex, the First Gods who created the Astral Plane, made it their home, and then crafted the other worlds of Valandria and Earth as playgrounds for their children .

I suspect Khronus has always thought of himself as a second-class god, and he’s pretty desperate for an upgrade.

It was his overwhelming need to be worshiped that led him to turn my father into the devil.

When Selene and Vortex vanished from the worlds, the people turned away from the gods, and Khronus believed that a devil would drive them back.

He used dark magic to drain all the good from Lucifer and locked it in an amber stone, leaving nothing but pure evil.

But he seriously underestimated his creation.

Instead of a pawn he could control, Lucifer became an almost invincible enemy, imbued with the dark magic that had created him.

I wore that amber stone, unaware of what it really was, around my neck for most of my life.

It was the only thing I had when I woke from a coma three years ago with no memory of who I am.

It was the reason I was called Amber. The name was supposed to be temporary, just until I remembered my real one.

That only happened a couple of months ago, and by then, I was used to the name Amber. Besides, who wants to be called Lilith?

The stone is gone now, destroyed along with Hell.

For the first time, I wonder—how did Khronus get access to dark magic?

I know he was working with the witches from the Coven of the First Flame, but witches don’t possess dark magic.

Our magic comes from Selene. Only Vortex ever wielded dark magic, and he hasn’t been seen in any of the worlds for a long, long time.

We march—or, in my case, jog—through the gateway.

There are guards here, standing at attention, but they make no attempt to question us.

We cross the courtyard that leads to the main entrance.

As we approach, the huge doors open, and a man steps out, dressed in somber black, not a soldier—maybe a servant.

We stop. He speaks quietly with the officer, then turns to look at me, one eyebrow raised.

I smile back. I’d wave, but the cuffs sort of limit my movement.

“Follow me,” he says.

The men in front of me part; looks like they’re not coming any farther.

Only the officer accompanies us, walking by my side.

His face is expressionless, but a tic is jumping in his cheek.

I’m guessing he’s really hoping I am who I say I am.

Or he might be taking a trip to the palace roof sometime soon.

Inside, it’s all endless marble corridors, and I’m starting to wonder if we’re ever actually going to get where we’re going. But finally, the man in black comes to a halt in front of a set of great doors, pale wood inlaid with gold.

No doubt, Khronus is on the other side, and the muscles in my belly tighten. A flash of remembered pain hits me hard, and I send up a silent prayer that my spell will hold, and that he won’t be able to force me to shift.

The rage flickers to life deep in my brain, and I shut it down. There will be time for rage later. Now I’ve got to be focused. Zayne and Josh come first. Revenge will have to wait.

A shiver runs through me as the air shifts. Like it knows what’s coming.

And maybe it does, because the doors are opening.