I stabbed my fork into my salad. The real Nate was already worth hanging out with. He just didn’t perform like some overconfident teen movie lead with a soundtrack playing behind him.
Etan, of course, was holding court at the next table. He was telling a story, about skateboarding down the pier, if the dramatic hand gestures were anything to go by, and everyone around him was laughing. Even Bianca.
She caught my eye and mouthed, ‘what?’
I mouthed back, ‘traitor.’
She rolled her eyes and went back to listening to Etan like he was revealing the secret of life.
The worst part? Every time I caught his gaze, and yes, he definitely knew I was looking, he gave me a small, private smile that made my stomach do the cha-cha.
The following morning in the hall between classes, I caught him slipping a hand into his locker. Only, it wasn’t his locker. It was Emily Crawford’s, the head cheerleader. He pulled out a little silver makeup compact, glanced into the mirror inside, and for the tiniest fraction of a second, his reflection moved differently than he did.
My blood went cold.
When he noticed me watching, he snapped it shut, grinned, and said, “Want to hang out later?”
“No,” I blurted. Then, softer: “I’m busy.”
“With what?” he asked, leaning on the locker like he had all the time in the world.
“Homework. Chores. Avoiding you.”
“Honesty. I like it,” he said, as if that was charming instead of deeply unsettling.
I left school early after I told the nurse I felt nauseous, which wasn’t a lie. By the time I got home, I was pacing my room like a caged tiger.
“He’s doing something,” I told Raven. “I saw his reflection move on its own. That’s not normal.”
“Of course it’s not normal,” Raven said, perched on my lamp. “Neither is Etan being here in the first place. The question is, what is he doing with those mirrors?”
“Whatever it is, I think he’s getting stronger.”
The flamingo mirror on my desk shimmered, and I froze. Just for a heartbeat, Etan’s silver-eyed reflection stood there, smiling at me like we were in on some private joke. Then, the glass went still.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that he hadn’t actually gone anywhere. The air in my room felt heavier, like the moment before a storm breaks, and the hair on my arms prickled as if someone was standing just behind me.
Raven hopped closer to the mirror and muttered, “We’re running out of time. You need more training.”
Somewhere, in some sliver of silver, Etan was watching.
If I’d seen him once, maybe he’d been standing in every mirror I’d passed, just waiting for me to look back.
Chapter 7
Etan
The school was a maze of windows, glass doors, and polished floors, perfect for keeping an eye on things.
From the outside, I was leaning against a locker, laughing with a couple of basketball players about some ridiculous inside joke. From the inside, the silver-glint view of the mirror in the trophy case across the hall, I was somewhere else entirely.
I watched Jess in her bedroom, bent over a flamingo-shaped mirror like it was a lifeline. Her fingers brushed the glass, full, perfect, lips moving in careful rhythm. Raven hopped at her elbow, beak sharp with instructions.
Was the bird training her?
Smart girl.
I didn’t mind. Watching her prepare to face me only made the game more interesting. Every time her gaze narrowed in concentration, I could see the moment her thoughts shifted toward me. The way her jaw set, the way her shoulders tensed. I liked knowing she was thinking about me, even if it was for all the wrong reasons.
