“Because humans aren’t worthy.” I roll my hand. “You have to use the mirror to see. Kind of like Medusa—wrong mythology but similar concept.”
Why I feel compelled to help her out with this explanation, I have no idea. It’s like I can’t control the words spilling out of me any more than I can control breathing. Plus, I can’t tell if she’s asking because she really doesn’t know or if she’s baiting me.
“Ah. ’Kay.” Rey nods and peers into the mirror, observing the murky lake water. “I see nothing but darkness.”
“It’s all a myth,” I say quickly as a twinging zap of cold starts building in my chest. Epic timing. “We should go. You don’t want to be here at night. It’s even creepier. Then again, if that scares you away, take your time.”
Rey rolls her eyes. “I don’t scare easily. I think I’ve seen the worst.”
“Well, your fatherisa notorious murderer. I’m sure he gets extremely creative when he dismembers people.”
The cold continues to build. Where is it coming from?
She looks back at the mirror, her gaze narrowing. “There’s something etched on top of the obsidian,” she mumbles, leaning in closer.
A sharp whistle has us both jumping.
Reeve.
Shit For Brains blows again, then waves that ridiculous flag, and the other students follow him out of the hall like a herd of lemmings.
“We should go, too,” I tell her.
“In a sec. I think I recognize this rune.” She goes up on her toes.
My added height makes it easier to see.
“Raido,” we say at the same time.
The front door slams shut, causing a gust of wind to swirlthrough the room. Rey turns away, but it’s too late—the mirror suddenly flips, the huge stone slab slamming into the back of her head, and slices me when I try to stop it from hitting her again. Its edges are sharp and jagged. She falls to the ground.
“Shit!” I catch her, kneel next to her. I reached her before her head hit stone, but blood’s trickling down her neck. “Are you okay?”
She sits up and gingerly touches the back of her head. “Ouch, yeah, that was weir—” Her eyes go unfocused.
“Rey? Rey?” Panic spikes.
I grab her face, but the minute my skin brushes hers, the air shifts. The once-still pool ripples violently, waves splashing against the stone edges like something in its inky depths just woke up. Cold biting through me, I try to pull back, but my hands won’t move; they’re frozen against her skin.
My back ignites like it’s on fire while my body shudders.
We have to get out of here.
Chapter Twenty
Aric
Frost covers Rey’s face where I touch it. I jerk back, causing her to fall against the ground a second time.
Damn it. I reach for her again.
She’s still disoriented and mumbling something about the water, but I manage to walk us out of the building and slam the door behind us. I don’t know why, but I turn and look up, my gaze drawn to the phrase etched above the door in ancient Norse.
Where water remembers and blood mourns.
I’m shaking by the time we get back on the path to Endir. She’s still silent, but at least she seems okay—though I use that term loosely. Her eyes are glazed, but I don’t think she fell hard enough on her head to be concussed. The wound would be the mirror’s fault, but the concussion would totally be on me for not catching her that second time. My back still burns below my neck, right on my spine. Shit, what did I do? I keep my eyes trained on her.
Reeve gives me a raised eyebrow when we get closer to the group, but I ignore him and angle Rey away. “We’re heading back to the dorms.”
