Everything goes quiet,the pain vanishing instantly. Slowly, I open my eyes, blinking a few times to clear the stars that blur my vision. I lift my head, seeing a large mirror standing in front of me. The thick black frame is covered in runes and a sigil that feels so familiar it makes the skin near my shoulder itch. Rightwhere my birthmark sits. A flame, carved into a cracked circle, wrapped in vines with tiny thorns. Dasmyrin’s sigil.
I stand slowly and walk over to the mirror on wobbly legs. It’s not me I see in the reflection. Dasmyrin stands there, her movements mimicking my own.
“I don’t understand,” I whisper at the same time she does.
I tilt my head, and she does the same. Taking another step closer to the glass, I watch as she copies my every move. I place my palm against the glass, her palm pressing against mine in the reflection.
“It is time.” A voice whispers. “She will rise as the sun. And burn us all.”
Dasmyrin reaches through the mirror and pushes me backwards with two strong hands, smiling softly at me as I begin falling once more. My golden hair whips around my face as I feel my soul tethering back to where I know my body lies.
I gasp hard,and my eyes fly open. My chest heaves as I breathe in my surroundings.
“Daisy,” Korithax’s voice wraps around me as he stares at me, my face in his palms. “Oh, thank the fucking gods.” He breathes, pulling me into a kiss so fierce it steals my breath away. He pulls back, searching my eyes frantically.
“She has risen again.” A voice sounds from behind me.
I turn to see Elyistria staring at me, tears brimming in her striking silver-blue eyes. She steps forward, her voice barely a breath.
“Hello, sister.”
Chapter 50
Daisy
The silence after Elyistria’s words is louder than any scream I’ve ever heard.
No one moves. No one breathes. My heart hammers like it’s trying to claw its way out of my chest, as I stare at her like she’s just stabbed me in the heart.Sister.
“No,” I whisper, my voice trembling. “Don’t call me that.”
Elyistria steps forward, her movements slow and cautious; like I’m a wounded animal about to lash out at anybody that dares come near me. Maybe I’m exactly that. My body still trembles from whatever the hell I just climbed out of. My fingers twitch against the runes beneath me, still warm with a magic I don’t understand.
I glance around the large space, realising I’m not where I last remember being. I was with Maelkar… in Noxthrallia. Gods knows where I was now.
I glance back at Elyistria, a look of hope swimming in her eyes. “I’m not her,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m not… I’m not whatever you think I am. I’m not Dasmyrin.”
Tears blur my vision as I scramble to sit upright on the altar, shoving Korithax’s steadying hands away without meaning to. The cold rushes back in instantly without him. Gods, I didn’t mean to do that. I need him. I don’t know who I am without him right now. But I can’t stop the shaking that’s wracking my body.
“What’s happening to me?” My voice breaks, ugly and raw. I look to Elyistria, then Aran, then finally to Korithax. “Please. Someone. Tell me this is a mistake. Tell me this is just a dream, that I’m still stuck on that fucking stone back in Noxthrallia. Tell me I’m not her.”
Korithax looks like he’s breaking apart. His eyes burn, his hands hover like he doesn’t know whether to hold me or let me fall apart. He crouches beside me, his brows drawn in confusion and pain.
“Daisy,” he murmurs, voice shaking. “What are you talking about?” He brushes my hair back from my face, his eyes flitting back and forth, searching mine like they might give him the answers. “Why are you saying these things?”
“I’m Daisy,” I sob. “I’m Daisy Sandoval. I’m a psychology student. I drink way too much iced coffee, I hate small bugs, and I dance in the kitchen when no one’s watching. I am not?—”
“You are,” Elyistria interrupts gently.
Korithax jerks his head toward her. “What the fuck do you mean, you are?” His voice is laced with panic now. “She’s not some ancient being. She’s my wife. She’s just… Daisy.”
I see the anguish in his eyes, the way his chest heaves like it physically hurts him not to understand. His hand trembles against my arm as he tries to steady me, and maybe himself.
Her voice cracks. “You are Daisy. But you are also Dasmyrin.” She says softly. “You weren’t supposed to remember yet. Not this soon.”
“No!” I scream. The word echoes around the cavernous space. “No, no, no!”
“I don’t care what she’s supposed to remember,” Korithax snaps. “She’s breaking in front of me. Tell me what the fuck is happening to her.”
