The Market is dead. The carts are covered and the lanterns are out. The last of the vendors disappeared down the path over an hour ago. Nobody looked at me twice. I don’t know if that’s strange or if I just don’t care anymore.
I push off the cottage wall and turn to face the door. I’ve never been able to see the shield around the Glen before, but I can see it now—golden light stretched over the entrance, thin and shimmering, pulsing like it’s alive. It’s the same gold from the dream. The exact same color, and my stomach turns because that means everything I saw was real.
I reach out and run my fingers over it. It’s warm and impossibly thin, vibrating under my fingertips. I can feel how close it is to breaking on its own. This is why Amir’s been pressing to terminate the realm. The seal is barely holding.
I pull my hand back and look at the door. Am I doing the right thing or am I about to make the worst mistake of my life?
The vision hits me before I can finish the thought. Mara on the grass in front of this exact spot.
I hold my hand up and conjure a mirror.
The glass forms in the air in front of me, edged in blue-gold light, and on the other side I can see the inside of a small home in the Witching Glen. A fireplace burning low, old furniture. Eric is sitting on the sofa with his hands on his knees, grinning at the fire like he’s been waiting.
He turns his head and looks at me. Stands. Walks over with his hands in his pockets and that same smile that never quite reaches his eyes.
“You came.” He stops in front of the mirror. “I was hoping you would come to me.”
“You’re already making me regret it,” I mutter.
He grins. “Don’t feel that way, son.”
“Don’t call me son!” I yell.
I start pacing in front of the mirror. My magic sparks every time my pulse kicks. “Look, it’s been a long ass twenty-four hours. I saw something and unfortunately, you’re the only person that can help me right now.”
“Well.” He tilts his head. “I’m flattered that you’d trust me.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “Trust?” I almost laugh. “I’m desperate.”
“Tell me what’s going on.” He leans closer to the mirror. “I’ll help in any way I can.”
I pace harder with my hands pressed against my temples. I know better than this. My mother is the one I should be talking to, not a man I know I can’t trust. But she’s not the one who showed me what happens to Mara.
“I shouldn’t trust you,” I say. “You’re dangerous.”
“I’ve given you reason to feel that way.” He responds softly.
“I saw you. You were there when it happened.”
His brow furrows. “What do you mean? You saw something?”
“They took her from me.” My fists clench and the fury I’ve been swallowing all day comes pouring out so fast my visionblurs. “Mara! They took her, you stupid fucking warlocks took her from me!”
Eric holds his hands up. “Okay, okay. Aaron, calm down.”
“Calm down?” My magic flickers and the Market flickers blue around me. “I love her so much. I love her so much and I watched her die.”
“Let me help you, son.” His voice goes low through the mirror. “All I want to do is help. Haven’t I proven that over the time we’ve been connecting?”
I stare at him. My chest is heaving, my magic sparking off my body. Mara’s eyes going dull keeps flashing behind mine and my hands won’t stop shaking.
No. There’s no time.
“I’m opening the Glen,” I mutter.
The grin that spreads across Eric’s face is slow and wide, full of something I don’t want to name.
“I’ve wanted to hold you for a long time.” His voice catches, and it sounds so real my throat closes. “I wish words could begin to express just how much I missed you.”
