“This isn’t like the Taluah Mirror, which was used for many things and required more magic in order to work as a portal creator,” Solomon explains. “This is the Kashir Mirror. Its sole purpose was to allow people to see their destinations before they arrived.”
“So not to open portals, then,” Cheryl concludes.
“Correct. However, I was able to make some tweaks and change its setting, per se.”
“You modified one of our relics?” Vivi asks. “How did you have the knowledge to do so?”
“Ah, that’s a story for another time. Let’s try to get you lot to Ellnesari before something else happens.”
“You knew this mirror could open a portal into Ellnesari and you didn’t think to tell us until now?” Lucca asks, clearly annoyed with the familiar.
Solomon returns the glare. “The mirror couldn’t do that without Nightingale magic, and we didn’t have that at our disposal the last time.”
“What do I need to do?” Vivi asks, getting us back on track.
“Like I said, look into the mirror and picture the location where you want to go. Ideally, somewhere in Ellnesari that’s safe.”
“I don’t know where is safe and where isn’t anymore. I definitely can’t get inside the palace. It’s protected by heavy wards.”
“We should cross into where we last saw Manu,” Karl chimes in. “It’ll be impossible to track her otherwise.”
Vivi isn’t happy about his suggestion if the furrow of her brow is any indication. “We were in the Hornet’s Gardens. Hardly the safest palace in the Kingdom of Aquila.”
“We don’t have a choice,” he insists.
“I know.” She looks at the small mirror in her hands, and soon her eyes gloss over.
Without further instruction from Solomon, she begins the spell in a foreign language. Her eyes go from blue to silver, and then her entire body glows from within like a damn firefly.
Strong winds blow from behind us. Shit. That must be one of the dragons coming to finish us off. My muscles tense, ready to run out of Dodge, but my conscience knows it’d be an exercise in futility. I look over my shoulder, but to my utter astonishment, it’s not a beast from the skies coming to burn us to a crisp. It’s a portal.
“Vivi, you did it,” Karl says, then runs toward the portal. One moment he’s there, then he’s poof, gone.
“Karl, wait, damn it.” Cheryl rushes after him, but the portal is already getting smaller.
Ronan follows just in time before the portal disappears. Vivi drops the mirror and collapses into Lucca’s arms.
I close my eyes, curling my hands into fists. I knew coming on this mission was dangerous, but I’m mad as hell that my second life will end so quickly when I was finally in a good place.
I take my phone out and call Sophie. Maybe I have time to say goodbye before either Larsson or the Elder dragon kills me.
Thirty-Nine
SOPHIE
Ithought I was prepared to travel the way the Nightingales do. The experience when the warlock sent Vaughn and me to meet Mauricio and Derek didn’t seem as jarring as this one.
My skin feels like it’s being pulled apart—not in a painful way, but it makes me grind my teeth. I hold on to Tish, and Igor holds on to me until we drop to the ground. Igor grunts. He took the brunt of the fall and softened my landing.
I roll off him and wait for the ringing in my ears to die while staring at the night sky, which is definitely not as dark anymore. Sunrise is probably an hour away. If I don’t find Vaughn quickly, I’ll be forced to find cover. The problem is, I have no clue where we are.
“Bloody hell. Mr. Cutie better be worth all this trouble, Soph,” Tish complains before she wiggles free from my hold.
“Are you okay, Miss Sophie?” Igor asks.
“I’m fine. And you?”
He sits up, rotating his torso and stretching his arms. There’s a crack, but he doesn’t seem to be in pain. “I’m good. Where are we?”
