AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I do as she says. My gaze falls onto the reflection of the low table. On it lies the same book as the one in my hands. But in the reflection, I clutch only air.
“I see,” I reply. “Since this book differs in the mirror, it must have something to do with how we need to solve this puzzle. But what do you think we’re supposed to do with it?”
“Maybe we need to place it on the table, just like it is in the mirror?”
I do as she suggests. Nothing happens.
With a groan, I lift the book. But this time, my reflection is also holding it. I pause, frowning at myself in the mirror.
“I think we did something,” I muse, turning back to Eliya. “When I first picked up the book from the mantelpiece, I wasn’t carrying it in the mirror. Now after placing it on the table, my reflection is also holding it. So, that means we must have done something right. But what I don’t understand is why it’s still not letting us pass?”
“Maybe there are other items out of place? What if we need to match them all to the reflection?”
“That could be it.”
We search high and low through the rest of the room, comparing every item with its reflection.
I check the shelves again. This time, I notice a few books out of order, so I rearrange them to match the mirror. Meanwhile, Eliya moves the candle on the cabinet to the mantelpiece, just as it appears in the reflection.
A crack rumbles behind us.The mirror shatters.
“Muriz!”I cry. Aether encases us both. Shards of ice fling at us. The edges of each are sharp and would tear us to shreds, if not for the aether shield.
When the barrage of frozen shards ceases, I let the aether shield fizzle out. The way is clear, and ice crunches beneath my boots as I stride into the tunnel. Eliya follows me.
The wooden floor returns to coarse stone. After we pass the frozen debris, I notice that the icy magic on my boot has faded away.
“Wait,” I call to Eliya, who is sprinting on ahead. “I need to enchant my boot again. The spell has worn off.”
“All right,” she says, coming to a stop.
I lift my foot and press my palm to the bottom of my boot. “Gelu.” At my command, frost envelops the sole. Now when I walk, my footsteps once again mark the stone path with ice.
“Right,” I say, jogging over to Eliya. “Let’s go.”
We hurry through the endless tunnels, retracing our footsteps if we end up doubling back on ourselves. By now, we must be well over halfway through the trial—maybe forty minutes. But it could be more than that. Maybe fifty minutes have passed, leaving us with ten minutes to navigate through the maze. Perhaps only five remain.
And I’m uncertain how far we are through the maze. Maybe we will reach the end at any moment. Or maybe we are heading deeper and deeper into the tunnels.
I do my best to ignore those thoughts of failure and focus on the path ahead. At least I can be certain we aren’t going in circles, thanks to my—
“Ignira!”a shout booms to my left.
A fireball hurls toward us.
“Aquir’muriz!”I hastily throw a water shield in front of Eliya and me. She does the same, reinforcing our defenses.
The fireball slams into our shields. I grit my teeth and channel more magic into the spell so that it holds the relentless flames at bay.
Through our combined efforts, the fireball is extinguished. Steam fills the tunnel.
Through the haze, it’s hard to identify who attacked us. I can only see their blurred silhouette and the illumination orb floating above them.
But there is only one adept arrogant enough to attack the two of us together, to risk their own future just to sabotage mine.
“Ventrez,”I mutter, waving my hand. A wind blows down the tunnel, dispersing the steam and revealing the adept who stands there.
Kaely.
