“You are both. A breed of mortal and immortal.”
“Can immortals bear children?”
She half coughs, half laughs. “Can Evers feel pain? Immunity to death does not inhumanity make.”
Oh really? Could’ve fooled me. “And my Calling?”
“Tell me, Daughter.” Her fingers run along the throne’s arms, nails scraping the stone. “Do you recall tasting Threshold water? Do you bear a Seal as other Called?”
A Seal? “Yes.” I’m not stupid. The rose and thorns adorn my shoulder blade as much as the next Shield. “I remember when it appeared. Saw it with my own eyes.”
“Did you, now?” The sinister sneer I’m oh so familiar with appears on her pale lips. “Look again.”
I hate to give her the satisfaction of proving me wrong. Then again, I’d relish a chance to do the same to her, so why not? I unzip the pocket of my jacket and remove the antique silver compact.
Her almost-invisible brows lift a hair. “You still have that old thing, do you?”
What’s it to her? “So?”
“Never pictured you as the sentimental type, precious.” There she goes with her pet names again. “It is not even real silver. Simply a shoddy, timeworn trinket your unfaithful father proffered. As with all his promises, the gift is garbage. In fact, I distinctly recall throwing it out when he left us.” Her glare is not lost on me. I know where she’s going with this. “I do not appreciate defiance, Ebony. Is that why you saved it? Simply to disregard my authority?”
“Why do you care?” I clutch the compact so tightly the edges cut into my skin. “You didn’t want it. It’s mine now.” Okay, so she’s right. I keep the stupid thing partly because she didn’t want it. But also, no one has ever given me a gift. Not a real one. This may not have been handed directly to me, sure. Still, it was a gift and now it’s mine.
“Did you miss him when he left, dear?” She yawns. “Did you think he loved you and might one day return?”
I will not cry in her presence. I came for answers and I’m getting them, for myself and for our cause. I won’t let her affect me. I promised myself a long time ago those days were over.
“Come with me. Join us at the Haven.” Dennielle’s words haunt me now. She could’ve been a mother to me, at the very least a friend. Why did I run?
Because you were afraid, that’s why. Afraid of being rejected again. Afraid of getting your hopes up only to be let down.
Going into business for Jasyn seemed the better option at the time. I didn’t have to care about the man. The job didn’t require me liking him either. I just had to do my thing, and I’d be taken care of, left alone for the most part. Granted, I had to bolt my door every time I entered my room, but still.
There are worse things.
Mouth turned down, my mother stares at me. She’s waiting for an answer, is she? Sorry, too bad. This isn’t your lucky day, Mom. I refuse. Yet, I have to know . . .
I remove my jacket and set it on the ground at my feet. Pull down my blouse collar over my right shoulder. Flip the mirror open and angle it so I can see—
Gasp! My hands become noodles. I drop the compact and it shatters. The one possession of my very own I managed to keep all these years is broken. Just like that. It’s gone. I want to get on my knees and pick up every last shard. To surrender my final shred of dignity and beg my mother to fix it. I know she must have the power—
One breath, then another. My lower lip wants to quiver. Sorry, but no, not today. I don’t allow my gaze to fall to the ground. Don’t react. You can’t. It would please her too much.
My mother laughs. The sound echoes throughout the claustrophobic cavern. “There, there. As I said, the mirror was a piece of junk.”
Don’t look at the mirror. Don’t pick it up. “What happened to my Seal?”
“The one you recall was a counterfeit. A transient mark that eventually faded. You were young, and I have a talent for convincing people to believe what is not true. Your mind was shapeable. You ate up whatever I said. Until you started to rebel, that is. I had hoped you would follow in my footsteps, but as with every other human I have had the displeasure of encountering, you were an utter disappointment.”
I can’t breathe. So it’s true. I’m not a Shield. I’m part human, part immortal. What does this mean? I don’t voice my question. Too much pride.
She answers anyway. “Your power is beyond what you comprehend. The fact you can alter personas, as I can, shows you are far more than a Shield. More than Tiernan. More than his wretched, adopted son Kyaphus.”
My jaw laxes just enough.
“Oh yes, love. I know about Kyaphus.” A sinister leer that could rival the Grinch’s spreads across her close-to-transparent skin. “As I was saying, you may not be able to modify your wardrobe, but the detail is trivial compared to what else you might be capable of, if only you would join me.” She offers a skeletal hand.
I snatch my jacket and the broken compact, leaving the dislocated pieces in the dirt. “Be real. I may be less than pleasant company most of the time, but I’m not like you. I’m not a monster. You killed Nitegrans. And Tide’s mother? She died because you had to have your stupid Rose.” Hot tears leak and I don’t care. I’m so angry I could throw this shattered mirror at her conceited face. “I won’t kill or steal. I won’t choose darkness. I will follow the Verity.”
I gaze down at my reflection in the water. The scrap of fabric woven through my braid stands out more than ever. “I can’t help it if my power doesn’t come from being Called. But I can still choose how and when I use it. And I’ll do nothing to help you.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that, my sweet.”
My hands find their favorite nooks on my hips. She’s got nothing. Where’s that Fairy? I’d like to go back now. I’ll get Tide and Khloe and Stormy. Huntra referred to me as Princess. Maybe she’s loyal enough to take me through the Fountain to the Sixth. They connect to each Reflection, right? If I’m my mother’s daughter, a Fairy princess, maybe I can travel through the Fountains on my own. With El and her mirror walking and me and Fairy travel, we’ll be okay even without the Thresholds. Even if every last one drains.
“Huntra should be back any moment.” Must she read my mind? Do I have no secrets when it comes to her? “Ah, and here she is.” My mother checks her nails.
Gotta stop making a habit of that one. I whirl.
Splash. Huntra has returned, but she’s not alone. “As you requested, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you, Huntra.”
I swallow hard. She has the upper hand now. Fine. “What do you want? I’ll do it, but let my friends go.” If El were here, she’d use her Amulet voice all up in this place.
“Eb, it’s okay.” Tide speaks for them all.
Khloe holds fast to Stormy. I can see in her wide eyes she’s warring between cowering and acting like the girl outside Nitegra Compound.
Her inner Supergirl wins. Sort of. “Don’t listen to her.” Khloe’s spitfire plea contradicts her arms wrapped tight around Stormy’s tinier-than-mine waist. “She’s just a sad old woman who needs someone to love her.”
Oh, the wisdom of my youngest sister. If I were a writer, which I’m not, I could pen a novel full of all the sage advice she’s given.
My mother approaches, tilts my chin up with her finger. Her nail slices my skin. “I thought you might agree. How very disappointing. You are just as weakhearted as I remember.”