The waiting chamber was small, dark, furnished with stone benches and a low table. Black drapes covered the walls. A single oil lamp burned in a corner, casting trembling shadows.
The emissary stood near the window, his back to the door.
He was tall, clad in a grey cloak that fell to the floor. His hair was pale, almost white, pulled back in a low tail. He wore no visible weapon. No insignia.
Kael entered, followed by Kira. The door closed behind them.
The man did not turn immediately.
"Demon King of the Neverdie Realm," he said in a low, slow voice. "I thank you for receiving me."
"You can thank me by turning around."
The man obeyed.
His face was strange. Too smooth. Too symmetrical. His eyes were such a pale grey they seemed empty. He barely blinked.
"My master, Xelphar, sends me to greet you."
"Only to greet?"
"And to ask you a question."
"Which?"
"He asks whether you have found your reflection again."
Kael frowned.
"My reflection?"
"Yes. During your absence, many believed you had lost your image. Your radiance. Your power. My master wishes to know if those rumors were false."
"Tell your master that I never lost my reflection. I merely let it rest."
"Interesting."
"That's all?"
"No. My master also wishes to offer you a gift."
"Another mirror?"
"No. A blade."
The emissary parted his cloak. At his belt hung a dark scabbard, unadorned. He unfastened it slowly, held it with both hands.
"A blade of broken glass. Forged from the shards of dead mirrors."
"And what does it do?"
"It cuts what is false."
Kael approached. He took the scabbard, weighed it.
"Why offer me a weapon?"
"Because lies will accumulate around you. False allies, false promises, false reflections. This blade won't protect you from them. But it will help you cut through them."
Kael drew the blade.
It was long, thin, translucent. The lamplight shattered within it in strange bursts, as if the surface were made of a thousand fragments fused together.
"It's beautiful," said Kael.
"My master chose it for you."
"And in exchange?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"For now."
Kael sheathed the blade.
"Your master likes debts."
"My master likes choices."
"It's the same."
"No. A debt binds you. A choice defines you."
"Then it's a test."
"If you wish to see it that way."
Kael turned to Kira, who had been watching in silence.
"What do you think?"
"I think this messenger speaks too well to be honest."
"He's an emissary. It's his profession."
"He's more than an emissary."
Kael turned his attention back to the man.
"You're not a simple messenger."
"No."
"Who are you?"
"I am Xelphar's Voice. His memory. His silence."
"You speak for him."
"I am him, in a way."
"Then tell Xelphar that I accept his blade. And that I will not forget he offered it."
"He already knows."
"And tell him that if he wishes to meet me, let him come in person. I do not deal with reflections."
The emissary smiled.
"My master does not travel. He sends."
"Then he is not a king. He is a rumor."
"Perhaps. But rumors outlive kings."
"Not mine."
There was a silence. The emissary inclined his head.
"I will convey the message."
"Good. Now leave."
"Already?"
"You've said what you had to say. I've heard. That's enough."
"My master watches you."
"Let him watch. He will see."
The emissary stepped back.
"One last thing."
"What?"
"Selyna's mirror. You were right to refuse."
"Why?"
"Because it does not show fears. It feeds them."
He bowed, then left without a sound.
Kira let out a breath.
"That guy gives me the creeps."
"He's not human."
"I know. But even for a demon, he's unsettling."
"It's a projection."
"What?"
An extension of Xelphar. A living puppet."
"You're sure?"
"Yes. I felt it."
"Then Xelphar spoke to us directly."
"Not directly. Through proxy."
Kael set the blade on the table.
"It's real, at least."
"You're going to keep it?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because it might prove useful."
"Or because refusing would have offended Xelphar."
"Also."
Kira approached the blade.
"It has a strange aura."
"It has a memory."
"Can you feel it?"
"Yes. Fragments. Broken voices."
"It's a dangerous weapon."
"All weapons are dangerous."
"This one more than others."
Kael placed the blade in its scabbard.
"I'll wear it."
"Don't you want to have it examined?"
"Later. For now, I have other priorities."
"Like?"
"Sleep. Eat. And think about what all this means."
"Xelphar, Selyna, Maëldor. They all circle around you."
"Yes. And they don't yet know who they're dealing with."
Kael walked toward the door.
"Come. We have things to prepare."
"What things?"
"What comes next."
They left the room, leaving the lamp burning in the shadows.
Outside, the palace was silent.
And somewhere, far away in the City of Broken Mirrors, a faceless king smiled.