The mirror stood against the wall of my chamber, tall and framed in silver vines that twisted into roses. It was no ordinary glass. My mother had placed it there herself, saying nothing more than:
"This mirror will show you what eyes cannot. Use it wisely."
Tonight, I did.
I sat before it, my long white hair spilling down my shoulders, loose and untamed. My gown was pale blue silk, tied at the waist with a ribbon, simple yet regal. Around me, cushions lay scattered, and bowls of fruit had been placed at hand. My sisters lounged with me—Selene cross-legged on the floor, Maris perched with grapes in her lap, and Diana leaning against the bedpost, her dark eyes always sharp.
The mirror shimmered. And I saw them.
My six new maids stood in the courtyard below, each uncertain, their plain dresses stirring in the night wind. Torches flickered, casting long shadows. They looked at each other, waiting, whispering.
I smiled faintly. "Let's see what they truly are."
The First Test: Obedience
A voice—not mine, but woven from my magic—echoed from the courtyard walls.
"Fetch the key hidden in the east garden."
The task was simple. Yet the garden was far, and the night carried eerie silence.
The timid dark-haired girl, Liora, was the first to move. She clutched her skirt and ran, her steps unsteady but determined. The red-haired girl, Brenna, followed with sharp strides, eyes darting as if searching for an advantage.
The pale blonde, Seraphine, stayed behind, arms folded. "Why should we chase keys like children?" she muttered.
Two of the others exchanged glances, then hesitated. Only the youngest, a freckled girl named Aveline, darted off with quick feet, vanishing into the shadows.
Through the mirror, I saw their choices clearly. Obedience was not in words, but in action. Already, I knew who would follow and who would resist.
Selene smirked beside me. "That blonde one will betray you one day."
Diana's lips curved. "Or she already serves another."
I leaned back, thoughtful. "Then she will reveal herself sooner than she thinks."
The Second Test: Trust
When the girls returned, breathless and confused, another voice filled the courtyard.
"Hold hands. Cross the courtyard together without letting go."
The cobblestones had been enchanted, shifting and cracking under their feet. It was not dangerous, but it was unnerving.
Liora reached for Aveline's hand at once, steadying the girl's trembling. Brenna hesitated, then took another's hand with a frown.
But Seraphine scoffed. "I don't need children to steady me." She crossed alone, skirts swishing, eyes proud.
Halfway through, the stones beneath her feet shifted violently, and she stumbled, nearly falling. Brenna's hand shot out instinctively, grabbing her arm, steadying her.
For a moment, Seraphine's pride cracked. But then she sneered and yanked her arm away.
Maris popped a grape into her mouth, watching from the bed. "She hides fear with arrogance. Dangerous, but not uninteresting."
I chuckled softly. "Spies always are."
The Third Test: Secrets
The final task was the simplest—and the cruelest.
The voice whispered:
"Whisper your greatest secret to the air. Only then may you leave."
The courtyard was hushed. Torches flickered. One by one, the girls obeyed.
"I once stole bread for my family," Liora whispered, her voice cracking."I pushed a boy into the river because he mocked me," Aveline admitted, cheeks red."I dream of being more than a servant," Brenna muttered fiercely.
And then Seraphine stepped forward. Her lips curved into a smile.
"I serve higher than any house," she said softly. "And one day, my lady will know whose shadow walks beside her."
The torches flared. The air grew still.
Selene let out a low whistle. "She's as good as branded herself."
Diana's eyes narrowed. "And yet—you keep her?"
I leaned closer to the mirror, my smile sharp. "Oh, I'll keep her. A snake is more useful in a cage than in the grass, and kill her when the time is right."
As the mirror dimmed, the night grew softer. My sisters and I remained sprawled across my room, talking low.
Maris teased me about my gowns, saying I flaunted my legs too much. Selene laughed until she fell over. Diana rolled her eyes but stayed close, her sharpness softening in the glow of candlelight.
For the first time, warmth bloomed between us. They were not enemies. Not rivals. Not the cruel voices Elara once believed.
They were blood. And tonight, they felt like it.
Elsewhere in the manor, the air was heavier.
My father, Lord Duskbane, stood in his private study, holding the small black pistol between two fingers. Caelum leaned close, his brow furrowed. My mother watched with narrowed eyes, while Lysandra stood with arms crossed, silent but tense.
The pistol gleamed faintly in the lamplight.
"This," my father said slowly, "is no weapon of this world."
Caelum reached out, brushing the metal. "It's too precise. Too smooth. No craftsman here could make this."
I had told them it was mine, something I had built in secret. A lie, but one they wanted to believe. Actually, they had to believe it or leave it.
Lord Duskbane lifted it carefully, pointing at the far wall. His finger hesitated on the trigger. "And it kills silently, you said?"
"Yes," Lysandra said before I could. Her voice was low. "I have seen it's like once before—in forbidden texts. Weapons of war that can end life without sound."
My mother's gaze sharpened. "And she carries this in my house."
"She carries more than that," Lysandra murmured.
Tension coiled like a snake in the room. They knew the truth: this pistol was not forged here. And yet none of them dared speak the suspicion aloud—that I came from elsewhere, a place far beyond their knowing.
Instead, my father lowered the pistol, setting it down with slow, deliberate care.
"Then this," he said, "must never leave our sight."
Caelum nodded grimly. "If the king learns of it—"
"He won't," my father cut him off. "Not unless we are fools."
His eyes darkened. "And we are not fools."
That night, as the household slept, two scenes played in silence.
In my room, I watched my sisters sleep beside me, their breathing soft, their faces peaceful. The mirror glimmered faintly in the corner, still holding whispers of my maids' secrets.
And in my father's study, the pistol lay with my dad, because he wanted to test it out when he goes out tomorrow for hunting with his friends.
Two kinds of power had entered the Duskbane household tonight.
Four maids with uncertain hearts.
And a weapon from a world that was not this one.
Both would shape what came next.