Kira's POV
The fake Seraphine lunged at the real one, and I responded without thinking.
I stepped sideways into the darkness to stop the attack, but something went horribly wrong. Instead of moving through known darkness, I fell through layers of reality like pages in a book. Colors that shouldn't exist flashed past my face. Sounds from different worlds crashed into my ears.
When I finally stopped falling, I was standing in a kitchen I recognized but had never seen before.
It was my childhood home, but everything was different. The walls were painted yellow instead of blue. Happy family pictures covered every surface. And there, making breakfast at the stove, was someone who made my heart stop.
Mira. Not seven years old, but grown up. Beautiful and living and humming while she cooked eggs.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," she said without turning around. "You're going to be late for work again if you don't hurry."
