The mirror sealed with a sound that felt like a heartbeat stopping.
Lina stood frozen, palm still outstretched, as if her hand could rewind time by sheer refusal.
"Kai…" Her voice didn't sound like hers. It sounded like ash.
Every mirror in the library faced her now.
Each one held Mira's face—same curls, same bright eyes, same teasing smile—
Except the smile was too still.
Too perfect.
Like it had been copied.
Reyon's voice came out thin. "Okay… I officially hate mirrors."
Seren didn't blink. Her eyes glowed faintly, Soul Echoes boiling behind them.
"This room is projecting her," Seren whispered. "Not just reflecting. It's… broadcasting a connection."
Lina's throat tightened. "No. Mira would never—"
A mirror near her flickered.
And Mira's reflection spoke.
Not with Mira's warmth.
With something else layered beneath—cold, amused, hungry.
"Wouldn't she?"
Lina's flame snapped up, gold and shaking. "Shut up."
The reflection laughed silently.
Then the mirrors changed.
Not to Mira smiling—
To Mira crying.
To Mira kneeling in front of a Council desk.
To Mira holding something dark in her hand—something that looked like a rune-branding iron.
To Mira whispering—
"I'm sorry."
Lina staggered back, breath ripped out of her.
Seren grabbed her elbow. "Lina—don't look too long. It will rewrite what you believe."
"I don't care what it shows," Lina snapped, tears spilling. "It's lying."
Reyon swallowed hard, eyes darting to the mirrors and away again like they were snakes.
"Okay, but what if it's not lying and it's doing that thing where truth is technically true but emotionally devastating?"
Lina shot him a look so sharp it could've cut stone.
Reyon lifted both hands. "Too soon. Got it."
The flame-tether around Lina's heart—thin as silk, bound to Kai's wrist—pulled suddenly.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like someone had yanked on a thread tied to her ribs.
Lina gasped, clutching her chest.
"He's alive," she whispered.
Seren leaned in. "You can feel him?"
Lina nodded, trembling. "Barely. Like… like he's underwater."
Kai's tether flared once—gold, then dim.
And in that flicker Lina saw something she wasn't supposed to see:
A hallway of runes on the other side of the mirror.Masks.Chains.And Kai on his knees, fighting something that wasn't fire.
Lina's stomach dropped.
"We're not staying here," she said, voice suddenly steady in that terrifying way that meant she'd decided to burn the world if she had to. "We find a way through. Now."
Reyon looked around wildly. "Okay, love the confidence, but the exit is… not cooperating."
He pointed.
The archway they'd entered through was gone.
Stone wall. Solid. Runes pulsing like a locked jaw.
Seren's voice shook. "Mirror Library doesn't open the same door twice. It wants you trapped in your own worst possibility."
Lina's flame surged. "Then we make a new door."
"Lina—" Seren grabbed her wrist. "If you use too much—"
Lina's memory flashed—blankness swallowing Mira's laugh earlier.
Her stomach twisted.
But Kai's tether tugged again—urgent.
Lina swallowed hard. "I'll pay the cost later."
She slammed her palm to the rune wall.
Gold flame poured out—not wild, not black—controlled, desperate.
The wall hissed and peeled open like paper burning from the inside.
A narrow passage formed—dark and breathing cold.
Reyon stared. "That is… horrifyingly impressive."
Seren didn't move.
Her head tilted slightly, eyes unfocused.
"Wait," Seren whispered. "I hear footsteps."
Lina froze. "Kai?"
Seren shook her head slowly.
"No. Not Kai."
The footsteps were light. Familiar.
They came from the passage.
Reyon backed up instinctively. "Please tell me it's not another Jax. I cannot handle Jax Two: Electric Betrayal."
A figure stumbled into the passage's edge.
Mira Sun.
Real. Breathing. Hair messy. Eyes wide with panic.
She looked like someone had sprinted through nightmares and barely made it out.
"Mira!" Lina surged forward—
Then stopped.
Because Mira's eyes flicked to the mirrors behind Lina.
And Mira flinched like she'd been struck.
"Don't—" Mira whispered. "Don't let them show you—"
Lina's heart cracked.
"Mira… where's Kai?"
Mira's breath hitched. "I— I didn't—"
Her voice broke.
"I didn't want this."
Reyon's brows lifted. "Okay, that is… not a denial."
Mira snapped her head toward Reyon. "I'm not the enemy!"
Seren stepped forward, shaking.
"Mira… your echo is wrong."
Mira's face crumpled. "I know."
Lina stared at her, rage and grief colliding.
"They said you're the traitor," Lina whispered. "Jax said—"
Mira flinched at the name like it burned.
"Jax isn't—" Mira swallowed hard. "Jax isn't Jax anymore."
Lina's throat tightened. "Mira… tell me you didn't do this."
Mira's hands shook violently.
"I tried to stop it," she whispered. "I tried, Lina— I swear—"
Seren's gaze dropped to Mira's wrist.
Her eyes widened.
"Mira…" Seren's voice turned into a whisper of horror. "Show me your arm."
Mira hesitated.
Then slowly—like confessing with her skin—she pulled back her sleeve.
A runic brand circled her wrist.
Not Veilbound ink-black.
Not Council silver.
Something mixed—black threaded with pale light, like corruption stitched into authority.
The mark pulsed once.
And the mirrors all hummed in response.
Reyon went pale. "That's… a leash."
Seren nodded, tears forming. "A coercion seal. It forces obedience when triggered."
Lina's mouth went dry. "Who put that on you?"
Mira's lips trembled.
"The Council," she whispered.
Lina froze.
Seren inhaled sharply. "I knew it— blackmail."
Mira shook her head quickly, sobbing.
"They said if I didn't help them… they'd erase me. Not kill me. ERASE me. Like I never existed. Like my name was never spoken."
Lina's chest tightened.
Mira looked up, desperate.
"And they said… they already did it once to someone Kai loved."
Kai's sister.
Arienne.
Lina's hands balled into fists, flame trembling at her fingertips.
"Mira…" Lina whispered, voice shaking. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Mira's eyes flooded.
"Because every time I tried— the mark burned." She showed the raw skin around it. "It punished me for thinking the truth."
Seren reached forward carefully, as if approaching a wounded animal.
"Mira… you can still fight it. We can—"
The mark pulsed again—harder.
Mira gasped, bending over, choking on her own breath.
Lina lunged. "Mira!"
Mira's head snapped up.
Her eyes went blank—like someone had blown out the candle behind them.
Her voice changed.
Flat.
Controlled.
Not Mira.
"Lina Veris," Mira said softly, and the words sounded like they came from a mouth that had never loved anyone. "Release the tether."
Lina's blood turned to ice.
Reyon stepped back. "Oh no. Nope. That's not best friend energy."
Seren whispered, terrified, "The mark activated."
Mira's wrist brand glowed.
And Lina's flame-tether—Kai's lifeline—burned hot against her chest as if something had found it.
Mira took one step forward.
Then another.
And the Mirror Library mirrors all whispered at once:
"Give him back."
Lina backed up, shaking, flame rising.
"Mira… fight it," Lina pleaded. "Please—come back—"
Mira's expression didn't change.
But a single tear slid down her cheek anyway.
And in a voice that was half Mira—half command—she whispered:
"I'm sorry."
Then she reached for Lina's chest—straight for the tether—like she intended to rip Kai's last connection out of her heart.
To be Continued© Kishtika., 2025
All rights reserved.