The Mirror by S.J. Sanders

Author:S.J. Sanders [Sanders, S.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-01-24T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

“If you wanted to scare the male, you could have just let me do it,” Ganthus observed once they were alone. He gave her a particular sharp-toothed smile from within the mirror, the indigo of his face blending in with the shadows of the late day. Given that the light in the mirror seemed dependent on the surrounding environment, it was always darker in his cell. She could only make out hints of his deep blue complexion. It was his glowing eyes that stood out starkly, and the white flash of his fangs in the low light. “I would have rather enjoyed it at that.”

“I am certain you would have,” she retorted humorously. “Nonetheless, I wasn’t trying to scare him. It was a warning.”

“Is this a shadow of your mother I see? Helping common mortals with your sorceress’s sight?” His deep, raspy laugh washed over her and she narrowed her eyes at him in turn.

“Do not test me, silvanus,” she grumbled. “It was not a decision of my making but rather a compulsion. There was nothing I could do but to allow it to progress, lest I dared to risk the visions tearing through me in their will to be heard. It would not only have been agonizing but the stress of such a rupture has killed those of the arts before. I do not care how it looks so long as it keeps Katharina safe.”

She slid off her surcoat, sighing comfortably without the weight of the extra layer. She could feel Ganthus’s eyes roaming over her greedily and her skin prickled with awareness. Still, she couldn’t help feeling unsettled as the sky outside her window was beginning to darken. She watched the sun sink lower, watching for any sign of Katharina returning.

Supper came and went, though she had been unable to tolerate eating more than a bite as her worry increased with each passing hour. She was never out beyond supper, and certain well before nightfall. Even Ganthus appeared on edge, despite the fact that he sent a shadow after Katharina every day to guard her for as far as his shadow’s reach expanded beyond the mirror before dematerializing. It wasn’t uncommon for Katharina and Achim to hunt deeper in the woods, but they were never out of his sight for more than an hour or two before he’d catch sight of them returning along the trails. She knew they hadn’t returned among the trails yet because his face was pinched with concern, his eyes bright with his agitation. He met her gaze and shook his head in answer to her unspoken question.

“This is not right,” she whispered. “Something went wrong. The warnings… I should have done more. I should have been more skilled to delve into uncovering the meanings of my dreams. I have failed Katharina…”

A cool breeze whipped through the room as it blew through the window, blowing the shudders wide so that they banged against the castle walls. They tapped and then banged again and again with each gust.

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