Amelia blinked and looked up. "Do you smell that?"
Sophie sniffed the air. "Roses? But there are no rose near the garden…"
Then suddenly, the air moved — faintly — and in the glass reflection, Amelia saw her.
A woman standing outside beneath the tree line. Silver hair. Gentle smile. Eyes that seemed to glow faintly, filled with warmth and something ancient.
Amelia's breath caught. "Sophie… do you also see her?"
Sophie turned sharply, but the woman was gone.
"Amelia, there's no one there—"
But Amelia wasn't listening. Her eyes remained fixed on the spot where she had seen the woman. The faint warmth on her wrist pulsed again — stronger this time, like it was calling back to something.
"Maybe…" Amelia whispered, her voice trembling, "Maybe she's connected to Grandma… or the forest…"
Sophie frowned. "Whatever she is, we're not going out there I don't have a good feeling about this."
Amelia didn't answer — but her gaze drifted again toward the edge of the trees, where the mist seemed to move like breath.
And deep within that mist, hidden from sight, a pair of dark eyes watched her — belonging to the young sorcerer.
His expression was unreadable, torn between guilt and duty.
"She's already sensing us," he murmured. "The bond is waking."
Then, for the first time in years, he looked away from the darkness behind him — and toward the girl bathed in sunlight.
The sorcerer's hands tightened at his sides.
He shouldn't have come closer.
He shouldn't have let her feel the connection.
He thought...
He had not expected her to look so… human.
Not a weapon.
Not a prophecy.
Just a girl, blinking in the morning light, unaware of how many eyes the darkness had placed upon her.
Branches shifted behind him stirred.
The silver haired women stepped forward
her presence bending the mist around her like a tide.
"So," she said lightly, eyes never leaving Amelia, "she's begun to feel the pull and the connection."
The sorcerer lowered his gaze.
"It isn't right to involve her yet," he said quietly. "She doesn't even know who she is."
The woman smiled — beautiful and cold.
"And That is why it will work."
Her hand brushed his shoulder — gentle, reassuring, deadly.
"Remember why you are here. Remember what he took from you."
His jaw clenched.
Images flashed in his mind — fire, screaming, a mark left behind by the dark lord long ago. The memory still burned like fresh ash.
He said nothing.
Instead, the woman lifted her hand again.
Silver light bled from her fingertips, stretching like threads through the air, drifting toward the house — toward the window where Amelia stood.
Inside, Amelia shivered.
The reflection on the glass wavered again.
Sophie's hand tightened around hers. "Amelia… don't go closer this time."
But the glass shined anyway.
The silver-haired woman appeared once more — clearer, nearer, as if she now stood just beside Amelia on the other side of the pane.
This time she spoke aloud.
"Amelia."
Her name sounded like music and warning all at once.
Amelia's heart leapt into her throat. "You… know me."
"I have known you since the day you were born," the woman said softly. "And I knew your mother long before that we were close..."
Sophie swallowed, trying to steady her voice.
"Who are you? Tell us your name."
The woman's gaze slid over her, kind and dismissive.
"Names have power," she replied calmly. "You may call me… a friend."
Then her eyes softened.
"Your mother is not gone, Amelia. She is waiting — calling to you through the forest. But there are people who would keep you blind… and locked away."
A flash of Alaric's face her father crossed Amelia's mind. She tried to remove that thought
Her chest tightened.
Sophie shook her head, fear rising in her voice.
"No — this is wrong. Amelia, don't listen. Things that speak from mirrors never come with good intentions."
But the woman's gaze softened.
And her tone changed — warm… protective… almost loving.
"There are things Alaric has kept hidden from you," she murmured.
"my father had said the forest is dangerous," Amelia whispered. "That I shouldn't go there."
The woman's smile turned sad.
she murmured. "He fears you will discover the past… fears you will walk into the forest… fear he won't be able to control you."
Amelia's heart pounded.
Sophie's eyes widened.
"Amelia — stop."
The woman leaned closer — the reflection almost touching the glass.
Sophie shook her head firmly, stepping between Amelia and the glass again.
"No. You're twisting things. He is her father. Why would he hurt her?"
The woman's eyes cooled.
"Because love and fear walk hand in hand," she said softly. "And men have done far worse in the name of 'protecting' what is theirs."
Before Amelia could reply, the air shifted.
The barrier spells outside came to life.
The woman's expression sharpened.
"He's coming."
Her gaze snapped back to Amelia, urgency burning now.
"Listen carefully. Tell no one that you have seen me. Not Alaric. Not anyone. If you do… you will never find your mother."
The scent of roses thickened — then vanished like smoke.
The reflection shattered back into nothing but glass.
"Amelia," Alaric called, voice calm
but layered with magic and worry. "May I come in?"
Sophie and Amelia looked at each other.
Neither spoke.
Outside in the mist, the sorcerer let out a slow breath.
"It has started," he whispered.
And for the first time… he wasn't sure if he hoped they succeeded — or failed.