My reflection smiled at me from the marble table, silver eyes glowing with malicious amusement. I jerked back so fast my chair scraped against the floor, the sound sharp and wrong in the heavy silence.
"Sit." The Duchess's hand landed on my shoulder, pressing down with surprising strength. "Running won't help you now."
I sank back into my seat, unable to tear my gaze from the reflection that moved independently of me. It tilted its head, studying me the way a predator studies prey. Then slowly, deliberately, it winked.
"What is that?" The words came out strangled.
"The Pool of Reflection shows you many things." The Duchess moved around the table with fluid grace, her silver dress catching light that didn't exist in this underwater chamber. "What you were. What you are. What you could become. Sometimes it shows you the parts of yourself you've tried hardest to kill."
My reflection's smile widened. Its lips moved again, forming new words: "I'm still here."
