Mira Ashwood's POV
Glass shattered behind us.
I spun around just in time to see a massive wolf crash through the library window. It wasn't one of Shade's wolves. This one had symbols carved into its fur, glowing with the same purple light I'd seen in Elara's hands.
"Run!" Shade shoved me toward the door.
I didn't argue. I ran.
Behind us, more windows exploded. The howls got louder, closer. My feet slapped against the stone floor as we raced through the hallway. Shade was faster than me way faster but he kept slowing down so I could keep up.
"How many are there?" I gasped.
"Too many." He grabbed my hand and yanked me around a corner. "The cult doesn't send small groups."
We burst through a door and onto a balcony. Cold wind hit my face. Below us, I could see dozens of glowing purple eyes in the fog. They surrounded the citadel like a twisted constellation.
"We're trapped," I said.
"Not yet." Shade pointed to a rope hanging from the balcony railing. "Can you climb?"
I looked at the rope, then at the ground far below, then at the wolves pouring into the hallway behind us. "I guess I'm about to find out."
I grabbed the rope and swung my legs over the railing. My hands burned as I slid down, trying not to fall. About halfway down, my sweaty palms lost their grip.
I dropped.
The ground rushed up to meet me. This is going to hurt, I thought.
Strong arms caught me. Shade had somehow gotten down before me and was waiting at the bottom. He set me on my feet.
"Show off," I muttered.
"Complain later. Run now."
We took off into the fog. Behind us, I heard the cult wolves hit the ground. They were chasing us. Of course they were.
The Mistwood pressed in around us. Trees appeared out of nowhere. Roots tried to trip me. The fog was so thick I could barely see Shade, and he was right next to me.
"Where are we going?" I panted.
"The border. If we can get you past the Mistwood's edge, they can't follow."
"Why not?"
"The cult's magic doesn't work outside the forest. Too many human towns nearby. They can't risk exposure."
That sounded great, except for one problem. "I don't know the way out!"
"I do. Just keep"
A wolf burst out of the fog and slammed into Shade. They went down in a tangle of limbs and teeth. Shade's fist connected with the wolf's jaw. The wolf yelped and stumbled back.
"Go!" Shade yelled at me. "Straight ahead! Don't stop!"
"I'm not leaving you!"
"I'll catch up! Go!"
Two more wolves emerged from the mist. Shade shifted his bones cracking and reforming until he stood on four legs instead of two. His wolf form was huge, all black fur and glowing silver eyes.
He threw himself at the cult wolves.
I wanted to help. I wanted to fight. But I was useless. I didn't know how to use my power. I didn't even know if I could use it on purpose.
So I ran.
Tears streamed down my face as I crashed through the fog. I hated myself for running. I hated that I was weak. I hated that even with all this supposed power inside me, I couldn't do anything useful.
A root caught my foot. I went flying and hit the ground hard. Pain shot through my knee. When I tried to stand, my leg screamed in protest.
Great. Just great.
I heard footsteps behind me. Heavy ones. Getting closer.
I dragged myself behind a tree and pressed my back against it. My whole body shook. My knee throbbed. This was it. I was going to die in a haunted forest, caught by a cult that wanted to cut out my heart.
The footsteps stopped.
I held my breath.
"I can smell you, little Mirror." The voice was female, sweet like honey but with something rotten underneath. "Come out, come out. We only want to talk."
Liar. I squeezed my eyes shut. They didn't want to talk. They wanted to kill me.
"Your sister sends her love," the voice continued. "Elara feels terrible about what happened at the festival. She wants to make it right. She sent us to bring you home."
My eyes snapped open. Elara sent them? My own sister sent killers after me?
Anger flooded through me. Hot, red, burning anger. It mixed with the power inside me, and suddenly my hands started glowing with that same white light from before.
Oh no. Not now. I couldn't control it. I'd give away my hiding spot.
But the light didn't explode outward like last time. It stayed contained in my palms, pulsing like a heartbeat.
The footsteps started again. Coming around the tree. Any second now, they'd find me.
I looked at my glowing hands. I had no idea what to do with this power. No idea how to fight. I'd never even been in a real fight before.
But I was tired of running. Tired of being weak. Tired of letting other people decide what happened to me.
The cult wolf came around the tree.
She was in human form a tall woman with sharp features and eyes that glowed purple. She smiled when she saw me. "There you are."
I threw my hands forward.
The white light shot out like a cannon blast. It hit the woman square in the chest and sent her flying backward into a tree. She crumpled to the ground and didn't move.
I stared at my hands. Did I just...?
"Nice shot."
I jumped. Shade appeared out of the fog, back in human form. He had scratches all over his arms and face, but he was alive.
"You came back," I said stupidly.
"Told you I would." He looked at the unconscious woman, then at me. "You're learning fast."
"I don't know what I did. It just... happened."
"That's how it starts." He held out his hand again. "Come on. We need to move. Where there's one, there's"
Purple light exploded all around us.
At least twenty cult members stepped out of the fog, forming a circle. They had us surrounded. No escape this time.
In the center of the circle stood someone I recognized.
My sister Elara.
She looked exactly the same as she had at the festival. Perfect hair. Perfect smile. Perfect everything. Except now her hands glowed with that sick purple light.
"Hello, little sister," she said sweetly. "Did you really think you could run from family?"
Shade moved in front of me, protective. His tattoos started glowing again I guess my Mirror power was wearing off.
Elara's smile widened. "Step aside, Rogue King. This doesn't concern you."
"She's under my protection now."
"Protection?" Elara laughed. It sounded like breaking glass. "You can barely protect yourself. The curse is coming back already. I can see it in your eyes."
Shade flinched. She was right. His hands were shaking.
Elara turned her attention to me. "Mira, sweetie, this has gone on long enough. Come home. We'll forget this whole mess. You can still have a good life. We'll find you a nice omega mate. You can live quietly. Isn't that what you always wanted?"
Part of me the old part, the part that had spent years being invisible almost considered it. A quiet life sounded nice. Safe.
But then I remembered the mirror. The deal. The cult taking my heart.
"You're lying," I said. "You were going to give me to them. To kill me."
Elara's perfect smile cracked. "Oh, Mira. Always so dramatic. Yes, we need your heart. But you'll be asleep when we take it. You won't feel a thing. And think of all the good it will do. Your sacrifice will give our family eternal youth. Eternal power. You'll finally be useful."
The anger inside me exploded.
My hands blazed with white light again, but this time it was different. This time I could feel Shade's power mixing with mine. His curse, his strength, his rage all of it flowing into me through our connection.
When I spoke, my voice didn't sound like mine anymore. It sounded bigger. Stronger.
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
Elara's eyes went wide. "That's impossible. You can't channel his power. You haven't bonded"
The ground beneath us started to shake.
Shade grabbed my shoulder. "Mira, whatever you're doing, stop. You'll bring down the whole forest."
But I couldn't stop. The power was too much, too big. It poured out of me in waves, making the trees sway and the fog swirl like a hurricane.
Elara screamed something at her cult members. They all raised their hands, purple light gathering in their palms.
"Mira!" Shade shook me. "You have to"
The world went white.
When the light faded, everything had changed.
The cult members were frozen like statues, encased in some kind of crystal. Elara was on her knees, clutching her chest like she couldn't breathe. And the forest around us...
The fog was gone. Completely gone.
I could see the edge of the Mistwood ahead, maybe fifty feet away. Freedom.
But I could also see what was coming from behind Elara.
An army.
Hundreds of wolves with glowing purple symbols. Dozens of hooded figures. And at the front, riding a massive black horse, was a man in a crown made of bones.
The cult leader.
He looked right at me and smiled.
"Well," he said in a voice that made my bones ache. "The Mirror Queen finally awakens."