I switch positions, tuck my legs and feet beneath me. “So you gave it to Joshua?”
“He was your Guardian, was he not? I presumed if your mother refused to help you hone your gift, perhaps Joshua would. Unfortunately, he, too, was of the mind-set it would be better for you to remain ignorant. I doubt he even opened the blasted thing.” Nathaniel harrumphs and crosses his legs. “Why I bother, I do not know. No one listens to an old man.”
Lies. Too many to count. Joshua is one thing, but Mom?
“I’m sorry. I was wrong. I never should have kept—”
I hear her apology as if she’s already given it. Kept what, Mom? The fact that my soul is the only thing detaining the savior of this Reflection from doing his job? Or how about the colossal detail I have this special gift, one I could’ve used to rescue you, had I actually known about it?
I retrieve Ember’s theory from Nathaniel, resolve lifting me to my feet. No more hiding. No more fear. “Well, I’m listening. So how about you fill me in on how I can use that mirror up there as a Threshold?” I plant my hands on my hips. Enough wasting time. Enough wandering around, waiting for someone to dictate my next move.
Fingers steepled and gaze regarding the fire, Nathaniel says, “To understand the purpose of a Mirror, you must first understand the function of each Calling. Shields to defend. Physics to restore. Scribs to teach. Masks to serve. Magnets to provide. Amulets to keep. Evers to save.” He taps out the list on his fingers.
Evers to save. Even though I know Robyn is gone, I can’t help but hold a candle of hope Joshua was able to save her. She didn’t deserve to die.
“What then is the purpose of one who possesses all the Callings?” My grandfather gestures to me, like a professor singling out an unsuspecting student.
Um . . . Mouth agape, I let my hands fall to my sides.
“I will pose another question. When did you begin to notice signs of the talents you possess? You have borne the mark since infancy, yet only now are seeking answers.”
I bite my lip, consider his insight. When did I begin to notice a change? Shutting my eyes, I run the events of the past few weeks over in my mind. Mom’s fabricated death. Joshua’s rejection. My lashes flutter as I glance up at Ky. “When you followed me the night we met. I never thought I was capable of defending myself like that.”
Ky crosses his ankles. “You definitely threw me off guard.”
Wince. I shrink inwardly. “Sorry.”
“There were other things too.” Ky paces behind me. “I paralyzed you with my Shield Calling, but the effect wore off within minutes. You survived Haman’s gift much longer than I anticipated. And the Illusoden. It didn’t last. Then there was your display on the beach. It’s as if you carry fragments, pieces of each gift that grow stronger each day.” His tone smiles and sprints, his face becoming more animated with each word. “I’ll bet when you turn eighteen and your Confine lifts, you’ll be unstoppable.”
Except I won’t. Because my link will break on my birthday. Then this amazing gift I’ve only just discovered will be gone.
Nathaniel considers him. “What did you say your name was, boy?”
“I didn’t.”
I roll my eyes. “Ky. His name is Ky.”
“Not much of a name,” Nathaniel muses, adjusting his spectacles. “Short for something, perhaps?”
What is the point of this? I jut my chin at Ky, waiting for him to give Nathaniel the answer he wants so we can move on.
But Ky, with his arrogant smirk and popped brow, is getting a rise out of flustering someone, as usual.
I fling my arms toward the ceiling. “Ugh. His name is Kyaphus Rhyen. Can we continue, please?”
Nathaniel nods, seemingly satisfied with my answer. “The Verity feeds off your innermost strengths, just as the Void feeds off your weaknesses. Your desires mold your powers, so you must ask yourself—what do you crave most in the seven Reflections?”
I fold the paper once, twice, pressing the creases with my thumbnail and sliding the square between the pages of The Reflection Chronicles. My go-to answer is always Mom. I want her back. But it must delve deeper, right? Ky’s story kisses my memory. How his Shield Calling stemmed from his need to protect others. What do I want? What have I always wanted?
It can’t be so simple. Can it?
“Love.” The single word is a confession. I’ve refused to admit it, tried my hardest to suppress it. But there it is, plain as the notes on my face.
“That,” Nathaniel says, “is the right answer.”
My grandfather traces the mirror’s carved frame. “I cannot tell you everything about the unique Calling you’ve been given, Eliyana. But somewhere deep inside you, distinctive aspects of each Calling reside. You must wait, see how they unfold.”
Ky moves beside me, the attic floorboards groaning beneath him. He’s been so silent. Patient. I could never repay him for his kindness.
“One day,” Nathaniel says, “while still living in the Third, Ember wanted to see Aidan. They were engaged, but she had not yet moved from my parents’ home. By then she had been given the mark and was only beginning to learn of its indications. It was her love for Aidan that made him appear in her reflection. That day, Ember stepped through the mirror.”
Whoa. A real-life Alice in Wonderland.
“After they married, the castle became her home, but she still missed her old one terribly. The king would have done anything to make her happy, so he had a replica built, a whole row of them. He thought it would be more authentic. As you saw upon entering, mine is the only one left standing.”
We have more than our Calling in common. Queen Ember caught homesickness too.
“They spent summers here. Ember loved this house.” Nathaniel’s mouth turns down. “This is where she died.”
My heart hurts for him. His pain has been my own. “How?”
“Natural causes.” He sighs, doesn’t elaborate. “A part of Aidan died that day as well. He couldn’t bear to be in a house where every nook and cranny reminded him of her. He left me in charge of it, along with her estate in the Third.” Is this why the king vanished? Because he loved his queen so? “The home belonging to my parents. The one I assume you were raised in?” His eyebrow quirks.
I nod. So Mom had been telling the truth on that note. My grandfather really did leave us the brownstone.
He inclines his head in return. “This has been my home ever since. After the Revolution, the other residents burned their homes to the ground and fled, erasing all evidence of their former lives. Only I remained, but I couldn’t very well stay out in the open with Crowe sniffing around for more people to add to his Soulless collection. Joshua and Makai have seen to it I am provided for. The hidden room has been my personal sanctuary for many years.”
“Why didn’t you go to the Haven with everyone else?” Ky asks.
Nathaniel eyes him. “I have my reasons. Which bring us back to the mirrors.” He beckons me closer. “This is ordinary-looking glass to me, to your friend, but to you it is a gateway. As a Mirror, just like Ember, you have the ability to pass through any reflective surface and enter through another by merely thinking of it. Love empowers you. However, you will only be able to bring one person back with you. As you appear to have a new Guardian”—he inclines his head toward Ky—“is it safe to assume your previous Guardians are otherwise occupied?”