Chapter 28: The Reckoning
The Mirror Chamber was still.
Milo and I stood at its center, the obsidian walls now pulsing with a softer glow. The mirror itself had changed—no longer jagged and menacing, but smooth, almost inviting. A quiet hum filled the air, like a heartbeat waiting to be answered. It nearly made it irresistible; it wanted to be touched; it wanted to be wanted.
Talon stepped forward. “You’ve faced anger. You’ve faced fear.”
Yuel added, “Now you must face yourselves.”
Narrin gestured to the mirror. “This is the final trial. Not illusion. Not torment. Truth.”
I swallowed hard. “Maybe we should do this another day.”
“Yeah, I agree. Maybe when I am feeling more like being kicked in the stomach” Milo adds as he grabs my hand pulling me towards the exit.
Zeke and Yuel step in front of us with Narrin and Talon behind.
“Where do you think your going” Zeke asks as he raises his eyebrow.
“Um, snack. Can’t leave home or get tortured without snacks,” Milo says as he tries to dodge away from the guys.
“Well, too bad, get ready, you're going in,” Talon mutters as he pulls Milo and me apart and pushes me towards the mirror.
“You're ready, right?” Talon says as he continues to approach the mirror.
“Um, define ready.” I mutter as I am pushed forward. I take a few stumbling steps. Even if I wasn’t ready, I had a few seconds to get prepared.
Milo nodded. “Whatever it shows us, I promise I will try not run.”
Zeke smirked. “Let’s hope you mean that. The last guy who said that ran straight into a wall.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Did he survive?”
“Technically,” Zeke said. “But emotionally? Debatable.”
The mirror shimmered.
And opened.
I stepped through first.
I found myself in a room of mirrors—hundreds of reflections staring back at me. Each one showed a different version of myself.
One was younger, eyes wide with hope.
One was older, hardened by battle.
One was regal, crowned in flame.
One was broken, curled on the floor.
I turned to Milo, who had entered behind me.
He stood in his own circle of mirrors—each showing a different path.
One where he never met Mo.
One where he died protecting her.
One where he ruled beside her.
One where he walked away.
I reached for a mirror.
It rippled.
And spoke.
“You resent them.”
Mo froze.
“I don’t, I say, but even I can hear the shaking in my voice.”
“You resent your mother. The Royals. Even Milo.”
I clenched my fists. “I don’t—”
“You do. Because they expect you to be more than you are.”
My flame flickered—one second strong, the next barely there.
“You resent being chosen.”
“I don’t, well, not exactly. But I am scared. I have a right to be scared.”
I turned to Milo. “Do you feel it too?”
He nodded. “I resent myself.”
My eyes widened.
“I resent that I’m not brave enough. That I’m always behind you. That I’m afraid I’ll never catch up.”
The mirrors pulsed.
I stepped closer to my broken reflection.
“I do resent them,” she whispered. “But I also love them. I want to be seen. Not just used. I have more to offer than just my prophecy; I have more to offer than fixing a veil that broke. I'm fixing a world that I just learnt about, but mostly I have the right to be me, flaws and all.”
Her reflection smiled. “Everyone has a right to be needed and a right to be valued for who they are.”
Milo touched the mirror as he walked away.
“I want to stay,” he said. “Even if I’m scared. I will continue to stand with my sister and fight the fight for as long as I am necessary.”
His reflection nodded.
The mirrors shattered.
And the chamber shifted.
They stood in a new space—circular, glowing, filled with floating sigils and ancient runes.
Narrin appeared beside them.
“This is the Heart of Aeloria,” he said. “Few reach it. Fewer survive it.”
I looked around. “Why us?”
“Because you chose truth,” Yuel said, stepping into the light. “Not power. Not prophecy. Just truth.”
Talon approached. “You can leave now. Return to the real world. Forget all of this. Aeloria, being a fairy hybrid, and your prophecy will all just be a dream.”
Zeke added, “Or you can stay. And become what you were never meant to be.”
I looked at Milo.
He took my hand.
“We stay, we made the pact long ago that we stick together, and that is what we are going to do.” I said.
The chamber pulsed.
And the sigils etched themselves into their skin—mine in flame, Milo’s in shadow. Each showing their strength, beauty, and weaknesses in their artful design. As mine all but glowed, Milo’s seemed to come alive in the dark. It gave the appearance of a living, breathing shadow.
They had chosen.
Not to be heroes.
But to be whole.
As the mirror released them, Milo and I looked at each other and smiled, both noting the tattoos that showed on our arms. Two sigils were represented on both arms, showcasing their power, while in the centre of my chest sat a crown, and in the center of Milo’s sat a shield.
“Sis, we may need to discuss you getting bright tattoos. Though on the plus side, they suit you and you didn’t feel the pain.” Milo says as he continues to look at the tattoos on my arms.
“Back at you, Milo, though you are too young for tattoos, in this case, I will allow it,” I reply.
“Mo, those tattoos look HOT!” Zeke says as he grabs my arms and turns me away from Milo so that he can have a look.
“I second that,” Yuel adds as he too comes to stand beside Zeke.
“I especially love the crown,” Narrin says in his deep voice.
“I second that,” Talon says as he, too, gives me a smirk and nods towards my chest.