Chapter 10
Elara didn't sleep.
Even after the courtyard fell silent, even after Lucien escorted her back through hidden corridors and shadowed stairwells, her mind refused to rest. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Kade's crimson stare—cold, calculating, hungry.
Lucien stood guard outside her dorm door the entire night. She sensed him there, unmoving, like a statue carved out of moonlight and tension. It should've comforted her. Instead, it made her realize just how dangerous things had become.
By morning, exhaustion settled behind her eyes, but she pushed herself up and prepared for class. As she brushed her hair before the mirror, something odd caught her attention.
Her reflection wavered.
Not like a trick of the light—no. The image ripples, as if the mirror's surface were water disturbed by wind.
Elara froze.
The glass shimmered again, and then—
A whisper.
"Elara…"
Her blood turned to ice.
The voice was faint, distant, echoing like it came from somewhere behind the mirror. She leaned closer, breath unsteady.
"Elara…"
This time louder. Sharper.
"Who's there?" she whispered.
The mirror darkened.
Shadows swirled across the surface, shifting into a faint silhouette. Tall. Lean. A presence she recognized instantly.
Kade.
His voice slid through the room like cold fingers brushing her spine.
"You're connected to him now. Which means you're connected to me."
Elara stumbled back, heart racing. "Stay away from me!"
Kade's reflection smiled, though his real body was nowhere in sight. "You can't command distance in a world bound by blood. Lucien tied you into this the moment he let his feelings grow."
"He doesn't—"
Elara stopped. The words lodged in her throat.
Kade chuckled. "He does. And that makes you valuable."
The lights flickered. Her room temperature dropped.
"Elara," Kade continued, "you have two choices. Stay by Lucien's side and risk being consumed by the oath—or step away and let him collapse alone."
"Why are you doing this?" she breathed.
"Because power doesn't come from strength," he murmured, leaning closer to the mirror's edge. "It comes from attachment. And Lucien has far too many."
The mirror's surface splintered—fine cracks spiderwebbing across the glass like frostbite spreading under skin.
"Elara!"
Lucien burst into the room, eyes glowing, breath sharp as he scanned for danger. The moment he saw the mirror, his expression darkened.
"Get away from it," he commanded, pulling her gently behind him.
The moment he stepped forward, the cracks across the mirror pulsed—then shattered in a violent burst, raining glass across the floor.
Kade's voice drifted through the falling shards:
"This is only the beginning."
Silence rushed in.
Elara clutched Lucien's sleeve, her hands trembling. "He was here. In the mirror."
Lucien's jaw clenched. "He's growing stronger. And he's targeting you on purpose."
"Why me?" she whispered.
Lucien turned, his silver eyes haunted.
"Because you're the first person who's ever made me question my oath."