The mirror didn’t shatter.
It should have. Should’ve cracked down the center like a cursed heart breaking wide open. But it didn’t.
It pulsed.
Like a heartbeat.
Like mine.
I reached toward it—fingers trembling—but Kael grabbed my wrist.
“No,” he said, his voice rough, low. Protective.
“I saw her,” I whispered. “Me. But not.”
Mira appeared behind us, barefoot and wild-eyed. “I felt that surge all the way from the Hollow.”
Selene arrived next, her bow already in hand, an arrow glowing with bloodlight.
“Another timeline?” Mira asked, circling the mirror.
“No,” I said. “Not a different version of me. That is me. Or a part of me that never returned from the merge.”
“You think the First Flame left something behind?” Selene’s voice was tight, calculating.
“No,” Kael said darkly. “I t
