Violet Fire

I knew that Aleia already had the Mirror, but I wasn’t sure where she would go with it. The magic carpet had rolled itself up in the gardens, deceptively innocent. I tried to unroll it three times, but it kept rolling back up on itself. I swear it laughed at me.

“What did Derek tell me?” I muttered, trying to remember the commands for this stupid rug. “Aistayqaz!”

Instantly, the magic carpet rolled itself out and hovered a couple of inches off of the ground. I grumbled something rude, climbed on, and held on for dear life.

Derek must have seen me fly in, because he was waiting outside my tent. Or maybe he just hadn’t left my tent. My face said it all, because he didn’t even ask how my little mission went. He sighed resignedly, a thunderhead settling over his face.

“I know where she’ll go,” he said darkly.

At the word “go,” the carpet promptly rolled itself up and refused to unroll. I tried to force the ratty thing to wake up, letting out a few choice words in the process.

“Don’t worry about the carpet,” Derek’s voice was dull. “If you ride hard, you should make it by first light.”

I nodded, any thought of sleep long gone at this point. I turned to leave, pausing with one foot out the door.

“What about you?”

I caught a light in Derek’s eye, a ray breaking through the clouds. “Don’t worry about me.”

My jet-black steed thundered across the dark terrain. The only sound was his hooves pounding into the grass, his breath coming fast and strong. I clung to him with all of my strength, trusting that he would get me where I needed to go. As the wind tore at my hair and stole my breath, my thoughts wandered to Claire. Once she was in this same situation: running towards Aleia, trying to save those she loved. But I knew so much more about Aleia, knew that everything that drove her to do such terrible things was twisted and amplified by the Mirror. And now the Mirror had a hold of Aleia once more. I shook my head, feeling like an idiot as I thought over it. Why had I given her the journal?

I barely managed to duck a low-hanging branch as my mount thundered on. I pushed away the whys, knowing that they didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered was saving Aleia from the Mirror, from herself. I didn’t know if I was strong enough to stop them both, but I had to try. No matter what.

My stallion finally stopped at the entrance to an old ruin, his glossy black coat dripping with sweat. I swung down and had to wrap my arms around his neck as my knees nearly gave way. I patted him gently before steeling myself. I paused in front of the rotting double doors, my attention caught by a snow-white pegasus. His blue eyes held mine, almost as if he were trying to tell me something.

I took a deep breath, looking back at the doors in front of me. “I know how intelligent you are,” I told the pegasus softly, turning back to look at him. “So, if I don’t make it through this, tell Damon that I’m sorry, that –” I had to pause. “Tell him that I love him.”

The pegasus looked at me for an excruciatingly long time before dipping his head in a bow. I exhaled the breath I had been holding and squared my shoulders. It was time to face whatever was waiting in these ruins. I put a hand on each door and pushed. The wood scraped against the stones, and I pushed the heavy doors open enough for me to slip through.

The once-grand courtyard was a mess of rubble and invading ivy. I picked my way carefully through the castle, using a purple witch light to guide me. The entire fortress smelled dank and musty, and there was another scent that I didn’t recognize. A stench so horrible it made me want to gag. Later I would learn that it was the smell of death.

My light started to grow brighter as I came closer to Aleia and the Mirror, washing the walls purple. I extinguished the light as I came to the door of the throne room, hearing voices. I stopped with my hand on the door, hearing a familiar voice.

“You are stronger than her!” the voice yelled.

“Derek,” I whispered, yanking the door open forcefully.

They were too occupied to notice me, but I doubted that either of them would have been surprised. Derek and Aleia stood facing each other, cold winds whipping between them, keeping them apart.

“I can’t fight her,” Aleia’s voice nearly broke, tears streaming down her face.

Her eyes kept shifting between purple and pure silver as she fought the Mirror. She cried out in pain, falling to her knees.

“Aleia!” Derek tried to run to her, but the winds pushed him back roughly.

An icy cold laugh echoed around the room, chilling me to the bone.

Fighting me is pointless, the words flowed over our ears like a wave.

Aleia let out a scream, her hair whipping around her like it was alive. Her eyes were barely reverting to purple now; if I didn’t act soon Aleia would be lost. I looked back over at Derek. He was kneeling directly in front of Aleia, his hands pressed against the winds as if they were a glass wall between them. It was now or never.

I strode past them both, turning away the Mirror’s winds as I approached. I couldn’t see her through the chaos, but now I was face to face with her. The mirror frame looked as if it was woven out of silver branches. I could practically smell the delicate flowers, could almost see the silver leaves rustling in the winds now at my back. The surface of the Mirror was cloudy, but I knew that I had her full attention. Then a face appeared in the surface of the mirror, and the room became utterly still.

Her platinum blonde hair floated softly around her face, accentuating her defined cheek bones and dainty nose. She would have been pretty, if she didn’t look as cold and unfeeling as a statue. Her silver eyes swept my frame, her expression staying as rigid as a mask.

I have heard much about you, Juliet Monroe, she said, still unreadable.

Standing in front of her, I realized that I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do. I was vaguely aware that Aleia and Derek were staring at us, but I didn’t dare turn away from her.

“And just what have you heard?” I replied more calmly than I felt.

You are so like your parents, she gave me an apprising look.

My head spun, thrown completely off balance. “What do you know about my parents?”

I whipped around when I heard Aleia gasp, tearing me away from the Mirror. Derek caught her before her head hit the stones, and although she was trembling, it was clear that the Mirror’s hold over her was gone.

“Derek,” Aleia sounded bewildered, her fingers trailing along his jawline. “What are you doing here?”

Derek smiled softly, holding her hand against his cheek. “I came to save you.”

Aleia’s brow furrowed. “Why would you do that for me?”

Derek shook his head, still smiling. “After all these years, how can you still be so blind?” His eyes were suddenly shining. “I love you, Leia.”

A tear leaked from the corner of her eye, falling to the hard stone. “I have been blind, haven’t I?” she whispered, reaching up to push a lock of hair off his forehead. Her eyes locked with his, and I barely repressed my own tears. “All this time searching for love when it was right in front of me. I’m so sorry.”

Derek pulled Aleia into a kiss, and I looked away, not wanting to intrude.

“No,” Derek cried, and I turned back to see Aleia lying limp in his arms.

“No, no, no,” I whipped back around to face the Mirror.

She was too broken for me to fix.

“No, I’m not letting it end like this!” I barely registered the tears streaming from my eyes.

The Mirror’s head seemed to cock to one side. I can fix that.

“Bring her back!” I screamed, quickly becoming hysterical.

“Juliet, it’s too late,” Derek moaned, still cradling her body.

I can’t fix her, but I can fix you, her voice was sing-song and intoxicating.

“I don’t need fixing!”

Please, Juliet, my head shot up as the familiar voice washed over my ears.

“Alaric,” I whispered.

Juliet, let me help you.

A knot in my stomach told me that something wasn’t right, but all I could focus on was Alaric’s blue eyes pleading with me. I thought I heard faint singing, but that thought was quickly pushed away.

“Damon,” the word escaped my lips without my permission, planting doubts in my mind.

Take my hand, Alaric replied, putting his hand to the glass. You hurt Damon, but I can fix that. Please, Juliet.

Almost without having to think about it, I was walking slowly towards the Mirror, my hand outstretched. The wind whipped my hair across my face and tore at my clothes, pushing me even closer to the Mirror. I pressed my hand to the glass, my only thought to get to Alaric. The glass slid away from my hand like water poured from a pitcher, and my hand was clasping Alaric’s. We smiled at each other, and my heart soared.

I glanced down at our clasped hands, but the hand I was holding was not what I expected. It was incredibly pale, with slender fingers and long, dark nails. Before I had time to process this information, I felt my world flip on its head. I had to close my eyes against the jarring feeling of vertigo. I felt the hand I was holding slip out of my grasp, sending me spinning away. My knees hit the ground hard, and I put my hands out to keep from falling on my face. My hands met glass.

I opened my eyes tentatively, then had to blink several times to make sure that what I was seeing was true. The throne room in front of me looked as if it were frozen in time. Even the dust motes were still as I looked around the room. Derek was frozen in place, a look of horror plastered to his face. And there she was, right in front of me. Although she was no longer just a face. She was just a bit taller than average, with a graceful neck and her fair amount of curves. From the hips up she looked like a very pretty woman, but where her legs should be was a long black and silver tail.

“You’re a siren!” I cried, my words slightly muddled by the glass.

She smiled, revealing incredibly white, straight teeth. She flicked her hair over her shoulder – equally straight as her teeth, and having a faint lavender glow in the semi-darkness – and stretched out her serpentine tail.

“I am the siren queen, Araxie,” she replied, stretching out her arms as well.

“But I thought the Mirror was only allowed to be truthful,” I said, mostly to myself. “So how could you trick me?”

“I’ve been using Aleia’s power to, let’s say, bend the rules a bit,” Araxie replied, her voice as sweet and chipper as a lark’s.

“What did you do to Alaric?” I growled, remembering my first siren encounter.

“Relax,” she waved a hand airily at me. “I don’t need to consume someone to impersonate them. One of the advantages to being the most powerful siren.”

I inspected the glass around me, looking for any little crack or seam. I had to get out of here. “How did you manage to trap me in here?”

Araxie inspected her nails. “I didn’t trap you in there,” she replied, her voice still too bright. “Curses have rules. There must be a way to break the curse. When I was placed in the Mirror they told me that in order to be freed, someone had to willingly trade places with me. Seeing as no one has been willing in the two hundred years I’ve been captive, I decided to fix that.”

“The Mirror always has to have a captive,” it wasn’t a question.

Araxie smiled once again, seemingly pleased that I was catching on. “Originally I had chosen Aleia to take my place, but then she broke. So not only was I able to fix you, but now I can fix your parents too. And then I can see if any of your friends need fixing,” her giggle grated against my ears.

“If you hurt any of them –”

“You’ll what?” the smile was gone. “You’re a mirror.”

I leaned my head against the glass, the truth settling over me like a summer storm. Araxie slithered closer to the Mirror, her face unreadable.

“I almost pity you,” she whispered, her words like frost against the glass. “Left behind to stare at an empty room, no friends, no loved ones. Soon you will wish that someone would come along and shatter you.”

I lifted my head to meet her eyes. At first I thought that I was looking at a reflection, the eyes were exactly the same as mine, as Aleia’s. The same exact shade of purple, the same soft band of silver around the pupil. Araxie half smiled, seeming to read my thoughts. She backed away again, and I could see the room starting to reawaken. I wanted to call out, to beg and plead not to be left behind, but I would not give her the satisfaction.

A whirlwind started around Araxie and the Mirror, exactly the same as I had seen Aleia trapped in. Araxie gave me one last cold smile before she shifted. Her frame became shorter, just a tad slimmer, and her skin darkened. Her straight hair became wildly curly and turned brown, but her eyes stayed the same. Derek was no longer frozen, he was shouting at Araxie, trying to break into the whirlwind. I watched as my spitting image swayed, then collapsed on the floor.

“Juliet!” the yell cut through the dissipating winds, and my heart wrenched.

Damon had been just outside the throne room door, frozen just before he could burst through and save me. And she knew that. The thought was like a lightning bolt. After everything, he had come for me. A sob was wrenched from me as Damon knelt over the still form on the floor, shaking the slim shoulder in a panic. The thick lashes fluttered and the eyes opened to look up at Damon. The lips were moving, curving into a smile, but the words were too dim for me to hear. Damon crushed her to his chest, relief etched on every feature.

“I thought I lost you,” he sighed, his hands tangling in the curls as he cupped her face.

Damon helped her off of the floor, an arm going around her waist. Derek kissed her forehead softly before scooping up Aleia. Araxie looked over her shoulder, looked back at the Mirror. She smiled, turning my churning stomach into a lump of ice. She winked, then walked out with Damon, not a second glance backward.

I sat there for a long time, too numb to move, to think…too numb to even feel. I was an empty shell, wholly unaware of the hot tears flowing freely over my cheeks.

I was alone.