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Chapter 63
~Spring’s POV~
The door creaked again, this ti Jace walked in with a hand tucked into his school trousers’s pocket.
"The Council’s waiting," he said, then looked between the two of us. "Hmm, the tension’s so thick in here, I’m choking."
Lilith brushed past , ignoring him as she headed out, but as she passed, her voice dropped low. "I won’t be kind."
I bead. "Good. I wouldn’t want it easy." She snickered. "That is what I would have said if you were playing , but your opponent right now is yourself and the mirror."
She said nothing further and left.
Jace inhaled sharply, and just before I turned to leave, his hand shot out, catching my wrist. In one swift motion, he pulled flush against him. My breath hitched as I looked up, heart stuttering under the sudden closeness.
"Jace..." I murmured.
He leaned in slowly, his face hovering a breath from mine. The scent of mint wrapped around as his eyes searched mine, but... sothing else flickered there too—a hesitation or was it worry?
Not fear of rejection—no, Jace was never afraid of that.
It was deeper. Like he knew the line he was about to cross... and still wasn’t sure if I’d follow.
And when I expected Jace to move, he didn’t; he only looked at , waiting for any hint.
But I did not act as he wished. And moved my head back a little. A lopsided grin crossed his face.
"No matter what happens, Spring. You must win." His free hand reached up to gently caress my hair, then my cheeks. "I am not ready to let you go."
Just then, we felt a presence in the room, and Jace’s expression turned serious. "Leave," he commanded without missing a beat or seeing who it was.
"I’d love to, but she’s needed."
Jace exhaled sharply. "Fine, she’ll be out in a sec, Mira."
"Don’t make us wait, and I won’t tell her other mates."
I shot her a glare. Did she just threaten? What did she think I was... twelve?
I broke away from Jace, trying to control my anger as I walked past him, every emotion void from my face as I passed her too.. "Let’s go."
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~Storm’s POV~
The council chamber was unusually silent, like hawks watching silently.
All eight of us sat in the upper box, overlooking the amphitheatre where the arena shimred—layers of enchantnts warping the space below into a massive illusion field.
Students poured into the stands.
"She shouldn’t be facing this alone," Tyrion said quietly.
"She isn’t," Jace replied, arms folded, eyes narrowed on the maze below.
Lilith stood at one entrance while Spring stood at the other.
Their forms were distant, but not small. No, there was nothing small about what was about to unfold.
Mira, the fae, leaned forward, her golden hair shimring like starlight. "This ga isn’t just about speed. It’s about facing yourself."
Kael’s expression was grave. "And you’ve seen what happens when soone faces the wrong version of themselves inside."
"They break," Raphael said flatly. "Or they run."
"She won’t run," I cut.
Lilith might play politics. She might spin power like a blade but Spring walks into fire like it was born in her, and now everyone would see why.
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~Spring’s POV~
The entrance to the maze was a simple arch of silvered stone.
That was the only simple thing about it.
From the outside, it appeared to be glass corridors bathed in light. But I could already feel the magic pulsing—whispers curling through the air, promises of what I might see once I stepped in.
The rules were simple. Get to the centre.
That’s it.
But every thirty seconds, the maze would shift.
So mirrors were harmless. So reflected what you feared. And if you touched the wrong one—if fear consud you—you’d be zapped back to the start.
Across the arena, Lilith stood in front of her own arch. Our eyes t briefly.
She smiled confidently.
But I’d seen smiles like that before. From demons. From traitors. From n who said they loved while twisting blades into my back.
The whistle blew and I stepped into the maze.
The first corridor felt colder than it should’ve. Mirrors stretched on both sides—so narrow, so tall, while so were warped.
And then it started. The world glowed, the glass humd a low chi that echoed like a heartbeat.
And then the maze shifted.
I took a breath and moved forward, keeping my steps even.
The First reflection was myself—bloody, broken, kneeling but I didn’t stop.
Second: My brothers looked through like I didn’t exist.
Third: My mother, turning her back.
None of those stopped as I continued walking but from where I was, I could hear familiar grunts from Lilith.
I pitied her a little but if I had enough ti to pity soone then I was not being challenged enough.
I focused on my task, heading towards the centre through the maze until I saw another mirror. And it was the fourth mirror that did it.
I rounded a corner and ca face-to-face with him.
Rael.
Not this Rael—the new one I was forced to tolerate—but him. The man from my past life.
The one I’d once loved. The very one who’d betrayed and had killed .
He stood tall, armoured, face as cruel as the night he broke his vow. Blood splattered his hands. And when I took a sniff, it was all my blood. My mories.
And just like before, he stepped forward with that sa look in his eyes—like I was the mistake.
"Why didn’t you die when I told you to?" he whispered.
My mind and body was transported back to that fateful day, the last ti I saw my world before coming here.
Pain, raw pain and fear encompassed around and my knees buckled in protest. My heart scread.
And Jade froze within for a mont. I knew it was painful for her to watch, for he rto see him.
And unlike the Rael I t in this life, a certain kind of darkness surrounded my... I an that Vampire Prince, as he stalked closer.
Jade whimpered in my head. "Spring—Sol—no—get away from him."
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