The room erupted.
Lucian was in front of instantly, frost surging as he turned toward the mirror.
Auren’s wings flared out in reflex.
Celeste staggered back, Vaylen catching her just in ti.
The mirror cracked.
A thin line split down the mirror’s surface like a wound.
Vivian pressed her palm against the glass from the other side, leaving a bloody print.
"Seraphina," she said hoarsely. Her voice was wrong, muffled, distorted, as if it had traveled through water and broken worlds to reach . "You need to listen to ."
I shoved Lucian’s hand away and rushed toward the mirror.
"What is it?" My voice was shaky, "Hold on—let get soone to pull you out of—"
"No," Vivian cut off sharply. "I don’t have much ti left."
My heart lurched, "What do you an?"
Her breathing hitched. Blood slipped from the corner of her mouth as she swallowed it back.
"I’m holding her," she said. "Only for a little while. I forced the seal tighter than it was ant to go."
The crack in the mirror crept wider.
"I can’t keep doing this," she whispered. "That’s why I ca now."
My chest tightened.
"Vivian, what are you talking about?"
She lifted her eyes to mine, blood slipping from her nose again.
"Seraphina... you deserve to know who you are," she said weakly. "The whole truth about your background. I was afraid I would die before I managed to tell you everything, so listen carefully—"
"No—no—no!" I clamped my hands over my ears and turned away, panic clawing up my throat.
I looked straight at Auren.
"Help !" I cried. "Help my friend, please—"
Tears spilled down my cheeks before I could stop them.
Auren’s expression changed instantly.
"Seraphina... don’t cry," he said sharply, moving toward in one swift step. His wings flared, feathers humming with power as he cupped my face without hesitation. "Look at . Breathe."
Lucian was beside us at once, frost crawling up his arm as he pulled back against his chest, shielding from the mirror. "Stop," he commanded softly. "You’re safe. I’ve got you."
The mirror groaned.
Vivian sucked in a breath on the other side, panic flashing across her face.
"Seraphina, don’t—" she coughed, blood staining the glass. "Your tears... she can feel them—"
Auren turned sharply toward the mirror, his voice ringing with authority.
"I’ll take over the anchor," he said. "Not fully but enough to buy ti."
"You can’t, my lord..." Vivian whispered. "Pegasus souls—"
"I know," he cut in. "That’s why it’ll hurt instead."
He slamd his palm against the floor.
A burst of silver-white feathers exploded outward, forming glowing sigils that wrapped around the mirror like chains made of light.
The cracking slowed.
For a brief mont, it looked like it might work.
Then the mirror moved, not breaking or resisting.
It rippled like soone had thrown a stone into deep water.
The glowing chains sank into the surface, their light bending, stretching... and then disappearing completely, as if they had been swallowed.
Auren stiffened. "That’s not right," he muttered.
The mirror pulsed once.
Vivian scread softly on the other side as the pressure snapped back. Blood ran freely now, saring the glass beneath her hand.
"This place isn’t made of air or land!" she gasped. "Lord Auren—stop—!"
Auren staggered back, his wings trembling as pain shot through him.
"It’s not fighting ," he said through clenched teeth. "It’s not even reacting. It’s like my power doesn’t exist."
Lucian moved without thinking.
Frost surged across the floor toward the mirror and vanished the instant it touched the glass.
Gone.
Lucian froze.
"Water," he said quietly. Then his expression darkened. "No. Sothing deeper."
The mirror dimd, its surface turning dark and heavy, like a window into the bottom of the sea.
The air shifted.
"Lord Auren, you need to undo it or we won’t have ti!" Vivian shouted hoarsely. Then her voice cracked. "No—no! I just need to tell Seraphina... while I still can."
Her voice was so weak that my chest tightened, panic spilling over as I sobbed. "I’m here," I whispered, pressing my hand to the mirror. "I’m here... please."
My fingers shook. "Tell . Tell everything."
Vivian’s breath ca shallow and uneven.
"So... the first thing," she began, forcing the words out, "I’m sorry. I never ant to lie to you."
I shook my head. "Just talk."
She nodded weakly.
"I was sent by your mother," Vivian said. "She asked to take you sowhere safe. Sowhere far from magic. Sowhere Elyndra couldn’t reach."
My heart skipped.
"This world," Vivian continued softly, "was your original world."
Lucian went still behind .
"Your mother received a warning," Vivian said. "A ssage from the Oracles. They saw everything—your birth, the tears, the rebirths... even what’s happening now."
Blood stained the glass as she swallowed hard.
"Your mother’s na was Lady Aelira," Vivian said quietly.
The na settled into my chest like sothing half-rembered.
"She was the one who asked to take you away," Vivian continued. "Not because she feared this world... but because she feared what would happen to you in it."
My throat tightened.
"The Oracles didn’t just see danger," Vivian said. "They saw pursuit."
Lucian’s voice was low, "Elyndra."
Vivian shook her head, "I’m sorry, but it was not Elyndra at that ti..."
"What do you an?" I asked, my forehead was already deepened with frowns.
"It’s too long, let explain the reason first," She gulped, "Your tears were already waking," she said. "Even as a child. Lady Aelira knew that if you stayed here, fairies like Elyndra would sense you sooner or later."
The mirror trembled faintly.
"She chose a world without magic," Vivian went on. "A place where your power would sleep. Where your tears would stay quiet."
My fingers pressed harder against the glass.
Vivian’s voice trembled.
"She knew it would cost her," she whispered. "Once you were gone, soone had to stay behind."
My chest tightened. "Why?"
"To lie," Vivian said softly. "To mislead. To make fairies believe you were still here."
Blood slipped from her nose.
"Your mother let them see her," Vivian continued. "Let them think she was guarding sothing precious. Let them chase her instead of you."
Lucian’s breath hitched.
"She could have escaped," I whispered. "Couldn’t she?"
Vivian looked at , eyes full of grief. "Yes," she said. "But if she ran... they would have followed."
The mirror trembled faintly.
"So she stayed," Vivian said. "She stayed long enough for the trail to go cold."
My hands shook.
"And when they finally reached her..." My voice broke, and I couldn’t finish.
Vivian nodded once.
"She didn’t beg," she said softly. "She didn’t curse fate. She only asked to make sure you lived."
"I don’t understand," I whispered, shaking my head as everything crashed down on at once. "What is so important about ... that she would protect with her life?"
Vivian sucked in a sharp breath, pain flickering across her face.
"Seraphina..." she started, then stopped.
Slowly, she shook her head.
"No," she corrected herself weakly. "I should call you Lady Ellaris."
The title made my chest tighten.
"As I told you," Vivian continued, her voice trembling, "your tears are not just rare. They are... dangerous."
I swallowed hard.
The mirror shuddered faintly.
"In the wrong hands," Vivian whispered, "they could change this world. Not all at once... but slowly. Quietly. Until nothing remains the sa."
My breath ca uneven.
"That’s why your mother protected you," she said gently. "Not because you were weak."
Her voice softened further.
"But because you carried sothing that should never be forced into the wrong hands."
She t my eyes through the glass.
"And because you were kind enough... to be hurt by it."
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