The mirror suddenly cracked violently.
Not a faint tremble this ti but a sharp, splintering sound that tore through the room.
Vivian scread. Her body slamd against the glass from the other side, blood streaking down as the surface fractured beneath her hand.
"Lord Auren—!" she cried. "Let it go—now!"
Her voice broke, raw with pain.
"If you keep holding it..." she gasped, shaking her head frantically, "you’ll be dragged in with !"
Auren staggered, teeth clenched, wings trembling as the pressure yanked at him through the mirror.
"I can still—" he tried.
"No!" Vivian shouted. "You can’t win against this—let go!"
"Damn it!| Lucian swore sharply. "Auren," he snapped, frost flaring instinctively before he forced it down. "Release it. Now."
Auren hesitated, jaw tight, then slamd his hand against the floor again, this ti to break the connection.
The chains of light shattered. The backlash hit imdiately.
Auren was thrown backward, crashing into the wall with a heavy thud. He coughed hard, wings folding in painfully as he struggled to breathe.
The mirror scread.
Vivian cried out, her body arching as the cracks spread like spiderwebs around her.
Lucian’s face darkened.
"There’s no ti," he muttered, his eyes locked on the mirror as he searched desperately for a solution before he turned and looked at Sebastian, who had been waiting for instruction at the end of the dining hall, "Sebastian, seal it. If Vivian loses her grip, Elyndra could slip out—"
I grabbed his arm.
"Lucian," I begged, my voice shaking. "Please. Help her. Please... she’s my only friend."
My tears threatened to fall again.
He looked down at , brows drawn tight, torn between fear and calculation.
"Seraphina," he said carefully, "there’s nothing we can do. Not with brute force. Even Auren’s power can’t go against that place."
I frowned, panic mixed with confusion, "What place?"
Lucian’s jaw tightened as he glanced back at the mirror.
"A dinsion," he said slowly. "One that doesn’t respond to air, ice, or light."
He hesitated, then added quietly, "If I’m not wrong... it’s water. Not the kind you see but the kind that drags everything down."
The mirror cracked again, louder this ti.
Vivian scread.
"Help her... please..." I turned desperately, my gaze sweeping across everyone in the room as panic swallowed whole. "Water... water..."
My flas flickered uselessly at my fingertips. Fire couldn’t fight this. I knew that.
Then my thoughts froze.
Sothing clicked. I spun back to Lucian, gripping his arm hard. "Your friend," I gasped. "Your friend—please. Ask Thalor for help."
Lucian’s eyes widened for a split second.
Then he swore under his breath, "You’re right."
He turned sharply, his voice cutting through the chaos.
"Auren," he said, "call him."
Auren blinked. "Call who?"
"You know exactly who," Lucian snapped. "And you know how annoying he’ll be the mont he hears the word help coming from ."
"Seriously?" Auren shook his head in disbelief. "You should swallow your pride right now."
Lucian exhaled sharply, jaw tight.
"I know," he said. "But it’ll be faster if you talk to him."
He blinked once, swallowing hard. There was no humor in his expression now. "Please," he added quietly.
Auren stared at him for a heartbeat.
"Wow," he muttered. "I really shouldn’t be happy right now but hearing you say please almost makes this worth it."
Lucian shot him a look. "Auren."
"I’m doing it," Auren said quickly, raising his hands. "Relax."
He turned sharply and signaled to his assistant. "Get the call through. Now."
Then he faced Lucian again, his expression finally serious.
"Lucian," he said, "hold the mirror frozen but carefully. Don’t seal it."
Lucian frowned. "Why?"
"Because sealing it will trap her," Auren replied sharply. "And freezing it completely will make it crack faster."
Another scream tore from the mirror.
Vivian’s voice wavered, strained and breaking.
"I can’t—" she gasped. "Elyndra is fighting hard..."
The mirror shuddered violently, cracks racing across its surface like lightning frozen in glass.
Lucian clenched his jaw and adjusted his control, thinning the frost instead of strengthening it, sweat beading at his temple as he fought to keep the balance.
"Hold on," he said under his breath. "Just a little longer."
"I’m trying!" Vivian cried. "But she’s pulling... she’s trying to break past —"
The pressure in the room spiked.
I pressed both hands against the mirror, my voice shaking.
"Vivian, please—don’t let go!"
Her eyes t mine through the fractured glass, filled with pain and desperation.
"Seraphina," she said, breath hitching, "if I slip—don’t follow —"
"No," I whispered. "Don’t say that."
Auren snapped his head up as a sudden wave of force rolled through the room. "She’s losing ground," he said grimly. "We’re out of ti."
The mirror let out a low, deep sound, like sothing massive shifting beneath the surface.
Then the air changed.
The heavy pressure that had been weighing on us suddenly eased, tilting lighter, as if the ruler of the deep waters had finally noticed the disturbance and cald his territory.
"He’s here," Lucian said, his gaze sweeping the room instinctively.
But there was no one in sight.
"Thalor!" Auren called sharply.
"Thalor—answer us!" Lucian called next.
I could only turn in a slow circle, my heart racing, desperately hoping he would appear before the mirror shattered completely.
Then a voice drifted through the room, unhurried, faintly irritated, and impossibly calm.
"Could all of you be quiet for a mont?" it said. "Your voices echo terribly at this depth."
My breath caught.
Thalor!
I turned desperately, my heart pounding, staring straight at the mirror and froze.
A shape moved inside the mirror. Then it stopped, standing right behind Vivian.
"Why did you disturb my territory in the first place?" Thalor asked, resting his head lightly against Vivian’s shoulder, as if the chaos ant nothing to him.
Vivian’s breath shook, but she forced herself to speak.
"I’m sorry, Lord Thalor," she said hoarsely. "This was the only place suitable to hold Elyndra down—"
"Do you have any idea how loud you’ve been?" Thalor cut in, clicking his tongue in annoyance.
The water behind the glass rippled sharply.
"My father’s been complaining for weeks," he went on, irritation seeping into his voice. "Said the waters wouldn’t stop humming. Like sothing rotten was stuck in them."
His gaze dropped, cold and unimpressed.
"So imagine my mood," he added, "when I find out soone dragged a parasite into my domain and thought it was a good idea."
Vivian swallowed.
"This place isn’t a cage," Thalor snapped. "And I’m not your jailer."
He straightened, finally pulling away from Vivian’s shoulder.
"I’m throwing her out," he said flatly to all of us. "Now."
The mirror trembled.
"And before anyone panics," Thalor added, eyes narrowing, "I’m throwing the rotten one too... or else my father would turn the whole depth sea upside down."
Vivian’s eyes widened.
"Alive," he anded. "If you don’t fight ."
The water began to surge.
"So hold on," Thalor said, already lifting his hand. "And don’t scream. It’s irritating."
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