The pain began like a whisper.
A sharp flicker in Selene's left hand—just beneath her skin—where her magic usually danced in calm, silver heat.
But now?
It pulsed with something darker.
Colder.
Wrong.
She clenched her fist, trying to summon a light spell to soothe it, but the glow stuttered. Warped. Flared red for a second before collapsing.
Naeria saw it happen.
And her face turned pale.
"That's not exhaustion," she said. "That's corruption."
---
They examined it that night.
Rowan used a spectral blade to lift the skin without cutting. Elira held her mother's shoulder, silent but steady. Theron stood at the edge of the tent, his eyes dark and distant.
Inside Selene's palm, etched like a scar:
A shard of mirror.
So small it looked like a splinter of starlight—but it pulsed with its own rhythm. Like a heartbeat. Or a curse.
"It's from the shattered Hollow Mirror," Naeria whispered. "You were holding it when time collapsed."
Selene's voice was calm. "So it marked me."
Kael took her hand in his. "No. It buried itself in you."
---
Naeria tried spells.
Rowan tried silverfire.
Neither worked.
The shard refused to be pulled.
Instead, it fed.
Each day, Selene grew weaker.
Spells flickered. Her aura darkened. Her dreams became shards of broken voices.
> "You cracked fate. Now fate cracks you."
---
On the fifth day, Elira entered the tent alone.
Her glow dimmed to match the mood inside.
"I've seen it before," she said. "In the library of the Lost Moon. One of the scrolls showed a curse like this—left behind by a creature that lived between reflections."
Kael straightened. "A mirror-being?"
"No," Elira said softly. "A mirror-born. A creature that exists because something shattered."
Theron stepped in, voice hollow. "There's only one person who ever escaped one."
They all turned to him.
He said the name slowly. Bitterly.
> "Azrael."
---
The name sucked the warmth from the room.
Azrael.
Selene's former protector.
Her greatest betrayal.
The one who nearly handed her to the Hollow God before vanishing between worlds.
Kael's jaw tightened. "You want to bring him back?"
"He's the only one who's lived through mirror-corruption," Naeria murmured. "And he carries some of its magic still."
Rowan muttered, "I'll kill him if he blinks wrong."
Selene sat up slowly.
Pain etched through her ribs, but her eyes were clear.
"I'll go," she said.
---
They traveled to the edge of the Glinting Vale—a place where time curled and space twisted, and reflections whispered things you never said aloud.
It was a rift.
Between worlds.
And if you called loud enough, something always answered.
Naeria began the chant.
Elira and Theron stood on opposite sides of the vale, forming a ring of star-magic and shadow.
Kael held Selene steady, even as her fingers bled silver sparks.
She whispered his name, just once.
And then—he stepped back.
---
The wind howled.
The ground shimmered.
And from the crack in the vale—
He stepped through.
Azrael.
Still wearing his old silver cloak.
Still tall, still too beautiful.
But changed.
His eyes no longer held cruelty.
Only remorse.
And a deep, humming sorrow.
---
Selene's voice was barely audible.
"You're late."
He smiled faintly. "I always was."
---
They spoke alone, beneath a twisted tree of broken glass leaves.
"I didn't know the shard would embed," Azrael said quietly. "The mirror had a will of its own."
Selene winced as her veins pulsed again. "Can you fix it?"
He crouched beside her, pressing his hand over hers.
"I can't remove it," he said. "But I can redirect it."
"To what?"
He met her gaze.
"To me."
---
She froze. "You'll carry the corruption?"
"I already carry pieces of the mirror," he said. "I've lived between reflections too long. It won't kill me. But it'll stop killing you."
Selene's voice cracked. "You don't deserve to pay my price."
Azrael smiled. "Maybe not. But I owe the debt."
---
They began the ritual.
Elira and Theron wove the opposing energies of starlight and shadow.
Naeria anchored the spell in time.
Azrael took Selene's hands.
And for the first time since betrayal, Selene didn't flinch from his touch.
He whispered something only she heard.
And then—
The shard lifted.
Spun between them.
And buried itself in him.
---
He gasped.
But did not fall.
The mirror-burn settled in his chest like an ember.
And Selene's light returned to her fingers.
---
It was over.
But not without cost.
Azrael would not stay.
"I'm too much of what she's healing from," he said, nodding at the twins.
Selene clasped his hand one last time.
"I forgive you."
He bowed his head. "I only ever wanted to keep you alive."
---
As he vanished between reflections, Theron whispered, "He still does."
Selene stood taller now.
Brighter.
But her veins still shimmered faintly.
> The thorn was gone.
> But the scar would always remain.
---
That night, the stars reflected clearly in the river again.
And for the first time in weeks—
Selene didn't dream of shattering.
She dreamed of light.
---