Chapter 4 - THE ROOM WITH NO REFLECTION
Ella asked that every mirror in her chamber be covered. She told the attendants the reflections made her headaches worse.
Adrian believed her until he found three servants carrying a shattered mirror toward the furnace. Golden light leaked from the broken pieces.
The youngest servant, Mara, confessed that Ella’s image sometimes spoke when Ella remained silent. It asked where the glass slipper was kept and whether the eastern tower still contained the Moon Door.
There was no Moon Door on any palace plan.
Adrian searched the tower with Captain Rowan, his oldest friend. Behind a tapestry, they found an arch of silver stone sealed by royal wax from the reign of Adrian’s grandmother. Seven names had been carved into the frame. Six were scratched away. The final name was Aurelia.
Queen Mother Helena refused to explain it.
“Some doors protect us by remaining forgotten,” she said.
“Did Grandmother seal a fairy behind that wall?”
Helena’s composure cracked. “Do not use that word where the glass can hear you.”
That night, Adrian returned to Ella’s chamber. She slept with one hand under the pillow. Beneath her skin, faint threads of golden light moved toward her wrist.
He touched her gently. The light vanished.
Ella woke in terror and clutched his hand. “Please don’t leave me alone with her.”
“With whom?”
May you like
Ella looked toward the covered mirror.
“The woman whose face I’m wearing.”
