CHAPTER 92: THE CRACK

Vivian’s lips parted but before a single word could escape, the mirror shuddered.

A pulse rippled across the glass like a heartbeat.

BOOM.

The mirror exploded outward, shards flying in every direction.

Elyndra flinched and stumbled back, a sharp sting slicing across her cheek.

"Ah—shit!" she hissed, pressing her palm to her face as a thin line of blood appeared beneath Seraphina’s skin, "You played dirty, Vivian!"

The ground hummed underfoot, vibrating with the aftershock. Dust drifted from the impact.

The sharp, metallic scent of magic crackled in the air.

Elyndra glared at the shattered fragments scattered along the floor... each piece lifeless, blackened, as if scorched from the inside.

Vivian was gone.

Her voice.

Her reflection.

Her presence.

Completely erased.

Elyndra clicked her tongue, annoyed, "Tch. Breaking the mirror?" she muttered. "How childish. And here I thought you finally grew a backbone."

She rolled her eyes dramatically and let out a sigh but before she could finish exhaling, the door to the room slammed open, nearly ripped from its hinges.

"What did you do?!"

Lucian charged toward her, ice swirling around his boots. He seized her face between his hands, desperate, breathless.

"What is happening...?" His voice trembled as much as his fingers. "Sebastian!"

He didn’t dare look away from her as he shouted behind him, "You said you sealed her!"

A soft hiss answered from the doorway.

Cold, low and dangerous.

But before Sebastian could step inside, Elyndra lifted her hand and smiled.

"Hi, Sebastian... miss you..." She tilted her head, directing a playful smirk at the basilisk standing at the entrance.

Sebastian stared at her, he didn’t blink as he monitored something.

His eyes, normally veiled to avoid petrifying anyone, were half-open, slit pupils glowing faintly with venomous green.

It wasn’t a glare.

It was a threat.

"The seal works fine, my lord. She couldn’t hurt herself..." Sebastian replied, voice steady and cold.

"Oh—oh, yes," Elyndra cut in brightly, raising her hand like a child in class. "Someone broke the mirror and ta-da! As expected from Sebastian... the seal works just fine."

Lucian’s head snapped toward her, eyes narrowing.

Sebastian’s fingers twitched at his side, his basilisk aura tightening like a coiled serpent preparing to strike. The air around him shifted quietly, like the moment before venom hits the bloodstream.

Elyndra noticed and she smirked.

"Oh, don’t get all riled up," she teased, wiggling her fingers in Sebastian’s direction. "Your seal kept this body perfectly safe. Not a single scratch on the tummy, see?"

She patted Seraphina’s flat stomach mockingly.

Lucian’s breath almost stopped, "Who?"

Elyndra blinked once, arching Seraphina’s delicate eyebrows, looking confused

"Who?" Lucian’s jaw tightened. His voice dropped into something low, lethal, and too icy. "Who... broke the mirror?"

Elyndra let out a dramatic sigh and waved her hand lazily.

"Oh, that?" she said lightly. "Just an old friend who was stuck between realms... suddenly decided to reminisce."

She fluttered her fingers as if recounting gossip.

"But it’s fine. She’s probably drifting around right now, desperately searching for another big mirror to crawl through."

She paused, then covered her mouth with an exaggerated pout.

"Puff." A mocking laugh slipped out, "Tch. Poor Vivian. She thought she was smart..."

Elyndra leaned in, whispering as if sharing a delicious secret, "But I am smarter."

She muttered the last words under her breath, with a smugness that stabbed through Lucian’s chest.

Lucian looked over his shoulder and sent a signal through his eyes, silent, sharp, and unmistakable.

Sebastian, who immediately understood, bowed his head once and slipped out of the room without a single wasted breath.

The door closed with a soft click.

"I guess to see you, all I needed to do was hurt her?" Elyndra smiled, biting Seraphina’s lip flirtatiously. "Cute how predictable you are."

Lucian’s glare was glacial.

"Touch her body again," he said softly but intimidating enough, "and I’ll kill you right after."

Elyndra placed a hand dramatically over her chest.

"Ouch! Anti-romantic!" She reached out, fingers grazing toward his chest but Lucian caught her wrist instantly.

His grip was hard, unforgiving. Cold enough that frost crept along her skin.

"Although you wear her face," he said, voice low with pure disgust, "my hatred for you is absolute."

Elyndra’s expression flickered, just a second between offense and amusement.

"Hate me all you want..." she purred.

"But for now? I’m going to enjoy being in this body."

She tugged her tongue out playfully, thinking it was cute.

But Lucian didn’t flinch.

His heart burned, silent, molten and murderous.

Because she was right. For now... he couldn’t do anything.

Not without risking Seraphina.

Not without endangering the fragile life inside her.

Not without knowing the way to pull Elyndra out without destroying the body.

Elyndra watched the rage coil beneath his skin and giggled.

"Aww," she cooed, tilting Seraphina’s head innocently, "Look at you holding back. Must be killing you inside."

Lucian’s jaw clenched so tightly frost splintered under his feet.

Her smile widened. "That’s the best part," she murmured.

"You, powerless. Me, perfect. And her..." She tapped her chest, "nowhere to be found."

Lucian’s eyes darkened, a storm gathering behind them.

"Enjoy it," he said quietly.

Elyndra blinked.

"Because when I find the solution..." He leaned forward, his breath cold enough to freeze the air between them, "you will beg me to end you."

For the first time, Elyndra’s smile stiffened, only a fraction.

But she hid it behind a laugh, flicking Seraphina’s hair over her shoulder.

Elyndra flicked Seraphina’s hair over her shoulder and turned away from him with a smug sway in her steps, fully enjoying every second of her borrowed body.

"Then hurry, Lucian," she taunted. "Because I’m not planning to leave this body anytime soon."

She walked toward the wardrobe, humming under her breath, admiring her reflection in every shiny surface she passed.

Completely unaware.

Utterly oblivious.

Behind her, Lucian’s fists trembled and the room creaked under the strain of barely contained magic.

She thought she had all the control.

She thought she understood the situation.

And she also thought the one who broke the mirror was Vivian but she was completely wrong.

Because the burst of the mirror... the pulse that shook the room... the violent crack of magic that sent glass flying had nothing to do with Vivian.

It was Seraphina.