The air inside Maria’s bedroom seemed to freeze.
Dante could feel the soft carpet beneath his back while Airam remained braced above him, and Maria stared from inside the full-length mirror with an expression that made the awkward situation far worse than fighting the mirror demon had been.
For several seconds, none of them moved.
Airam could feel the steady warmth of Dante beneath her while Maria looked as though someone had squeezed her heart in an invisible fist.
Three people watched one another from two different worlds, and the silence grew heavier with every passing second.
Dante finally decided someone had to speak.
“Hi, Maria.” He made no immediate attempt to scramble away.
Instead, he remained on the carpet and gave Maria an innocent smile as though they had simply encountered one another in the school hallway.
“Your sister found us a shortcut home.
Very efficient.” Airam almost laughed.
She pushed herself upright and stepped away from Dante before smoothing out her clothes.
Within seconds, she had recovered her usual confidence and looked as though the awkward landing had never happened.
Airam turned toward the mirror.
“What?
Did I scare you?” Maria’s lips moved, but she could not produce an answer.
Her eyes shifted from Airam to Dante before returning to her sister.
Confusion, embarrassment, and hurt appeared across her face.
Maria had surrendered her body because she wanted relief from the life she hated, but she clearly had not considered what it would feel like to watch Airam use that body to grow closer to Dante.
The reflection suddenly flickered.
Maria’s image distorted like an old television losing its signal.
A second later, she vanished completely, leaving the mirror clear enough to show only Airam and the bedroom behind her.
Airam stared at the empty glass.
“See?” She crossed her arms.
“That’s what she always does.
She runs away whenever something becomes uncomfortable.” Dante sat up and brushed several pieces of lint from his clothes.
“Give her some time.” Airam turned toward him.
“She has had years.” “She also just watched her sister fall through a mirror on top of the guy she likes.” Dante rose to his feet.
“That probably deserves at least a few minutes to process.” “We are not having some childish sister argument.” Airam moved toward him one slow step at a time.
Dante watched as she stopped near the edge of the bed.
She leaned forward and placed both hands beside him, leaving enough space that their bodies did not touch.
Her dark eyes seemed different after absorbing the mirror core.
Tiny reflections moved deep within her pupils like distant windows opening and closing.
“Maria and I are completely different people.” Airam held his gaze.
“So tell me, Dante.
Which one do you prefer?” There was nothing timid about the question.
Airam asked it like a challenge and clearly expected him to choose.
Dante looked at the familiar face that belonged to Maria but carried Airam’s confidence, ambition, and dangerous curiosity.
He could still feel the faint chill of the mirror realm around her even though they had already escaped.
A smile appeared on his face.
He raised one finger and gently pressed it against Airam’s forehead, pushing her back just enough to reclaim some space.
“I like both of you together.” Airam blinked.
It took her only a second to recognize the double meaning.
A faint blush appeared across her cheeks before she straightened and recovered her composure.
“Smooth talker.” Dante grinned.
“You asked.” Airam gave him one final look before turning toward the full-length mirror.
She approached the glass and placed one hand against its surface.
The mirror rippled.
Her body transformed into a stream of dark silver light and flowed directly into the reflection.
Within moments, Airam had vanished completely.
Dante stared at the empty room.
He rubbed the side of his nose before quietly laughing.
Life in the Brennan household was about to become very complicated.
The following morning, Dante woke feeling surprisingly refreshed.
Fighting through the mirror realm, destroying a demon, and witnessing the beginning of what promised to be a spectacular sister rivalry had apparently not damaged his ability to sleep.
He entered the bathroom and started the shower.
Warm water filled the room with steam while Dante washed away the last traces of exhaustion from the previous day.
The mirror gradually disappeared behind a layer of fog.
Dante was rinsing shampoo from his hair when a clear human shape appeared inside the clouded glass.
He stopped moving.
Airam stood inside the mirror with her arms crossed and an amused smile on her face.
Dante stared at her through the steam.
“Seriously?” “Good morning.” Airam’s eyes swept over his face and shoulders before her smile became more playful.
“You’re in better shape than I expected.” Dante closed his eyes and allowed the water to rinse the remaining shampoo away.
Once he finished, he reached toward the mirror and wiped the condensation from the glass.
Instead of removing Airam, the movement only made her image clearer.
Dante sighed.
“Your Majesty the Mirror Queen, don’t you have a kingdom to manage?” Airam looked offended by the suggestion.
“My kingdom is perfectly stable.” She turned once inside the mirror as though demonstrating the freedom of her new existence.
“I can appear through almost any reflection now.
Bathroom mirrors, store windows, car mirrors.
It’s fascinating.” “Yes.
Fascinating.” Dante reached for a towel and wiped the water from his face.
“Have you considered that appearing uninvited in someone’s bathroom is extremely creepy?” Airam shrugged.
“You can file a complaint.” “I might.” “With whom?” Dante stared at her.
Airam smiled triumphantly.
“Exactly.” He leaned against the tiled wall and accepted that arguing with a woman capable of traveling between mirrors was probably pointless.
“So why are you here?” “Just delivering a message.” Her playful expression faded slightly.
“Maria gets the body today.” Dante raised an eyebrow.
Airam continued before he could ask.
“We agreed to take turns.
She needs to stop hiding forever, and I occasionally need time inside the mirrors.” Dante suspected Airam needed very little rest after absorbing the Mayflower core.
More likely, Maria had become so upset by the previous night that Airam had decided forcing her sister back into control would prevent the situation from becoming worse.
He nodded.
“That’s probably good for her.” Airam studied his expression.
“Don’t make things difficult.” “Me?” “Yes, you.” Dante placed a hand against his chest in mock offense.
“I’m incredibly considerate.” Airam rolled her eyes.
Before leaving, her expression changed again.
Some of the usual arrogance disappeared and was replaced by something quieter.
“Dante.” He looked toward her.
“Thank you.” There was no teasing in her voice this time.
Dante understood she meant more than saving her from the mirror demon.
Without him, she would never have obtained the core that freed her from being trapped inside a single reflection.
He gave her a small nod.
“You’re welcome.” Airam’s image faded like ink dissolving in water.
Within seconds, only Dante’s reflection remained in the mirror.
The bathroom became quiet except for the sound of running water.
Later that morning, Dante arrived at school and immediately noticed a familiar figure near the lockers.
Maria stood with several books pressed against her chest.
Her head remained lowered while her long bangs partly covered her eyes.
The difference from Airam was impossible to miss.
Airam entered every room as though she owned it.
Maria seemed to apologize merely by existing.
Dante slowed his pace as he approached her.
“Good morning, Maria.” Her entire body stiffened.
Maria slowly looked up and met his eyes for less than a second before immediately glancing away.
A deep blush spread across her cheeks as memories of the previous night clearly returned.
“G-Good morning, Dante.” Her voice was barely audible.
Dante decided not to mention the mirror incident.
Maria already looked ready to disappear through the nearest wall without any supernatural assistance.
Before the silence became uncomfortable, three familiar figures approached from the opposite end of the hallway.
Frank walked beside Jennifer and Needy.
Jennifer looked unusually excited and clearly had news she could not wait to share.
“Did you guys hear what happened at the Mayflower?” Dante and Maria exchanged a quick glance.
Frank adjusted his glasses.
“Everyone heard.
It was all over the news this morning.” Needy looked between them.
“They said it was a fire, right?” “Supposedly.” Frank lowered his voice even though the hallway remained noisy around them.
“The official explanation is an electrical fire caused by old wiring somewhere on the third floor.” Jennifer crossed her arms.
“And you don’t believe that?” “Not completely.” Frank immediately slipped into the analytical mood he used whenever something interested him.
“There are too many strange details.” He raised one finger.
“First, witnesses said the fire spread across most of the third floor almost immediately.
Electrical fires can spread quickly, but the reports make it sound like the entire level ignited at once.” A second finger rose.
“Then there’s the damage.
The third floor was badly burned, but most of the lower floors were almost untouched.
Even the smoke damage was surprisingly limited.” Needy frowned.
“That does sound strange.” “The weirdest part is that nobody died.” Jennifer stared at him.
“You’re complaining about that?” “No.” Frank quickly shook his head.
“I’m saying it’s unusual.
Hundreds of people were inside a building where a fire supposedly spread almost instantly, yet everyone somehow evacuated at exactly the right time.” Dante remained silent.
He knew why.
The fire had not been a normal accident.
It had been part of the mirror demon’s attempt to isolate Airam and drag her into the other world.
Jennifer waved one hand dismissively.
“Whatever happened, my dad already told me I’m never going back.” She leaned closer to the group.
“Shirley from the cheerleading squad has a cousin in the fire department.
He was one of the guys who went inside afterward.” Frank’s interest immediately sharpened.
“What did he say?” Jennifer glanced around before lowering her voice.
“He said the place didn’t look like there had been a normal fire at all.” Enjoyed the chapter?
A review helps a lot.
P1treon: