When All is Lost

29.

"Charlie!" Nate's voice interrupts the terrible maelstrom of events and time. "What did you do to her?" He demands of someone and I force myself back into the world to calm him.

"She shouldn't have touched you, no one should see those visions but you." A female voice speaks firmly.

Nate's arms are around me, as he pulls me to him holding me to his chest.

"I've got you." He whispers into my hair and I realise my cheeks are wet.

I don't cry. I'm a soldier, and soldiers don't sob in the arms of their friends.

We sit like that for what might have been hours or minutes. Time is lost to me as I relive every death, every moment the light went from his eyes. The feel of small hands gripping my neck as my child is pulled from my arms.

Nate doesn't speak, he lets me sit between his legs, his whole body enveloping me as he rocks us gently. His thoughts as far away as mine.

Finally, I come back to myself. To the here and the now. I take a breath, reaching up to wipe my eyes.

"I'm sorry," Nate whispers and I smile.

"For what?" I ask, my cheek resting on his shoulder, so all I can see is his jaw, stubble covering it, scratchy against my skin.

"I don't know. Everything." He smiles, I can feel it.

"Did you see..." I ask but don't ask.

"I saw different futures," He swallows, "none of them good."

"They really don't like us, do they?" I try to joke, but tears leak from my eyes again, betraying just how broken I feel.

Nate doesn't have anything to say to that so we sit a while longer, each lost to our thoughts.

"You should eat." The female voice speaks again and I'm jolted from my grief by the idea that someone has witnessed my breakdown.

I shoot to my feet, standing in front of Nate, years of training and honed instincts telling my body how to move. A woman in a pale blue gown is standing on the other side of the basin, gold thread weaves itself through the dress making it glow softly. This is the woman from the first vision, the one Elissa had choked.

"It's ok," Nate stands stiffly, moving his arms and legs to get them working again. "This is Saras." He sighs, "My mother."

I stare, but the resemblance is impossible to deny. They share the same hair, curling softly as if it wants to show off the copper and golden hints hidden in the dark brown.

I relax slightly, taking in the room again. Reminding myself of the chamber, the caves, where I am and what is happening right now.

"You've had a great shock, no mortal has ever looked into the mirror and survived." Saras says, her voice soft and gentle.

"Charlie's the strongest person I know," Nate says with a nod and I shift uncomfortably, it's as if he's forgotten I've just spent an age curled up crying on his knee.

"Where are we?" I ask.

"Mirror Lake, my lake," Saras answer.

I stare at everything, it's so real, so impossible. Everything is magical, but how? Magic is dead!

"How can this be?" I finally ask and Saras smiles at me.

"We are a little piece of Faery, trapped inside Albion. When I married Leonates I chose Albion, as you know Fae maintain their natural magic. Well, this place, survived the fall. It's in the borderlands and magic loves borders. It likes the grey area on the edge of things and so we have a small piece of natural magic. We are not connected to Faery and so whatever disease Els'Vana created could not eat our magic." She speaks as though all of this should make sense and it did, sort of.