“But how do we use it to escape?” the Wolf asked.
Narcissus shrugged. “I've been trying to escape for years. I used to stand before that glass portal and scream and wave at the people I saw beyond it, all to no avail.”
“Da, ve learned zat,” Kirill muttered.
“So, you went home and found the place deserted,” I got Narcissus back to his story.
“Not only were there no servants in the palace, but the nearby village was also abandoned,” Narcissus said. “I was terrified. I walked for hours, trying to find another person. And then I reached the end.”
“The end of what?” the Wolf asked.
“The Mirror,” Narcissus said simply. “This place is finite; it encompasses the forest, the area that was once a village, and about a mile beyond. It's large enough, I suppose, but not endless.”
“What does the end look like?” I asked.
“A mirror, what else?” Narcissus laughed grimly. “I didn't realize it until I approached it and saw my own reflection staring back at me. With a cursory glance, it looks as if the forest continues forever, but it's actually surrounded by a mirror that extends up into the sky beyond sight.”
“What happened to the village?” I asked.
“I erased it.” Narcissus grimaced. “I hated seeing it empty. It just made me feel more alone.”
“An enchanted mirror,” I muttered. “Bound to a god. What type of magic do you have, Narcissus?”
“Just a bit of water magic from my father,” he said. “He was a river god. My mom was a nymph; I got my beauty from her.”
“Water magic,” the Wolf murmured. “That's why you built your palace on a lake.”
“Yes; I can manipulate the lake in most seasons,” Narcissus said. “But alas, you're here in Winter, and I can't work with ice.”
“Does your magic work the same in here as it did before?” I asked.
“It's a poor reflection of itself,” Narcissus said sadly and grimaced. “As are all things here.”
“That's why my star petered out,” I muttered. “Great.”
“I've never had other gods here,” Narcissus said. “I have no idea how your magic will fare. But I do know that the Mirror absorbs humans after they die. So, perhaps it would be best if you didn't attempt to use your magic until you're absolutely certain that you need it.”
“The Mirror absorbs corpses?” the Wolf asked slowly.
“It seems to.” Narcissus shrugged. “The bodies just disappear.”
“They're sacrifices,” I whispered. “Your mirror is taking sacrifices; that's how it's sustaining you.”
“Do you think so?” Narcissus didn't look the least bit disturbed by the possibility. But then, he'd been put into the Mirror back when sacrifices were normal.
“It would explain how you've been able to do all of this.” I gestured at the room. “You're not connected to the God Realm so the Mirror would need a source of power.”
“Especially if it has to revive your immortality,” the Wolf added.
“How often do you get visitors?” Kirill asked Narcissus.
“I don't really know,” Narcissus said with a frown. “Time became irrelevant after the first fifty years. If I had to guess; perhaps every century.”
“That's about how long it takes for an Apple of Immortality to wear off,” the Wolf noted. “Makes sense that an enchanted object would run out of juice in the same amount of time.”
“How long has it been since you had your last visitor?” I asked the question that was really bothering me.
Narcissus thought about it and frowned. “Probably about a hundred years.”
“So, it's time for a refill,” I said with grim looks at my men. “Except the Mirror can't eat us.”
“Vhat vill happen if it starves?” Kirill asked.
“That's a damn good question.” I looked at Narcissus for the answer.
“Fuck if I know,” Narcissus huffed.
I scowled at him. Something was off, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
“I guess we'll find out,” the Wolf said cryptically.
Chapter Seven
We talked until we were all exhausted, but none of us could come up with a way out of the Mirror. Finally, we admitted defeat for the evening, and Narcissus showed us to a guest room.
His palace was bizarrely beautiful; something out of a dream. Things like gravity didn't seem to matter there. We walked up a spiraling ribbon of glass that led to the second floor and then down a corridor of reflective mist. The mist dissipated as Narcissus walked past it; hardening into walls of pure silver. The floor shifted as well, rippling out with every step we took like the struck surface of a pond. The whole place felt very fluid as if it could melt away at any second and reform into something else.
The bedroom we finally entered was round and airy just like the room we'd found Narcissus in. It had a peaked roof that looked like the inside of a minaret, and I concluded that we must be at the top of one of the spindly towers. But I couldn't conceive of how we'd gotten there. We hadn't entered a tower stairwell, and there was no way that initial glass swath had taken us high enough to reach the top of a tower. Yet, when I made my way to the delicate balcony of filigree silver and stone, I had a bird's eye view of Narcissus' world. It was curious but not entirely startling for me. Castle Aithinne in Faerie behaved in a similar fashion. When taking the stairs, the magic of the castle would often shorten the distance, and I'd end up on the top floor far faster than I should have gotten there.
“Allow me,” Narcissus said as he joined me.
Narcissus waved his hand and light bloomed over the land; night to day in three seconds flat. I gaped at him.
“I have near complete control here.” Narcissus smiled smugly.
My husbands joined us to gawk at the brightly-lit world. I peered over the balcony's edge and saw the impossibly narrow tower falling away beneath me several hundred feet. The palace gleamed around the thin column and seemed to pulse with energy. From that height,
