The Other Side Of The Mirror ✔

Part Thirteen

He didn't know how long he sat there on the ground, long enough for his tears to eventually stop and dry up. His mother still sat on his bed through the mirror, hugging his pillow. She had looked up, staring off into the distance once again and showing off her tear stained face. He'd done that to her. He'd made her that sad.

Eli stood, bottom lip trembling. It was time to go home, time to see his mother again and hear her voice. He reached out, hand pressing against the cool frame of the mirror. He could only assume he would go home the same way he arrived, by going through the mirror. It would be hard to explain, but it didn't matter anymore. All he wanted was to go home.

He didn't want to wait out the whole hour. He didn't want to see that horrible version of his face anymore. He couldn't stand it. It was like a terrible nightmare. He had to go now. He had to see if maybe the Mage was wrong about reflections dying, he had to see if Kory was still alive. He didn't want the weight of two of his friend's deaths on his hands.

He grazed the surface with his fingers, feeling the cool glass ripple under his fingers, much like it did when he had been attacked in his room. He could just put his arm through it, then the rest of him, and then he would be home. He would be safe.

Going unnoticed by an emotional Eli, the door shook on its hinges, rattling ominously. It burst open and slammed against the stone brick wall. Eli yelped and pulled his hand away from the mirror. Had the Mage returned? Had it really been that long already? He had to move now, before the Mage hurt him the same way he hurt Korian.

"Eli!" a voice called, relieved and happy. Eli spun with a gasp as Korian ran down the room towards him. He was a blur in the darkness, looking like something out of a nightmare. Eli grunted as he crashed into him, stumbling back a few steps.

Korian pulled him against his chest and wrapped his arms tightly around him. Eli, his mind still struggling to catch up to what was going on, took a second to bunch his hands in the back of Korian's shirt.

"You-you're alive," he whispered into Korian's shoulder. The other man was a warm comfort against him, his arms tight around his body. "How? He told me you were dead." It couldn't be him. He'd heard him scream back in the forest. The Mage had said he was dead. Why would he lie?

"He stabbed me in the stomach," Korian replied, reaching up to hold the back of Eli's head. "He left me there to die. I think he thought I was already dead by the time he left."

Eli frowned in confusion. How was he there, standing right in front of him like the last few days hadn't mattered. "But you're-"

"I am also a mage, Eli. I took from the land to heal my body. I destroyed the clearing. But I could not find you. I thought- I thought you were dead." Korian tightened his grip on him and buried his head in the crook of his neck.

Wet tears fell against his skin and Eli resisted the urge to pull back and wipe them off Korian's face. "Then why are you here?" he asked instead.

"I was going to kill him. I needed to avenge you," he said. "It didn't matter if I wasn't the one who was meant to save the realm. The Mage needed to die and if you were dead..."

"But you would have gotten yourself killed!"

Korian shrugged against him. "Didn't matter. I had to try."

"Korian-"

"I was going to wait for him to come back, but he was already here when I arrived. Then I saw you. I thought he'd brought you in here to kill you, but I had to make sure, so I waited until he was gone." His lips pressed against Eli's neck as he spoke and his breath was warm. "I'm so glad you are alive."