Chapter 12
1285 Words
Amber barely slept after Lucian told her his name.
It stayed in her head long after the whisper had faded from the room.
Lucian.
The name felt strange against her thoughts, heavy somehow, like it carried meaning she couldn’t understand yet. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him standing in the shadows beyond the mirror, silver eyes fixed on hers as though he could see straight through her.
And worse—
Part of her wanted him to.
Morning came slowly, grey light slipping through the thin gap in her curtains. Amber sat curled beneath her blanket, staring at the mirror across the room.
It looked normal again.
Just glass.
Just her reflection.
No writing.
No distorted shadows.
No whispers.
But she knew better now.
Her fingers tightened around the edge of the blanket.
Because something had changed the moment he spoke his name aloud.
The connection felt stronger.
Closer.
Like a thread had been tied between them.
A quiet knock sounded downstairs, making Amber jump.
“Amber?” her mum called. “You awake?”
“Yeah,” Amber answered quickly, forcing steadiness into her voice.
“You coming down?”
“In a minute.”
She waited until she heard footsteps move away before climbing out of bed. The floorboards creaked beneath her feet as she crossed the room toward the mirror again.
For a long moment, she simply stared at herself.
Normal girl.
Normal room.
So why did she feel like none of that was true anymore?
Her eyes drifted to the corner of the glass.
For half a second—
She thought she saw movement behind her reflection.
Amber spun around instantly.
Nothing.
Her room stood empty.
But when she looked back at the mirror, her reflection was still facing forward.
Not turned around like she was.
Amber’s breath stopped.
Slowly—
Very slowly—
The reflection lifted its head.
And smiled.
Not her smile.
His.
Then the image snapped back to normal.
Amber stumbled backwards so fast she nearly hit the desk behind her.
“Nope,” she muttered shakily. “Absolutely not.”
She grabbed the nearest hoodie and pulled it over her head before hurrying downstairs, trying to ignore the way her pulse refused to settle.
The kitchen smelled like toast and coffee. Her mum stood by the counter scrolling through her phone while the television played quietly in the background.
For one brief second, the normality of it all made Amber feel ridiculous.
Maybe she really was losing it.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” her mum said without looking up.
Amber forced a small smile. “Morning.”
“You look pale.”
“Didn’t sleep well.”
“That obvious?”
“A little.”
Amber poured herself a drink, trying to steady her hands enough that her mum wouldn’t notice them shaking.
She almost succeeded.
Almost.
“You sure you’re okay?” her mum asked softly this time.
Amber hesitated.
For one dangerous moment, she nearly told her everything.
About the mirror.
The whispers.
Lucian.
But the words stayed trapped in her throat because how could any of it possibly sound real?
“I’m fine,” she lied.
Her mum studied her carefully but thankfully let it go.
Amber looked toward the television instead, only half paying attention to the morning news until a single sentence caught her attention.
“…another unexplained disappearance…”
Her head snapped up.
The screen showed blurred police tape outside a wooded area just outside town.
Amber’s stomach twisted instantly.
“The victim was reportedly last seen near Blackthorne Forest late Tuesday evening—”
She muted the television so fast her mum blinked at her.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Amber said quickly.
But her heart was racing now.
Blackthorne Forest.
The same woods from her dreams.
The same woods where she always felt watched.
Her mum frowned. “Amber?”
“I said I’m fine.”
The sharpness in her voice surprised even her.
Silence fell between them.
Amber grabbed her drink and backed toward the doorway.
“I’m going upstairs.”
Before her mum could answer, she hurried back to her room and shut the door harder than she meant to.
Her breathing came too fast now.
Disappearing people.
The whispers.
Lucian.
None of this could still be coincidence.
Could it?
The mirror stood exactly where she left it.
Waiting.
Amber approached it slowly this time.
“You know something,” she whispered.
Her reflection stared back silently.
Then—
The surface rippled.
Like water disturbed by invisible fingers.
Amber froze.
Darkness spread across the glass in thin twisting veins until the reflection disappeared entirely.
And suddenly—
He was there.
Lucian stood inside the mirror as clearly as if he were on the other side of a doorway.
Tall.
Still.
Beautiful in the kind of way storms were beautiful.
His silver eyes locked onto hers instantly.
“You shouldn’t keep calling for me,” he said quietly.
Amber’s heart slammed against her ribs. “I wasn’t calling you.”
A faint smile touched his mouth.
“You were thinking loudly.”
“That’s not a thing.”
“For you, maybe.”
She hated how calm he sounded.
How calm he always sounded.
Like nothing in the world could truly touch him.
Amber folded her arms tightly across her chest. “People are disappearing.”
Lucian’s expression darkened slightly.
“Yes.”
“You know why?”
Silence.
That alone was answer enough.
Fear curled coldly through her stomach.
“Lucian…”
The way his name left her mouth changed something.
She saw it happen instantly.
His entire expression softened for the briefest moment, something vulnerable flickering beneath all that control.
And suddenly Amber realised—
No one called him that gently.
Maybe no one had for a very long time.
“You need to stay away from the forest,” he said.
“That’s not an explanation.”
“It’s the only warning I can give.”
Amber stepped closer to the mirror without meaning to.
“Who are you?”
For the first time since meeting him, Lucian looked uncertain.
Not dangerous.
Not unreadable.
Just… tired.
“I don’t remember all of it anymore,” he admitted softly.
That caught her completely off guard.
“What do you mean?”
“The longer you exist between worlds, the less human memory survives.”
Amber stared at him.
“Between worlds?”
Lucian’s jaw tightened slightly, as if he regretted saying even that much.
“You shouldn’t know about me.”
“Too late for that.”
A quiet breath escaped him—almost a laugh.
Amber’s chest tightened unexpectedly.
She should have been terrified.
Maybe she was.
But fear wasn’t the only thing she felt anymore.
And that scared her far more.
The room suddenly grew colder.
Lucian’s expression changed instantly.
Sharp.
Alert.
“What is it?” Amber whispered.
He looked past her shoulder toward the bedroom door.
“They found you faster than I expected.”
Her blood ran cold.
“What do you mean found me?”
A loud bang echoed downstairs.
Amber jumped violently.
Her mum shouted something she couldn’t make out.
Then silence.
Terrible silence.
Lucian stepped closer inside the mirror, his voice suddenly urgent.
“Amber, listen to me carefully.”
Fear crashed through her chest.
“What’s happening?”
“You must not open that door.”
Another bang.
Closer this time.
The lights flickered overhead.
Amber turned toward the hallway, panic rising fast—
Then froze as a shadow slid slowly beneath her bedroom door.
Not natural.
Not human.
Watching.
And behind her, Lucian whispered one chilling sentence.
“They know your name now.”
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