EMBER’S POV
The mirror never lied.
That was what I had always believed.
No matter how carefully I arranged myself, no matter how steady my voice sounded, the mirror would always catch what slipped through.
So I watched it closely.
My expression was calm.
My posture was perfect.
My hands—steady.
Good.
I adjusted the front of my gown, smoothing out a crease that didn’t exist. The room was quiet behind me, the kind of quiet that should have been comforting.
It wasn’t.
“Ember.”
I didn’t turn immediately.
I knew that voice.
“You shouldn’t be walking in without permission,” I said.
Julio didn’t respond to that.
I could feel him there anyway, his presence familiar, solid, unmoving.
“He spoke to you again,” he said.
I met my own reflection.
“He’s been speaking to everyone.”
“Th
