Rise Of The Mirror King

Chapter 9: BlackWood

The journey to Blackwood took most of the day. I spent most of it staring through the carriage window, watching the landscape change — the academy disappearing behind us, replaced by rolling hills, thick forests, and distant mountains whose peaks vanished into the clouds.

I should have been relieved. Instead, I couldn't stop thinking about the two girls. Two students were dead, and someone had written my name in blood.

And now I was going home. Home. The word felt strange. I had a home here, apparently — a family. A father, a mother, and a younger sister who knew me as Symon Wardreth. I knew almost nothing about them, yet some part of me did. That was the worst part.

Now and then, a memory surfaced without warning — a voice, a room, a laugh, a hand grabbing mine. They weren't my memories. At least, they shouldn't have been. But they lived somewhere inside me.

By the time the carriage passed through the gates of Blackwood, I had stopped trying to make sense of it.

The Wardreth estate stood beyond a long stone path surrounded by tall trees, the house enormous and built from dark stone, several towers rising above the main structure. I stared at it.

"This is home?"

Argustin glanced at me. "You've been away too long, Lord Wardreth."

I looked back at the house. Maybe he was right.

The carriage stopped at the front steps, and before Argustin could open the door, it flew open from the inside. A girl came running down the steps.

"Symon!"

She nearly collided with me, throwing her arms around me before I had time to react. I stiffened, then something inside me loosened.

A memory flashed — the same girl, younger, running through a field. Symon! Wait for me! Another followed, her sitting beside me beneath a tree. Another, her asleep against my shoulder.

I looked down at her. She had grown. I knew that somehow.

"Vax?"

She pulled back, her face bright with excitement. "You remembered."

The smile on her face made me feel guilty. "Of course I did."

She hugged me again. "I thought you were never coming back."

"I was gone for a few months."

"Still." She stepped away and looked me over. "You look different."

"Different how?"

"I don't know." She narrowed her eyes. "You just do."

A woman appeared behind her, elegant, composed, and unmistakably relieved. "Let him breathe, Vaxilith."

"I'm fine, Mother." Vax turned. "Mother!"

Lixir smiled and opened her arms, and I stepped forward. She hugged me tightly, and for a moment I didn't know what to do. Then I felt her hand against the back of my head.

"You're home." Three simple words. Something inside my chest tightened.

"Yeah."

She pulled away and held my face between her hands. "You're thinner."

"I've been busy."

"You've always been terrible at taking care of yourself."

I smiled. "I've missed you too."

Her eyes softened. Then a deep voice came from behind her. "Enough."

I looked up. A man stood at the entrance — tall, broad, his dark hair streaked with silver, his expression carrying the sort of authority that made everyone around him instinctively straighten. Arin Wardreth. My father. He studied me for several seconds, then nodded. "Welcome home, son."

"Father."

He stepped forward and placed a hand on my shoulder, his grip firm. "You look well."

"I am." The answer came too quickly. Something flickered across his face, then he released me. "Come inside. Your mother has had the entire kitchen preparing since dawn."

Vax grabbed my arm. "I helped."

"You ate half of what they prepared," Lixir said.

"That was quality control."

I laughed. It came naturally. For the first time since arriving in Odbeara, I felt something close to normal. For a few hours, I almost forgot that I wasn't supposed to be here.

Dinner was supposed to be a celebration, and at first, it was. The table was crowded with food, and Vax talked almost nonstop, telling me everything that had happened while I was away — she had been studying every day, she had already received her academy robes, she had been practicing her mana control, and, most importantly, she was joining the academy next year.

"I'll finally be there with you." She grinned.

I smiled back. "Don't expect me to babysit you."

"I won't need you to."

Arin chuckled. "She'll need someone to keep her out of trouble."

Vax rolled her eyes. "I don't cause trouble."

I looked at her. She looked at me. We both laughed.

Then Father asked about my studies. "How did your final assessments go?"

"Fine."

"Fine?"

I nodded. "Very fine."

"And your practical examinations?"

"Fine."

He frowned. "Your instructors say otherwise."

I glanced at Vax. She suddenly found her plate very interesting.

"Careless?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

"No, actually, I don't."

"You've been skipping classes. Disobeying instructors. Picking fights."

"I didn't pick—"

"And now," he continued, "two students are dead."

The table went quiet. Vax stopped eating. Mother looked at him. "Arin."

"I am not accusing him."

"It certainly sounds like it."

He looked at me. "The academy is investigating. Until they conclude, I expect you to keep your head down."

"I didn't kill anyone."

"I know." The certainty in his voice surprised me.

"You do?"

"You're my son." He leaned back. "But that doesn't mean I approve of your behavior."

I said nothing.

"You've become reckless, Symon."

"I saved people."

"And nearly got yourself killed doing it."

"I'd do it again."

Father's jaw tightened. "That is exactly the problem."

I stared at him. "What do you want from me?"

"Discipline."

"I have discipline."

Vax quietly muttered, "That's debatable." I shot her a look. She smiled. Father didn't.

"I've spent years building your future," he said. "And you're throwing it away."

"My future?"

"Yes." He placed his cup down. "I have already spoken with the Blazing Sun Guild."

My expression changed. "What?"

"They are willing to take you."

I stared at him. "The Blazing Sun?"

"Yes."

"You're serious?"

"Very."

The Blazing Sun was one of the most powerful guilds in the kingdom. Even I knew that.

"You've been pulling strings behind my back?"

"I've been doing what a father should do."

"I don't need you to arrange my life."

"You clearly need someone to."

The words hit harder than they should have. I pushed my chair back. "I said I don't need it."

"You will join them."

"No."

"Symon."

"I said no."

The room went silent. Father's eyes hardened. "You have no idea what opportunities you're throwing away."

"Maybe I don't want the life you've planned for me."

"You don't know what you want."

"Neither do you."

His expression changed. I stood. "I'm done."

"Sit down."

I walked away. "Symon." I didn't stop. I left the dining hall and slammed the door behind me.

I ended up outside. The night air was cold, and I sat on the stone steps behind the house, staring at the dark gardens. I didn't know why the argument had affected me so much. Father hadn't even been cruel. He was worried. He wanted me to join the Blazing Sun. He wanted me to become someone worthy of the Wardreth name. The problem was that I wasn't sure the person he was talking to was his son.

I looked down at my hands. "Who am I?"

No answer came. Grey remained silent. For once, I was glad.

Footsteps approached from behind. I didn't turn.

"I knew I'd find you here."

Vax sat beside me. For a while, neither of us spoke. Then she bumped my shoulder. "You're an idiot."

I smiled faintly. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Silence again.

"You shouldn't have fought with Father."

"He shouldn't have decided my future for me."

"He does that."

"I noticed."

She smiled. Then her expression changed. "Are you really okay?"

I looked at her. "I don't know."

That seemed to worry her. I sighed. "Vax, there's something I need to tell you."

She turned toward me. "What?"

"I don't know how to explain it."

"Try."

I stared at the garden. "I'm not exactly the person you think I am."

Her smile faded. "What does that mean?"

"I remember another life." She said nothing. "Another world."

Her brow furrowed. "I know how that sounds."

"Symon…"

"My name is Simon."

She stared at me.

"But I'm also Symon." I rubbed my palms together. "Grey says I'm a Twin-Souled. Someone who exists in two worlds."

Vax remained silent.

"There's another version of me. Simon Ward. He lived on Earth. He had a family there. Friends. A life." Her eyes began to glisten. "And I'm him."

She shook her head slowly. "No."

"I know it's difficult."

"No."

"Vax—"

"You're my brother."

"I am."

"You just said you're not."

"I said I'm not only—"

"You're not my brother?" Her voice cracked.

I immediately turned toward her. "That isn't what I meant."

She wiped at her eyes. "Then what did you mean?"

"I mean that I'm both."

"But you said you're Simon."

"I am."

"And Symon?"

"Yes."

She stared at me as though trying to find someone hiding behind my face. "So you're telling me that my brother is gone?"

"No."

"Then where is he?"

"I'm here."

"Which one?"

I couldn't answer. That was enough. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I don't understand."

"I know."

"You don't want to be my brother anymore?"

"What?"

"You said you're not really my brother."

"I never said that."

"You did."

"I said I'm someone else too."

She stood. "You don't want this family."

"That isn't true."

"You want to go back."

I stood as well. "I don't even know if I can."

"Then why are you telling me this?"

"Because you're my sister." The words came out before I could stop them. "And I don't want to lie to you."

She covered her face. A sob escaped her. I felt something tear inside my chest. I stepped toward her. She backed away.

"Vax."

"Don't."

I stopped. She looked at me through tears. "I've been waiting for you."

"I know."

"I thought you'd come home and we'd finally go to the academy together."

"You will."

"And now you're telling me you're not even my brother."

"I am."

"Then say it."

I swallowed. "You're my sister."

She shook her head. "Say it like you mean it."

I stepped closer. "You're my little sister, Vax."

She broke down. I pulled her into my arms, and this time she didn't resist. She buried her face against my chest and cried, and I held her tightly. As I did, memories came rushing through me — Vax as a child, Vax falling asleep on my back, Vax following me everywhere, Vax crying after scraping her knee, me promising I would always protect her.

They weren't my memories. But they were mine. Somewhere along the way, I realized the distinction didn't matter anymore. She was my sister. Maybe I wasn't the Symon she remembered. Maybe I wasn't entirely Simon either. But when she clung to me, none of that mattered.

"I won't leave you," I whispered.

She gripped my coat tighter. "You promise?"

I closed my eyes. "I promise."

And for the first time since waking up in Odbeara, I understood something. I didn't need to remember every moment of the life Symon had lived to care about the people he had loved. Some things were already inside me.