The house was silent.
Not the kind of silence that comforts. The kind that presses in on you, heavy and waiting. After the mirror flared and Noel vanished again, Ethan sat on the floor, knees pulled to his chest, breath shallow.
He didn't understand what he had seen.
The shadow. Noel's warning. The word: reflection.
He looked over at the photograph again—the one with "Thorne, 1886" scribbled on the back. The same face. Noel's face. But a name he hadn't heard before. Was it his real name? A secret identity? Or something darker?
Ethan spent the next day researching.
He skipped school. Instead, he spent hours at the old public library, flipping through dusty local records, family trees, and anything that might mention the Reed family estate or anyone named Thorne.
And finally, he found something.
A newspaper clipping from 1892. The headline read: "Tragedy at Reed Hollow: Boy Vanishes Into Glass."
The article was faded and torn, but the story was there. A noble family, a celebration, a shattered mirror. A missing child. No body. No explanation. Only one strange note left behind by a younger brother:
> "He's still here. Just on the other side."
Ethan's blood ran cold.
He had no doubt. That missing boy was Noel.
He hurried home, heart pounding. The mirror was still dark—but this time, he didn't wait for it to light up. He touched the surface gently, whispering:
"Noel. I know your secret."
The mirror pulsed once. Then twice.
And Noel appeared.
His face was pale, his eyes wide. "You shouldn't have looked."
"I had to. I needed to know the truth."
Noel turned, as if expecting someone else to be watching. "If you keep digging, the mirror will start revealing more than you want to see."
Ethan stepped closer. "You mean your brother. He's still here, isn't he?"
Noel looked pained. "He's not my brother anymore. He's the one who turned the mirror into a prison."
Ethan's throat tightened. "Why would he do that?"
Noel's expression darkened. "Because he wanted to be king. And I was in his way."
That night, the mirror didn't just glow.
It opened.
Ethan stepped through without hesitation this time. The Silver Garden was colder now, darker. The trees whispered more loudly, and shadows moved between them like smoke.
Noel led him down a path Ethan hadn't seen before. Through tall vines and arches carved in pale stone. To a broken palace at the center of the garden.
It was breathtaking.
But dead.
Cracked marble. Vines growing through shattered windows. A throne broken in two.
"This was my home," Noel said quietly. "Until he betrayed me."
Ethan placed a hand on the wall. "Why show me this now?"
Noel turned to him. "Because you deserve to know what you're stepping into. The mirror realm isn't just magical. It's cursed. Everyone who touches its truth is changed."
Ethan met his eyes. "You think I'm scared?"
Noel gave a small smile. "No. That's why I let you in."
Just then, a sound echoed through the ruined halls.
Footsteps.
Heavy. Slow.
Ethan froze. Noel's expression turned to stone. "We need to leave."
But before they could move, a figure stepped from the shadows.
He looked like Noel. Same face. Same voice.
But golden eyes.
"Welcome back, brother," he said.
Noel pushed Ethan behind him. "Don't speak to him."
The reflection smiled. "You brought a new one. Let's see how long this one lasts."
Ethan's heart pounded as the mirror realm cracked around him.
And the palace began to tremble