Chapter 2: Eira

Eira stumbled backward, her vision swimming as she nearly lost her footing. The mirror loomed in front of her, its surface smooth and untarnished, yet it held an undeniable presence—a reflection that wasn’t her own. She steadied herself, taking slow, deliberate breaths, and forced her trembling legs to move. Step by step, she approached the mirror, her crystalline blue eyes locked on the faint imprint of the girl she had seen. Her fingertips brushed the cold glass, sending a sharp chill up her arm. Instinctively, she withdrew her hand, clutching her chest as warmth surged through her veins—a foreign, fiery sensation she couldn’t explain.

Eira’s breathing grew uneven, her pulse quickening. “It’s just the training,” she muttered, trying to reassure herself. But even as the thought crossed her mind, she knew it wasn’t true. The heat, the vision—it was more than exhaustion. It lingered, vivid and alive, like the fire of the girl’s image had taken root inside her. She shook her head and turned away, desperate to escape the weight of what she had seen.

The hallway was quiet as Eira stepped through the door. Her family had gone out for dinner, leaving her behind as they always did. She had grown used to their absence, but tonight, the silence felt heavier. “Ms. Eira, why are you out of your room?” Nanny Samantha’s voice broke the stillness, drawing Eira’s attention to the figure swathed in an impossibly puffy dress. It was as though the fabric might swallow her whole. Eira chuckled softly despite herself. “Oh, Nanny, why do you wear that when we’re alone?” she teased.

Nanny Samantha rolled her eyes but smiled. “You know the rules, Ms. Eira. I must stay in uniform at all times. Besides, it always gives you a laugh.”

Eira reached out and grasped Nanny’s hand. “Nanny, I saw... someone. A girl in the mirror.” Her voice was a whisper, tinged with hesitation. “She had red hair, and her skin—there were marks, like feathers. I felt her pain, like something terrible had happened to her. Do you know of such a girl in the kingdom?”

Nanny Samantha furrowed her brows, her expression flickering between confusion and concern. “Oh, Ms. Eira, I think you’ve been working too hard. Imagining things now, are we?” she said lightly, but Eira could sense the tension behind her words.

“Nanny, it wasn’t imagination. It was real. I felt her heat—inside me, as if she—”

“Enough!” Nanny Samantha cut her off sharply. “Ms. Eira, this is nonsense. Don’t upset your parents with such things, do you hear me? You know how fragile they think you are.”

Eira lowered her head and whispered, “Yes, Nanny.” Her voice trembled with the effort to push her doubts away.

“Now come, your dinner is ready,” Nanny said, her tone softening as she gestured toward the dining hall. Eira followed obediently, the grand table stretching out before her like a reminder of all she couldn’t have—her parents’ approval, their understanding, their presence. As she waited for her meal, the memory of the mirror flickered at the edges of her thoughts. But she shook her head fiercely, refusing to let it overwhelm her.

Her solitude was shattered as footsteps echoed behind her. King Alex strode into the room, his presence commanding and sharp. Eira’s pulse quickened as she rose shakily to her feet. “Father,” she stammered, her voice barely audible.

His gaze locked onto the cold pasta in front of her, then shifted to Nanny Samantha. “What is this?” he roared, his voice booming through the hall. “You dare feed my daughter this trash?”

Eira’s body froze as her father stormed toward Nanny Samantha, his hand raised to strike. But before the blow could land, Eira stepped forward, her body shielding Nanny from the slap. The impact hit her with the force of thunder, and the room seemed to still in stunned silence.

King Alex recoiled, his breath catching in his throat as he watched his daughter—watched something unnatural unfold before his very eyes.

Her once serene blue gaze had shifted into a violent tempest of red and ice-blue, swirling like opposing storms trapped within her pupils. Power crackled through the air, warping the temperature, sending waves of frost creeping over the floor.

"Eira," he whispered, his voice faltering, struggling to recognize the child he had raised.

But Eira didn’t respond.

Her breath was ragged, uneven, as her trembling hand lifted—and then, with a force she hadn’t known she possessed, ice exploded outward, spilling across the polished marble, freezing the dining hall in a matter of seconds.

A web of frost shot forward, twisting up the legs of the ornate table, creeping toward her father, trapping his feet where he stood.

The shock in his eyes shifted to fear.

He had seen magic—seen power wielded by sorcerers in the far reaches of the kingdom.

But never like this.

Never from his own daughter.

The air thickened, turning frigid, stealing warmth from the torches lining the room.

Eira couldn’t stop it.

The storm inside her—the fire, the ice, the clash of two opposing forces—was tearing through her limbs, demanding release.

She gasped, eyes burning, vision tunneling as she prepared to unleash everything—

Then—arms wrapped around her, pulling her back.

A voice, soft and desperate, broke through the chaos.

"It’s all right, Eira," Nanny Samantha whispered, holding her tightly, tears streaming down her face. "It’s all right."

Eira’s body shuddered.

Her breath slowed.

The fire faded.

The ice withdrew.

And when she blinked, her eyes were blue again—not red, not a storm, but the familiar calming shade she had always known.

Her strength failed, and she collapsed into Nanny’s arms, her body shaking uncontrollably.

"I don’t know what’s happening to me," she sobbed, her voice breaking under the weight of everything she couldn’t understand.

For a fleeting moment, the dining hall was silent, the only sound her trembling breath and the faint crackling of ice still spreading in slow curls along the floor.

Then—her father stepped back, his face pale, his body rigid with disgust.

His voice came sharp, cold enough to cut through her like steel.

"You are no daughter of mine."

Eira jerked back, her chest tightening, the words striking deeper than any blade.

No.

Not that.

Not him.

Her father turned away, already dismissing her, already erasing her from his sight.

"Go to your room."

The command was final.

The rejection absolute.

Eira didn’t fight.

Couldn’t.

She turned, her feet barely carrying her, fleeing the hall, her cries echoing down the corridors like a haunting wind.

Behind her, Nanny Samantha stood frozen in place, her hands trembling, her heart breaking.

Then—King Alex’s sharp voice rose again, harsher than before.

"Get that woman out of my sight. She is never to set foot in this kingdom again."

The guards moved swiftly.

Nanny Samantha was dragged away, her own cries lost in the distance, swallowed by the walls of a kingdom that had just abandoned them both.

And as Eira collapsed onto her bed, her body curling into itself, she felt the cold that had consumed the dining hall still buried deep inside her—unrelenting, inescapable.

She wasn’t just alone.

She was something else entirely.

Something she didn’t understand.

And if her father’s words held any truth—

Something she should fear.