My sleep was fitful, disturbed by visions of a handsome prince with piercing blue eyes who looked down into an elaborate handheld mirror reflecting an image of me tossing and turning in my bed. Every time I woke, I found myself in a cold sweat, clutching my blankets around my neck.

As the hours passed, a new thought crept into my mind. I couldn’t believe it had taken so long to occur to me. If the mirror could be used only by royals, and only to see your own people, would it not be possible for it to show me Lily? I might not be able to use it to communicate with her, but I could at least reassure myself of her safety.

But the Beast had already refused to let me see it. And if he considered it a bargaining chip, something to use to pressure me into agreeing to our wedding, I would never convince him to change his mind. Which meant I needed to find it on my own.

By the time the sun rose, I had given up on sleep entirely and was busy planning. After his attempt to bar me from his wing of the palace, I felt sure I would find the mirror there. But I would need to ensure that the Beast himself was absent before beginning my search. I hadn’t seen him wandering around the palace except for when he had found me in his wing. I suspected he spent most of his time there.

The only other place I had seen him outside of meals was with his stallion. And Matthew, the stable master, seemed to have a privileged position with him. I would wait until he went to visit his stallion, and then I would find the mirror and finally see Lily.

I could see the corner of the stable building from my window, but I would need a clearer view to ensure I didn’t miss his arrival. Which meant finding a better position somewhere in the castle. I tried to remember the many rooms I had visited on that side of the building.

Hours later I wistfully watched the sun shining on the flowers and reflecting from the snow. I still hadn’t explored the gardens, and they looked much more appealing than the hard seat I had managed to drag over to the window of the unused chamber. But I didn’t want to miss the Beast leaving the castle. I thought of my sister, and the emptiness in my mind without her familiar presence. It would all be worth it if I could get even a glimpse of her and be sure she was well.

As the angle of the sun crept around and the warm rays shone directly onto me, I found it hard to keep my eyes open and my mind alert. My lids kept drifting shut, my bad night’s sleep catching up with me. I eyed the dusty bed longingly.

I had asked Lottie to deliver a midday meal to me here, carefully putting in the request when Tara wasn’t around, to ensure I wouldn’t be questioned for wishing to spend the day in a random, unused bedchamber. But even the food failed to completely dispel the sleepiness.

I had just finished pacing the length of the room to stay awake, when I returned to the window and noticed movement. Instantly all fatigue dropped away, energy coursing through me at the sight of the Beast’s bulky frame striding toward the stables. I forced myself to wait until he had disappeared inside.

As soon as I was sure he had gone to visit his stallion, I raced from the room, my feet flying as I headed straight for the Beast’s wing. As I twisted and turned through the castle, I felt proud of myself for remembering Gordon’s tour. All of the corridors looked the same, and it made navigation difficult for anyone who had not grown up familiar with the building. I would have to arrange to have some tapestries hung and statues placed in available niches.

I had taken two more turns and was passing the portrait gallery when it occurred to me that for an unthinking moment I had been considering myself the actual mistress of this castle. Planning improvements to it for when I might host guests here. I shook myself. I could not allow myself to be lulled into forgetting this was a large prison, not a home.

I didn’t slow as I raced past the door to the gallery. In the many hours since I had first conceived of this plan, I had considered all the options. The gallery hadn’t contained any pieces of furniture—in fact there had been no place where a mirror could have been hidden. Instead I had become increasingly convinced that the only place the Beast would keep such a valuable magical object was his own chambers.

When I reached the door that Gordon had called forbidden, I stopped. I had accused the Beast, either aloud or in my mind, of almost every crime. And yet, only yesterday, I had assured him I would not enter his rooms, and today, here I was. I shook my head. The normal rules did not apply when a monster kept you prisoner in his home.

I pushed open the door.

I didn’t know what I had been expecting, but it had almost certainly involved darkness and gloom. And probably dirt, since Gordon had said even the servants were barred from these rooms. But the Beast’s chambers were large and surprisingly airy, filled with solid oak furniture, worn silken with age. The stone floor was covered with overlapping rugs of deep red and gold, and I could see no sign of filth or neglect.

I couldn’t help crossing over to the large windows in his bedchamber, noting his extensive view which included most of the gardens and the stables. This would have been the ideal viewpoint for my morning’s observations, except for the obvious issue. As I watched, the Beast appeared astride his black horse, walking toward an open field on the far side of the gardens.

The distant figure appeared to twist a little in the saddle, and I stepped back, jumpy. Had he been looking this way? I shook myself and added stern instructions not to waste time on foolish fancies. I needed to start my search.

The Beast had three interconnected rooms. A bedchamber, a sitting room and a dressing room. The sitting room seemed the most logical place for such an item, so I began there. As the minutes ticked by, my tension rose.

I moved next to the dressing room, observing the strange way his jackets hung when not on his shoulders, highlighting his misshapen frame. I saw no sign of a mirror, however.

Finally, I returned to his bedchamber, rummaging carefully through the drawers of his desk, attempting not to disrupt anything. I didn’t want to leave any sign of my visit. I could feel the knot of discomfort in my center growing. I resisted the urge to run to the windows to check for any sight of the Beast. I reminded myself again and again that I had seen him leave for the beginning of a ride. I had plenty of time to turn all three rooms upside down if need be.

As I slid shut the final door, I gave a huff of frustration. Should I search the bed? Did he keep it tucked under his pillow? I hesitated, reluctant to climb onto his large four-poster or touch the place where he laid his head.

As I looked around the room, hoping to spot somewhere else to look, my eye fell on a curtain hanging against the wall shared with the sitting room. I frowned at the anomaly. A curtain on an internal, windowless wall?

I strode over and pulled it back, revealing a large oval mirror mounted on the wall. A simple, elegant frame met at the top to form the outline of a crown. The royal mirror.

I berated myself silently. I had allowed my search to be influenced by my dream, but now that I thought about it, I couldn’t remember the Beast ever referring to it as a hand mirror. I had nearly missed it, when it should have been immediately obvious to me. I had already wasted so much time.

I stepped close to the mirror which reflected my own face back at me. Nothing about it gave any indication that it was anything but an ordinary mirror. But ordinary mirrors were not kept behind elaborate curtains. And the smooth silver of the frame was engraved with a single word: Palinar. If I had still possessed any doubt, it would now have disappeared. This must be the royal mirror of Palinar.

I stepped back, wondering how to activate it. Feeling a little foolish, I spoke aloud. “Show me my sister, Lily.” After a second’s pause, I added, “Please.”

I focused on her face, identical to my own yet at the same time so different, and the feel of her voice and emotions in my mind. Please, please, please, I thought at the mirror. Slowly the surface began to fog, silver clouds obscuring my reflection. Yes!

As I waited impatiently for her image to appear, I couldn’t help a small thrill of fear. I had assured myself that I would know if anything truly serious happened to her. But what if that wasn’t true? I had received no news for days now. What if Cole had attacked her seeking revenge?

I tried to calm myself. Surely he had been recaptured. The whole of Marin was looking for him, and his family were all imprisoned so he had nowhere to turn for shelter.

The mirror distracted me from my fears, the fog clearing to reveal an entirely different scene from the bedroom it had previously reflected. I stepped forward, squinting at it in confusion. What was I looking at?

I could see no sign of Lily, or of any female. Instead I saw several horses racing across a landscape I didn’t recognize. Men in long cloaks rode them, leaning low to encourage their mounts to speed. I could even hear the distant sound of hoof beats and the wind in trees.

I moved closer again, as if that could somehow bring clarity to the scene, and heard the one in front direct the others to veer to their left. As he began to change his own direction, he glanced back to check that the others were following, and I got a momentary glimpse of his face. I gasped.

Cole. As if my exhalation had broken the enchantment, the mirror began to fog again. So, Cole was still free. I wished I had been able to recognize his location and that I possessed some means of communicating it to Lily.

I chewed on a strand of hair. I had asked the mirror to show me Lily, but instead it had shown me Cole. What did that mean? I remembered the way my thoughts had veered from my sister to the man I feared might injure her. As the enchantment of the mirror had been at work, my mind had been fixated on Cole rather than Lily.

The fog remained in place, clouding the surface rather than returning it to its original reflective state. I turned my mind back to my sister, focusing on the feel of her and my own longing to see her. This time the fog cleared more quickly and, when it did, I rushed forward to place my fingers against the surface. Lily.

My twin looked pale and tired, her face creased with lines of worry. Given the first vision in the mirror, I didn’t need to overhear a relevant conversation to know they had been unable to recapture Cole. And I knew she would be fretting about being cut off from me and what it might mean. If there was one thing Lily hated, it was being powerless to help the people she loved.

Lily! I projected her name as forcefully as I could, my hand pressed flat against her image, and my mind focused on the feel of our connection. She looked up, a confused expression crossing her face. For a brief moment, I felt a ghost of her presence in my mind. The sensation was too weak to form words, instead it was only a wave of grief and fear, tempered with love and hope.

I leaned forward to rest my head against the cool glass of the mirror, a single tear slipping down my cheek. Even in the midst of my longing for it, I had forgotten the feeling of peace and fullness that came from connecting with my twin.

Movement flashed across the mirror, and I pulled back to see what was happening. Lily had turned at the sound of an opening door, and her face brightened. I didn’t need to see the new arrival to know his identity. Only Prince Jonathan, her betrothed, could bring that particular look of love to her face.

Sure enough, Jon moved forward into view and snaked an arm around her, pulling her against his chest. “I’ve only just managed to get away from the meetings. I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.” He smiled down at her, and I couldn’t help smiling myself. I loved the way he looked at her—as if she gave him strength and purpose. Lily deserved someone who would love her as much as Jon did.

But after meeting her eyes, a shadow passed across his. “Something’s happened, I can see it in your face.”

Lily buried her face in his chest, and I could barely make out her muffled words. “I thought, just for a moment, that I could sense Sophie. But when I called, I got no reply.”

“Oh, love.” He stroked her hair. “Perhaps she found a way to send you a message of sorts. What did you feel?”

Lily straightened and shrugged. “Just her familiar presence in my mind. Love, I suppose, and…loneliness, maybe?”

“You know what my father said. The ancient laws will protect her, and the Beast cannot harm her while they are bound together by their betrothal.”

She sighed. “I know. I just wish I knew what happened to our connection. What if it’s gone…” her voice dropped down to a whisper… “forever?”

Jon looked concerned. “Surely not. You just felt her then, did you not? I’m sure it is only that Palinar is blocking you somehow.”

“Yes. Yes, I’m sure you’re right.” I could tell from Lily’s face that she didn’t completely believe it, but she was letting herself trust him as much for his sake as her own. “And I haven’t even asked you how the meetings went. Was there any word on Cole?”

He shook his head, the tiredness creeping into his own eyes. “The captain of the guard believes he has somehow managed to flee across the southern border into Talinos. And he has not gone alone.”

Lily frowned and opened her mouth, to question him, I was sure, but the mirror had begun to fog again.

“No!” I shook my head and stretched out my hand to touch the mirror again. “No! I want to see her again. Show me my sister.”

But before the mirror could clear again, the curtain was ripped closed, almost pulling the material loose from the wall in the process. I staggered away from the Beast, tripping over my dress and toppling backwards to land on my rear. I expected to look up to see him towering over me, but he had returned to his door, which he was holding open, a thunderous look on his face.

What did you tell me only hours ago? That you would not enter my chambers?

I flushed.

How dare you trespass in here! His voice reverberated in my mind, and I winced. How dare you use my mirror when I had forbidden it!