The next morning, the atmosphere in the castle's dining hall was heavy.
A steaming breakfast was laid out on the long table, but almost no one touched it.
"…What happened last night was far from normal," Jiang Che spoke first, his voice low.
Lin Qiao kept her head down, hands clenched on her lap, her face still pale.
She turned to me. "How did you get the key to her room?"
I replied evenly, "The spare key was with my butler. He gave it to me before we arrived."
"Why is there a spare key at all?" Liu Zehao asked.
I glanced around. "This castle belongs to my family. For safety, there's a spare key to each room, and I'm the one keeping them."
Everyone nodded, though the tension remained.
"…But why didn't that thing in the mirror go after Song Yao last night?" Lin Qiao suddenly looked up and asked the question that had been on everyone's mind.
Song Yao had been silent, but now she spoke. "Because I smashed the mirror the moment I returned to my room."
Everyone's eyes turned to her at once.
"I had a strong feeling that something was wrong with that mirror," she said calmly, but firmly. "So I smashed it with a chair, wrapped it in canvas, tied it with a blanket, and locked it in my trunk."
Jiang Che frowned. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"
Song Yao replied coolly, "If I had said I heard the mirror making noises, would you have believed me?"
No one responded.
Outside, the fog remained so thick until you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
But deep down, everyone understood that destroying the mirror might not have been the end of it.
"I think…" Lin Qiao said slowly, "I think it wasn't just the mirrors."
"What do you mean?" Jiang Che turned to her.
"Last night, that voice… it sounded like myself. It knew things only I should know."
"It's trying to get into our minds," I said quietly, "and then tear us open with its jaws and devour us whole."
We all looked at one another.
"I'm not staying another night unless we destroy them," Lin Qiao said. "No one should be alone anymore."
Everyone nodded.
Outside, the fog pressed against the glass like a living thing.
And for just a moment, I thought I saw a face looking back.
But when I blinked, it was gone.