The Last Lie

That night, Airi didn’t sleep well. In her lightless dreams, a staticky voice called out to her.

“I must thank you,” it said, teeth spreading into a grin. “Soon, we will be reunited.”

Disentangling herself from Mildred and Nestor, Airi walked over to Narcissus, who was draped over a couch, and shook him.

“Hey. I need to talk to you.”

“Five more minutes...” he mumbled. The rumor that nobles loved to sleep in seemed truer and truer by the day.

“The world is ending,” she hissed at him, which made him open one eye. “I have a plan. I’m going to need your help.”

Narcissus mumbled, “Find someone else. I’m useless,” and began snoring, as if keen to prove his point.

“It has to be you. Now listen.” Airi pinched him, which made him sit up and rub his face. “I only need you to cast your spell. Mirror World. Just once."

"Right now?"

"No, later. I'll tell you when."

The end of the world was strangely peaceful. Without their usual duties, the first-class mages milled around the Lower Palace. Time had stopped the rest of the world and forgotten them.

Marianne and Feldspar played chess in her office, using his porcelain monsters as chess pieces.

"It's your turn," Marianne said, setting down a piece shaped like Esther. Feldspar moved a piece shaped like Gold the Dragon and took the Esther piece.

Prometheus dozed by the fireplace in the Library of Living Spells, while Narcissus told stories of the court to Nestor.

"And then what happened?" Nestor said eagerly.

Upstairs, in Mildred's room, Airi set down the quill and rose from the desk. It was time to go.

A soft sigh made her turn. Mildred looked so peaceful, lying in bed. What if she never woke up? What if she was already gone?

There was no use in drawing things out. It had to be now.

Airi gave the note one last look. It was a mess of scrawled ink and jumbled thoughts. Not her finest work, but certainly her last.

‘I'm sorry. I have to die. It's my fault the world is ending. I made a deal with the demon and brought it into this world. If I die, it might die too. I don't know why I'm still alive. I should have died a long time ago, but I kept getting lucky. I hope I haven't used up all my luck. If I'm really lucky, you'll survive.'

Airi closed the door softly behind her.

The end was near. Sitting in the Library of Living Spells under the mural of The Sleeping Princess, Airi felt her frantic heartbeats. The demon must be very close to entering the world now.

Her heart gave a violent jolt, as if someone were trying to wrench it from her chest, and the world blurred to black for a moment.

Now, Airi thought. She grabbed Nestor's hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"We're going to save the world," Airi said. "Together." She looked at Narcissus. Thankfully, none of the other mages were nearby. "Come on."

"You weren't kidding about wanting my help," Narcissus said, falling into step behind her.

"This isn't the time to be kidding."

In the darkened Astronomy Tower, their footsteps slowed.

“So, what’s the plan?” Narcissus asked.

Airi walked to the center of the room, pulling Nestor with her. She glanced up at the sky. Up here, the demon’s voice was even clearer. Almost there, it purred.

She looked at Nestor. His eyes were shining with hope. “Yeah, what’s the plan?” he said.

“There isn’t one,” Airi said. There was no going back now. “I brought you up here to kill you."

Nestor’s smile faltered. “What? But—”

“You thought I wanted to save you? You thought I cared about any of you?” Airi said. She knelt to Nestor’s level. “You thought I believed in you?”

Nestor made a small noise.

“I made a bargain with the demon that lives beyond this world. I let it in, hiding it within my soul.”

“No,” Nestor said. “No, you’re my friend. You promised—”

“I lied to you,” Airi said. “You thought I believed in you?” She forced herself to smile as his face crumpled into a sob. It took all her willpower to keep talking. “I made that promise to trick you. I'm a liar, Nestor. You were right. Everything I did, it was all so you would trust me. And it worked, didn’t it?”

“No... no...” Nestor was sobbing.

“You want to save the world?” Airi reached up to her hair, pulled out the star shard, and thrust it into Nestor’s hand. “Then kill me. Kill me, before the world ends."

He gripped the star shard with trembling hands. Airi suppressed a scream. Her heart felt like it was being torn apart. Do it, Nestor!

Blackness enveloped her vision, and she lunged towards him, crystal hands curling into claws. His eyes widened for just a moment as he stabbed the star shard into her heart.

Mildred burst into the room at that moment, hair loose, eyes wild. She held a book in her arms. The Sleeping Princess. But it was too late.

The moon was a knifelike smile. Out of all nights to die, this one was particularly beautiful. The last of the stars fell like tears from the black sky.

“Narcissus...” Airi whispered. “Now.”

“No!” someone wailed. It might have been Nestor.

She didn’t hear Narcissus cast Mirror World, but suddenly the palace was far below her, growing smaller by the second, and she was falling towards the sky, blazing a bright blue trail. As she grew closer to the crack in the barrier, a shapeless darkness poured in, staining the sky, not quite smoke and not quite shadow.

Darkness gnawed at the edges of Airi’s vision, too. She had no idea how she was still alive, but she prayed that she would survive long enough to reach the demon.

She did. Sucking in one last, painful breath, Airi flew into the darkness.

Goodbye, she thought, before the darkness swallowed her.