"I'm not ready," Samantha whispered, but the mirror's power was already pulling her forward. Silvery energy wrapped around her like ribbons, and the chamber dissolved into a swirling vortex of memories she'd tried so hard to forget.
The first image that materialized was herself as a human—younger, softer, more vulnerable. She wore a white wedding dress, her eyes bright with hope as she looked at her first husband, Michael. Marcus and Kai watched in stunned silence as the scene unfolded.
"You never told them," the mirror's voice echoed, neither male nor female. "About the life you had before. About how deeply you loved, and how completely you were betrayed."
The scene shifted. Samantha saw herself walking into their bedroom, finding Michael tangled with another woman. The pain of that moment hit her again, as fresh as it had been then. Her vampire features flickered, revealing the human she'd once been—the woman who'd crumbled under the weight of betrayal.
