Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 95475 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95475 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Bastien leaned forward. “Natural water sources?”
“Streams that ran through the Quarter before the city built over them. Drainage channels. Places where groundwater still flows beneath modern construction.” Her finger traced lines connecting the marked sites. “Charlotte positioned her mirrors to interact with water, not just light. The liquid amplified her reflection work somehow.”
He pulled the photographs from his folder and set them beside her map. Each image showed a different location—but when arranged according to the map’s geography, they formed the same pentagon Delphine had drawn in red ink.
“Mirror Current,” he said quietly. “Water that remembers what it reflects.”
“Is that a technical term?”
“Charlotte’s term. She theorized that flowing water could carry resonance between mirrors, creating a liquid network parallel to the glass one.” He studied the overlap between his photographs and her historical research. “I thought it was theoretical. Something she never actually implemented.”
“Well, she implemented something.” Delphine pulled another ledger across the table; this one filled with expense records from 1785. “Lacroix & Sons Mirrorworks purchased copper piping from a forge on Decatur Street. Eighteen separate orders between March and November. The invoices specify ‘water-grade copper with reflective polish interior.’“
“Pipes designed to carry both water and light.”
“Exactly.” She flipped to a page marked with a strip of paper. “And look at the delivery addresses. All five of your mirror nodes. She was building an underground network.”
Bastien reached for the ledger, but Delphine pulled it back slightly. “Before you disappear into research mode, tell me what you’re thinking. Because you have that look.”
“What look?”
“The one where you’re three steps ahead and planning to handle everything alone.” She met his eyes. “What does this pattern mean?”
He chose honesty. She’d earned it. “It means Gideon didn’t find a flaw in Charlotte’s design. He found the design itself—the complete network, including components I didn’t know existed—and he’s been systematically destabilizing it to prove his theory about soul bonds.”
“The one about love being manipulation?”
“Yes, that love removes autonomy. That emotional connection is just manipulation with better marketing.” He pulled the photographs toward him, arranging them in sequence. “He believes soul bonds are inherently coercive. That choosing someone across lifetimes isn’t actually choice—it’s programming.”
Delphine absorbed this. “And he’s using Charlotte’s mirror network to prove it.”
“Using you to prove it.” The words came out flat. “Charlotte designed the network to preserve connection across death. Gideon’s corrupting it to demonstrate that preservation is just another word for control.”
She was quiet for a moment, studying the maps and ledgers spread between them. Then she asked, “Is he right?”
The question surprised him. “What?”
“Is he right? About soul bonds removing choice?” She looked up, and her expression was difficult to read—not afraid, not angry, just genuinely asking. “Because from where I’m sitting, I don’t remember choosing any of this. I don’t remember Charlotte or whoever else I’ve been. I’m just living my life and apparently, I’m the linchpin in some century-old philosophical argument about whether love is real or just very convincing coercion.”
Bastien wanted to tell her she was wrong. That love was chosen, that every lifetime offered the chance to walk away, that what they had transcended any single iteration. But she deserved more than reassurance built on his perspective alone.
“Charlotte chose,” he said finally. “Every day for six years, she chose to stay. Chose to build this network knowing it would bind us across death. She could have walked away at any point.” He gestured at the ledgers. “This wasn’t obsession. It was informed consent given over and over across thousands of decisions.”
“But I didn’t choose it.”
“You’re choosing now. Every time you show up for this investigation. Every time you push past my attempts to protect you. Every time you refuse to accept ignorance as safety.” He met her eyes. “That’s what Gideon doesn’t understand. Love isn’t the bond. Love is choosing to honor the bond every time it appears.”
Delphine worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “So what’s the plan?”
“I need to map the complete network. Underground pipes, water flow, mirror placement. Everything Charlotte built and everything Gideon’s corrupted.”
“And then?”
“Then I figure out how to stabilize it without playing into his philosophical or psychological trap.”
She pulled a fresh sheet of paper toward her and started making notes. “The Archive has hydraulic surveys from the 1800s. City planning documents. I can cross-reference water channels with Lacroix property records and give you a complete map by tomorrow morning.”
“Delphine—”
“Don’t.” She held up one hand. “Don’t tell me it’s dangerous. Don’t tell me I should stay away. You need this information and I can get it faster than you can because I know how archival systems work.” Her expression softened slightly. “Let me help. Please.”
He recognized a battle already lost. “Fine. But you work during Archive hours only. No after-dark research. No solo investigations of suspicious locations.”
“Deal.” She was already pulling ledgers toward her, organizing them by date. “Now show me those photographs again. I want to see exactly what the corruption looks like.”