Jace was used to waking up to sirens, explosions, or an emergency call from the council. But this morning, he woke up to the smell of … waffles? Real waffles. Not rations. Not protein cubes. Waffles.
He sat up with a jolt. “Nora?! Are we under attack or something?”
Nora popped her head from out the tiny kitchen, wearing an oversized hoodie and a messy bun that defied gravity. “Nope. It’s Waffle Day.”
Jace blinked. “That’s not a thing.”
“It is now.”
They hadn’t had a single day off in months. Fighting shadow creatures, restoring magical time riffs, and convincing dragons to stop arguing with satellites—it was so exhausting. So when the world finally gave them a breather, Nora decided they needed a real date. Something totally wonderfully normal.
So they went out.
Not to a secret base. Not to a cursed library. Not even to the moon (yes, that happened once.)
They went to an old carnival on the edge of the city. It had peeling paint, creaky rides, and a suspicious number of raccoons. But it also had funnel cake. And Nora loved funnel cake.
They walked hand in hand past glowing lights and music that sounded like it came from a scratched-up vinyl. Jace won Nora a giant stuffed cactus (don’t ask), and Nora made Jace ride the spinning teacups until he almost threw up.
But then, of course something weird happened.
They wandered into the house of mirrors … and didn’t come out the same way.
Literally.
One second, they were laughing at their reflections, and the next, they weren’t in the carnival anymore. They were in a mirror version of the world. Everyone walked backwards. The sky was orange. And squirrels wore tiny suits and carried briefcases.
“What kind of date is this?” Jace groaned, trying not to trip over a talking flower vendor.
“I swear I didn’t plan this!” Nora yelled, gripping his hand tighter.
“I just wanted a funnel cake!”
A bizarro version of herself appeared, grinning eerily.
“Helooooo,” Mirror-Nora said. “We’re you but better!”
Jace frowned. “You wear capes?” Mirror Jace twirled dramatically.
“Obviously.”
There was a moment of silence.
Then Jace looked at Nora. “Do we fight them?”
Nora shook her head. “Nope.”
She pulled out a bag of cotton candy from her pocket. “We bribe them.”
A few minutes later, their mirror selves were distracted by the snacks, and Jace and Nora found the exit behind the cotton candy machine. (Apparently, in Mirror World, sugar fixed everything.)
Back in the real world, as the sun set and the carnival light glowed softer, Nora leaned on Jace’s shoulder.
“That was … unexpected,” she said, chewing the last bite of funnel cake.
Jace laughed. “So much for a normal date.”
Nora smiled. “We’re not normal people.”
“But hey,” Jace said, holding her hand, “The world didn’t end today.”
She kissed his cheek. “That’s what makes it perfect.”
