as the border became so close she could see her reflection in it.
there’s this reoccurring motif of reflections—being able to see oneself (the true or inner self, maybe, though my personal suspicion is this is more so a “shadow self” sort of thing)
It happens at vortexes, for instance; but interestingly enough, Aheia uses it to reinforce what seems to be a misconception about Arioch’s intentions, the night she goes into the city. Arioch and Aheia both describe seeing their reflections in the blade of a dagger. Aheia has her confrontation with the mirror after arriving in Aljira, and later has this curious sort of introspective moment with her reflection after Kar helps her get ready.
This device gets carried over in Honey, when they’re in the orchard, and later in the FauxHel Churchbar. She finds it easier to communicate with Arioch’s reflection than she does Arioch himself—possibly because she finds herself able to displace emotional attachment by making these interactions feel separate from herself, or because it takes the guilt off the moral self-policing her feelings for him incite. She’s like “huh maybe I’m not a monster/monsterfucker IF I dissociate hard enough.”
I’m actually not sure whether this motif is INTENDED to be differentiated from the “outside looking in” concept we see when Arioch visits the Shaytān, or when Aheia confronts herself before she wakes up in the river. At the end of book two, when Arioch loses his temper in the Nerium nest, Aheia again describes herself in this sort of out-of-body, birds-eye-view experience. In retrospect, this is maybe a “Now you see it”/“Now it’s second nature” type of thing.
