“I don’t, I’m sorry.” Penn paused. “I do often wonder, though, why she hasn’t attacked Mosswood Forest. Why she hasn’t destroyed the border and descended her reign of terror down upon us. We’ve waited, prepared, but she’s never come.”
“She’s been too busy destroying Elwen,” I said flippantly, hoping he wouldn’t push me on the topic.
Penn stayed silent behind me.
“What do you want with that mirror?” I asked.
Penn had told Wayfinder he wouldn’t use the mirror’s power, and now that I knew what the mirror did, I respected him for it. It would be hard to resist a power like that.
We approached the end of the grassy plain, a line of trees in front of us.
“I suppose it’s time to tell you,” Penn said. “I want to destroy it, and hopefully, weaken your stepmother in the process. And you’re going to help me do it.”
My heart stopped beating in my chest, and I struggled for words, but before I could ask any questions, a scream cut through the air. Both Penn and I whirled on our horse to see Brains hanging in the air, a tree branch wrapped around her throat. The Huntsman had found us.
He steppedout of the surrounding forest and into the clearing. Dread curled around my body, its icy fingers freezing me to the spot as Penn jumped off his horse and flung out a hand. A tree bent down over the Huntsman, wrapping its branches around him, but the Huntsman shrugged it off, cracking the branches in two. He was strong, even stronger than I’d remembered.
He towered over everyone, easily twice the height of Penn, his long torso and legs made of tree trunks, his arms of branches, his mouth opening to reveal pointy black thorns. Leaves covered his head, fluttering as he whipped around to lash a branch out at Charming, who attempted to attack with his sword.
Arrows flew through the air, embedding into his chest. He looked down and simply plucked them out. Arrow jumped up onto a tree branch, continuing to shoot at him to no avail. It was complete chaos, and our plan of sneaking up on him was clearly ruined. He’d found us first. It was an all-out brawl, everyone using their magic, their skills, to bring down the Huntsman.
Penn barreled into him, and the Huntsman finally dropped Brains, who scrambled backward as Hammer helped her to herfeet. Penn flipped the Huntsman onto his back while reaching out his hand and uprooting a tree, its roots roping around the Huntsman. But before the roots could tie him down, the Huntsman kicked a powerful leg out, making Penn fly through the air. Hammer ran toward the Huntsman, axe in hand, but the Huntsman simply flicked him away.
I hung back, watching everything unfold with horror. I should help, I should do something, but... my plan. Now would be the perfect moment to escape. I thought about my and Penn’s conversation. Did his revelation change anything? He wanted to destroy my stepmother’s mirror, destroy her. That’s what I wanted as well. But... the question was why? Penn didn’t do anything out of the kindness of his heart. He wasn’t the evil thief I thought him to be, but he also wasn’t innocent. He had to have his own motivations, and I didn’t know that I could trust him.
Plus, he wasn’t giving me a choice in this. His plan didn’t change the fact that he’d kidnapped me and was forcing me to do what he wanted.
I swallowed, watching as the Huntsman punched Wayfinder, sending him to the ground. Arrow continued to shoot at him to no avail. Shadow had slipped away, and I wasn’t sure where she was. Lightning ran at the Huntsman, sticking out his hand, blades of grass shooting like daggers. But the Huntsman easily swiped them away.
Guilt crept over me at the thought of leaving them like this, fighting for their lives. I’d told Penn I wanted vengeance on the Huntsman, and that was true, but the sooner I left this place, the sooner I could rescue my people. I had to find Jasper. I had no idea when Penn planned to go on this mission to destroy the mirror, how long it would take. Every day that passed was another day Driscoll and Jillian were trapped, another day my people were suffering. I couldn’t afford to wait. I needed to get to Jasper and come up with a plan to take back my court.
I slowly backed away, no one even noticing as they tried to free Hammer, now clutched in the Huntsman’s grasp. Hammer elbowed the Huntsman in his nose, and the creature roared, dropping him and stepping back just as Penn used his magic to bring branches down that wrapped around the Huntsman’s neck. At the same time, Charming held out both hands, bringing roots up from the earth that wrapped around the Huntsman’s feet and caused his body to crash to the earth. They might actually defeat him soon, and that meant I needed to go. Now.
I shot them one last look as I turned and fled into the forest, running as fast as my legs would carry me, screams echoing behind me.
Chapter Twenty-Two
It took the rest of the day, but I reached the border of the fire court by the time the sun was sinking in the sky above. My legs, back, and arms ached. My throat felt like it was on fire, and my entire body was covered in dirt and muck.
I’d made it.
My stepmother hadn’t found me, and my trek through Elwen had been surprisingly easy. Mainly because everything had been destroyed and abandoned, no signs of life anywhere, just the blackened, ashy land. The hardest part had been the border. I’d heard enough stories about the border from the seven thieves over the last few weeks and employed every trick and tactic they taught me—none of which helped, mainly because by sheer dumb luck I fell from a tree while trying to leap, and the border’s jabbing vines missed me as I landed on the other side. Bruises peppered my body from the fall, but I was otherwise unscathed. I could imagine Penn’s commentary at my attempt to get to the other side.
Well, that’s one way to get across, Lilypad.
I didn’t have time to dwell on him or on the state of my court: the sadness, the cruelty, of what had happened. I focused all my energy on making it to Gilraeth. Now I limped towardDragonstone Mountains, which rose high into the sky, knowing that on the other side of those mountains was the desert land of the fire court. I’d been here enough times that I knew the way through. But I needed to rest. My body was tired, and there was no way I’d be able to reach Jasper today. It would take a few days to cut through the mountains and then journey on to Jasper’s home, in the eastern part of Gilraeth.
Excitement bubbled in me.
I couldn’t believe I’d actually made it here. My plan had worked. I’d escaped the king of thieves, and soon, I’d be reunited with Jasper.
I leaned against the bottom of the mountain, hard rock jutting into my back and poking me. I couldn’t find it in myself to care at this point.
Caves dotted the base, an extensive network of tunnels behind them that I could trek through to get to the other side. Jasper had shown me map after map of the fire court, and we’d explored the tunnels together many times throughout the years. But his warnings rang in my ears:don’t ever come into the tunnels without me or someone else from the fire court.
Komodo dragons, fire-breathing lizards, and snakes with three heads were just some of the creatures that lurked in the depths of the mountain, and I didn’t have any kind of earth magic to defend myself. It would take longer, but it would be safer to go over the mountains. They stretched above me, dusty and orange, such a contrast to the vibrancy of the earth court.
Whereas the earth court was characterized by its lush beauty, greens and blues and yellows, the fire court was characterized by its rock formations and desert: orange, brown, gray, and yellow, the colors of fire and smoke. It had its own beauty, even if I preferred Elwen. I stood, searching for a path, and my eyes quickly landed on one. Steep stairs cut into the side of the mountain, winding up, up, up, until I could no longer see them.
