I thought of Mosswood Forest, of all the people living there who depended on Penn. I couldn’t believe these words were actually coming out of my mouth, but I didn’t want to see Penn get carted off and thrown in prison. I’d fantasized about this exact situation so many times in the last few weeks, but all I knew in this moment was that I had to protect him.
“Reasons?” Jasper shook his head. “Oh, Liliath. Captivity has addled your brain.” He put an arm around me and led me from Penn. “It’s okay. I’m here now, and everything is going to be all right.”
“No, Jasper, please listen to me.”
Just then, the branch of the tree thwacked Jasper across the back. He whirled. “Who did that?”
I looked at Penn, still unconscious. Shadow. It had to be her.
“The other...” I was about to say thieves, but for some reason, I felt protective of Penn’s secret, that the king of thieves was actually different people, all under his tutelage. “Um... he brought others with him, and we got separated. They must be back now.”
Jasper gasped and looked at his guard. “We need to go.”
“Yes,” I said, “they’re very dangerous. We don’t want to get into a battle, not when there’s only two of you against... ten of them!”
“Ten?” Jasper shrieked. “Let’s go,” he yelled to the guard as a tree bent down and whipped the guard’s butt. He let out a yelp.
I hoped Shadow would get Penn the help he needed, hoped I was buying them time. Jasper hurried me away from Penn, and I couldn’t help but look back, just so I could catch a final glimpse of the king of thieves.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ispent a glorious two days sleeping in the guest quarters of Jasper’s home. I’d bathed, my hands had mostly healed, I’d eaten, read, played the piano and harp, even tried crocheting, all things I’d enjoyed in my past life.
I was also bored out of my mind.
In Mosswood Forest, I’d gotten used to always being busy, to training and moving and thinking nonstop. I was absent of that stimulation here. It hadn’t helped that Jasper had dropped me off and then immediately left to go see his father. He was supposed to be back in a few hours, and I’d been summoned to have dinner in his private quarters. I’d use this opportunity to finally talk to Jasper about my plan—and about the mirror.
We couldn’t waste any more time. I was not going to sit here and be pampered while my people were suffering. I appreciated that Jasper wanted me to rest and recover after my harrowing journey, but now wasn’t the time. We needed to create a plan and strike out before my stepmother could get any more powerful than she already was.
I paced back and forth in Jasper’s room, wearing a gown that felt luxurious. It was bright red, the bodice tight, the skirt flowing out to the ground. Delicate gold slippers had replacedmy boots. It wasn’t practical for fighting, but I had missed my dresses, and luckily, Jasper had kept a few for me. Red drapes covered his windows with gold tassels hanging from them. Delicate red silk sheets spread across his bed. All the red reminded me of blood, though I knew red and gold were the colors of the fire court. Just like green and yellow were the colors of the earth court.
I wrung my hands together, wondering when Jasper would finally arrive. I was eager to hear why he’d had to leave so suddenly after we’d been reunited. I wanted to talk to him, to kiss him, to feel his arms around me.
My thoughts drifted to Penn and Shadow. I hoped Penn had healed, that he and Shadow had found shelter and were headed back to their home. Penn would have to cut his losses now that I was with Jasper. Which was good. Because I didn’t have time to play thief, not when the earth court was at stake.
The big mahogany doors swung open and Jasper strode in. I rushed into his arms.
“Jasper! I’ve missed you!”
He stepped back and gestured to the small table sitting in the middle of the room, covered with a gold tablecloth, adorned with napkins, silverware, and two goblets of wine. “Please, let’s sit.”
That red ring sparkled on Jasper’s finger, and he motioned to it. “I’m so glad I got this back from that horrid thief. Your father gifted it to us after the Great War.”
My brows pinched together. “What?”
He pulled out a chair for me, and I sat just as two servants swept in with silver trays that they sat in front of us. “Yes, after the Great War, your father felt guilty over all the trouble he’d caused. You know how the courts are. None of us like conflict, not after what the Seven Spirits did to the people of the Old World when they started fighting too much.”
“So what does that have to do with my father?” I gestured to Jasper. “With the ring?”
My stomach growled at the sight of stew with rabbit meat, prickly pear, carrots, potatoes, and onion.
Jasper sat down across from me and smiled. “He wanted to appease the other courts, who were displeased that he’d allowed such a rift to happen, everyone worried that the Seven Spirits might appear and punish us for such conflict.”
“But I thought you’d told me that ring had been passed down to you?”
Jasper took a bite of his stew. “Yes, he gave the ring to my father, and my father gave it to me when I took over our manor. Apparently, the gifts were spoils of war, taken from those mountain dwellers before the border was closed.”
I’d never known any of this. Hadn’t known my father had to appease the other courts because of the Great War. Maybe that’s why my father closed the border, to end the war because he was afraid the Seven Spirits would smite us all if we fought any longer.
