Despite the hot desert air, the spring was cool. I wanted to spend hours scrubbing my skin, but I heeded Penn’s words, and used some nearby brittle bush to wash away the dirt and grime. Agave plants sprouted up from the ground, surrounding the spring, and I broke a few off, splitting open the plant and using the juices to cleanse my skin and hair.
By the time I returned to the cave, Penn had the rabbit off the fire and cooling, ready to eat.
He offered me a few chunks of meat, which I greedily accepted, my stomach rumbling.
Finally, we’d finished eating, silent up to that point.
“I have something,” I said and walked to my dress, reaching into the hidden pocket and pulling out the ring. I offered it to Penn. “For you.”
He studied it for a moment before accepting the ring and slipping it on his finger, his thumb rubbing over it. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “It belonged to my father, and after he was killed it was taken from him, given to the fire court. I stole it back, and, well, then you know what happened.”
I nodded. “Jasper told me it was a gift from my father, spoils from war that he gave to all the courts. I put two and two together and realized if you were wearing it, it must have belonged to you, or your parents. The false king and queen.”
He winced. “Are you upset?”
I peered at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t think it would matter, to be honest.” He grimaced. “You hated me either way. It didn’t matter if I was king of thieves or king of Mosswood Forest. I was still your enemy. And then it seemed like you’d just started accepting me. I didn’t know how to tell you about my true identity.”
I stared at him, working through what he’d told me, but in the end, it didn’t matter, didn’t change anything. “I’m sorry about your parents,” I said. “I’m sorry they died in such a horrific way.”
His eyes grew hard. “Thank you.”
“I want our people to live in harmony. I want the border between our two realms to be opened. I want us to coexist.”
He nodded. “I want that too.”
He studied the ring, tilting his hand this way and that as light caught on it. “How did you steal it?”
I shrugged. “Just a little trick Shadow taught me.”
I thought about when I’d offered to shake Jasper’s hand, how I told him it would be a truce, how I’d slipped the ring off his finger in the process, and he hadn’t even noticed.
“This means a lot, Lilypad.” He swallowed. “Why did you come after me?” He stared at me in a way he hadn’t before, like he was seeing me for the first time.
“I know you think it was stupid—” I started.
“It was brave,” he interrupted. “I meant what I said up on that mountaintop, about your nickname.”
So he remembered. I certainly did—hadn’t been able to stop thinking about what he’d said, why he’d chosen that name for me.
“Oh. Well, thank you.” I fidgeted with my hands. “I... I’m so tired of my future being decided for me. Jasper was never going to rescue me. You were right. The minute I wasn’t useful to him anymore, he broke off our betrothal and found someone new. All he wanted was a crown.” I met Penn’s gaze over the firelight. “He was going to marry me off, you know. Sell me like livestock. And you know what I realized?”
Penn stayed silent, still, hands resting in his lap, long legs stretched out in front of him.
“I realized that I never loved him. I was betrothed to him since I was three years old. My father decided I would marry him, and I never had a choice, so I accepted it like the good daughter I was.” I paused, recognizing the lie in my words. “Not the good daughter. My father probably never would’ve labeled me as that. The good queen. I saw Jasper as something that would benefit my people, a way to forge an alliance with the fire court, something that would bolster trade and a new path forward. So I put my all into our relationship, determined that I would honor it no matter what. But the truth was I never had a choice. I had to accept him.”
Penn still didn’t move, didn’t speak, just continued to stare at me, assessing as always.
“I’m tired of not having a choice. I rescued you because that’s what I want moving forward.”
“Okay,” Penn said.
I nearly fell forward into the fire. “You’re not going to argue with me?”
He shook his head. “We’ll be partners moving forward into this mission to destroy the mirror. I’ll ask your input, consult with you, and you’ll always have a choice.”
I sat in a stunned silence. Finally, my future could be in my own hands. The words broke the invisible chains that tethered me, and the first real smile I’d had in what felt like ages came to my face. “Thank you.”
