Page 123 of Mirror of Malice
Fight.
I love you.
My eyes opened to bright light, buttery and warm on my face. I blinked a few times, trying to figure out what I was seeing above me. A canopy, pink and delicate.Mycanopy. I shot up in bed and immediately regretted it as pain lanced through my head.
“She’s awake,” a voice called. “She’s awake!” Jillian threw her arms around me, and I winced.
She reeled back into her chair, sitting by my bedside. “Sorry,” she said, then her eyes welled with tears. “I just can’t believe you’re awake.”
I looked around my room in disbelief. The floors were cracked, and dust and grime covered the walls and furniture, but it was my room, and—I looked outside to see the blue sky, the bright sun full and round and shining down. I got out of bed, bare feet pressing against the cold floor as I ran to the window and gasped.
Green. The grass was green. The trees had leaves again. Flower beds spread across the courtyard, fountains bubbling.
“You did it,” Jillian said. “You saved us all.”
I turned. “How?”
Her eyes crinkled right as Driscoll burst through the doorway. “You’re awake.” He shot a glare at Jillian. “Why didn’t you call for me?”
“I did, but I suspect you were too busy making out with a certain thief to hear me.”
“Excuse me?” I sank onto the bed, clutching at my chest.
“We’re supposed to be keeping her calm.” Driscoll swept into the room.
Jillian stuck out her tongue at him.
“How long have I been sleeping?” I asked, rubbing my throbbing temples.
“Three weeks,” Jillian said.
My eyes widened.
“You were really sick after eating that apple,” she said.
“What were you thinking?” Driscoll asked. “That was so incredibly stupid.”
“And brave,” Jillian added. “But stupid.”
My brain was foggy as I tried to remember everything that had happened. “Is she dead?”
Jillian nodded. “She’s gone.”
“Is our magic . . .?”
Jillian wiggled her fingers, then pointed to the corner of the room as a flower sprouted from the little pot that sat there. A sunflower unfurled, bright and yellow.
My hand floated to my chest. “I can’t believe it. So all our magic has returned? And it’s not corrupt anymore?”
I shuffled back and rested against the headboard while Driscoll came to sit on the end of my bed. “Your stepmother’s death and releasing all that magic she’d stolen returned everything to normal.” He tipped his head. “Well, maybe not normal. But better than before.”
I stared at the sunflower in wonder. “Who’s been in charge? What’s been happening with our people? Are they okay?” I attempted to sit up, but Jillian gently pushed me back down.
“We assembled a team, inviting well-respected leaders from each village to represent their people, just until you woke up and could assume your place on the throne.”
“It was Penn’s idea.” Driscoll crossed his legs and Jillian shot him a glare. “Well, your idea, according to Penn, but he’s the one who suggested it.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Penn? Has he been here... to visit me?”
