Page 25 of Mirror of Malice
“I’m not training to be a jester,” I said with a bite to my voice. “So I don’t know exactly what I did well.”
“Ah, sometimes we need a good laugh to lighten the dark that surrounds us. Now let’s go again.”
I was afraid he was going to say that.
My arms,legs, and back ached. Sweat beaded my brow and dripped down over my nose. At this point, mud covered my entire body, random twigs and leaves stuck in my hair.
“Alright, Princess Liliath, you can do this,” Hammer said from behind me.
We’d been at this for hours, and I had finally made it to the fifth lily pad. One more to go, and I would cross to the other side. I held my arms out to balance myself. The round green plant under my feet undulated in the water, making me stumble. I caught myself and straightened, hearing Hammer swear from behind me.
“Come on, Princess. Show me what you got,” he said.
A snake slithered through the murky water beside me, its long body languid and fluid. I could appreciate the creature from afar, but I had no interest in joining it. I took a deep breath, shaking out my hands. Despite everything, I found myself wanting this, wanting to prove myself to Hammer. He’d been a surprisingly good teacher, warming up to me the more we worked together.
“Good,” a male voice said. “She’s made more progress than I expected.”
My head twisted around, and there stood the king of thieves next to Hammer.
“What are you doing—” I started but got cut off when the lily pad dipped down, and I lost my footing, falling face first into the water with a hard splat.
The snake darted away. Not even the reptiles wanted to be near me. I surfaced for air, coming face-to-face with a toad perched on the edge of the lily pad.
“Well, maybe not as much progress as I’d hoped,” Penn said.
I glowered at him as I waded through the water and stepped out. I wrung my shirt out. Right over Penn’s shoes. The brown water sloshed over his leather boots, and he just smirked.
“That’s okay.” He kept hold of my gaze. “Unlike some of us, I’m not afraid to get a little dirty.”
The way he said those words made me swallow, and warmth spread through my belly.
Penn looked from Hammer and back to me. “You know, I just thought of the perfect nickname for you.”
“I am a princess. We don’t have nicknames.” I jabbed him in his chest and resisted the urge to wince when my finger bent back. Why was his chest like a freaking wall of stone? “You will address me by my title.”
He wagged his finger at me. “I thought we talked about that. You’re not technically a princess anymore.” He stroked his stubbled chin. “What do you think about Lilypad?”
My mouth dropped open. “For my nickname? No, absolutely not. I hate it?—”
He held up a hand. “I was talking to him.”
Hammer shuffled, averting his eyes to avoid my glower. “Come on, Boss, she is technically a princess, and it wouldn’t feel right to?—”
“Perfect,” Penn said. “Lilypad it is.” With that, he stalked away.
Hammer turned to me. “You did good today, Princess.”
I stared after Penn. “Is he seriously going to call me that?”
Hammer cocked a bushy red eyebrow. “It’s not so bad.”
“You’re Hammer.” I ticked off my fingers. “Then there’s Shadow, Lightning, Arrow. And I get to be Lilypad?”
It was offensive, a reminder of my failures. The king of thieves was toying with me, laughing at me. My hands curled into fists. I would be the one laughing after I stole that mirror and escaped right out from under his nose.
Chapter Twelve
After two hours soaking in the warm baths, I still couldn’t get all the grime out of my tangled hair. I let out a frustrated groan at the knotted mess.
