Page 68 of Mirror of Malice
“So that’s how the mirror got made?” I asked. “From someone’s shadow being stolen.”
Penn nodded. “But rumor has it that once a shadow is restored to the person it was stolen from, the item disappears, the magic holding it to Sorrengard no longer effective.”
“That’s what you want to do?” I leaned forward. “You want to restore a shadow to break the mirror?”
“We don’t have that kind of time,” Penn said. “I have no idea whose shadow produced that mirror. And I have no interest in traveling to the shadow court to find it.”
My stomach twisted. “Then whatisthe plan?”
“We’re going to Apolis.”
“The water court?” I asked, unsure what Apolis could possibly have to do with destroying the mirror.
“They have a weapon, a powerful one, with the ability to break these magical items. If I can steal this weapon, I can use it to break the mirror and destroy it so no one else can ever gettheir hands on it. Once it’s destroyed, then we can go after your stepmother.”
I didn’t like where this was going. “And what does that have to do with me?”
Penn sighed. “Apolis closed their borders over a year ago. No one has been allowed in... or out. It’s almost impossible to get inside, and even if I did, I’d be recognized as a foreigner immediately. Word is you and Princess Gabrielle were friends, and if you show up at her border, asking for asylum, I’d bet she would let you, and anyone in your company, inside.”
I didn’t think I could be any more shocked, but here I was, once again hardly able to believe what I’d just heard. Gabrielle and I had been friends as long as I could remember. She and her parents visited our court, and me and my father visited hers on several occasions. We’d also met at various summits and conclaves over the years. We’d always gotten along, had a lot in common since we were close to the same age, but what Penn was asking...
“You don’t want to steal the weapon. You want me to.” My tone was accusing. “This was why you didn’t tell me. You knew I’d never approve.”
“Well, do you?” Penn crossed his muscled arms over his broad chest.
“Of course not!” I snapped. “She’s a princess, a friend. I can’t steal from her. It’s wrong.”
“Even if it’s the only way to break that mirror? To ensure no one else can ever use its power?”
Damn it. He was right.
“I’ll be there by your side, guiding you every step of the way,” Penn said, as if that was what I was worried about.
His words were oddly comforting, though.
“I wonder why they closed their borders,” I murmured to myself.
“No one knows.” Penn held his hands out to the fire. “And it doesn’t concern us. We’ll get in, complete our mission, and get out.”
“Easy peasy,” I said, the sarcasm dripping from my words.
“If you know what you’re doing, it is,” Penn shot back.
I was starting to regret rescuing him.
“So what do you say?” Now Penn reached out his hand, across the fire, holding it in front of me. “Do we have a deal?”
“What are you doing?” I asked, looking at his outstretched hand.
“You said you wanted to be partners. You wanted to have a choice. Are you in or out?”
I paused for a moment. “Where is the mirror?”
Penn patted the satchel at his side, the one he always had with him. So I’d been right. “I never let it leave my sight. When we got to Gilraeth, I hid it here in the event that we’d be captured.”
He truly always had a plan. I supposed that’s what made him so great. “Can I see it?” I asked. “The mirror?”
“I don’t ever take it out. It’s covered, and I keep it that way. I don’t know what kind of power it might hold over us if we lay our eyes upon it, and I don’t want anyone tempted to use it. Magic always has a price.”
