Page 26 of Mirror of Malice
“Need some help, Princess?”
I looked up to see Shadow standing at the edge of the bath.
“I can’t get my hair untangled.” I lifted a huge knot to show her.
She crouched down. “Get dressed. I have an idea.”
My clothes lay on a rock, a clean pair that Wayfinder had gotten for me. After Shadow retreated back into the forest, I got out and dressed quickly, following into the trees after her. A cool breeze sifted through the air, and goosebumps rose up on my arms.
“That was quick.”
My hand flew to my heart. “Blood and earth! You scared me!”
Shadow grinned, then started walking. “C’mon.”
“Where are we going?” I trailed after her.
“Into town. I know someone who can help fix your hair.”
“Really?” I patted at my knotted hair, grateful there were no mirrors anywhere, other than the one Penn stole, of course.
Soon enough, the thick foliage of leaves and branches parted, and my breath caught in my throat. In front of me was a hill with a dirt road lined by shops. Wooden buildings, some one story, others two, or even three. Wooden signs hung from the roof ledges, each one carved with different names. Apothecary, Tailor, Tavern, Blacksmith, Teller, and so many more. It reminded me of Elwen. Our streets were a little nicer, paved with stones, our shops painted bright colors. But still. This was... it looked like it was thriving. A pang shot through my chest at that. While the earth court was withering away to nothing, this place was booming with business and opportunity. It didn’t seem fair.
“Is Elwen similar to this?” Shadow asked from beside me, as if she could read my mind. “I don’t remember it very well since I was so young when I came to Mosswood Forest.”
“Bigger,” I said. “We have many villages, all of them with their own healers, weapon makers, dressmakers, restaurants. But in the center of the earth court, near my castle, we have a huge market, full of every kind of shop or store you could need. Tea, silk, ceramics, slippers—anything you want, you can find there.”
“Sounds nice,” she said as we walked up the hill.
“It is. Was,” I corrected myself. “Now I don’t know what life is like in Elwen for my people. I don’t know if there’s any kind of order or law. I doubt it.”
She pointed. “It’s right over there.”
“What is?”
She tugged at one of her golden hoop earrings. “Where I’m taking you.” She jogged across the street to a small one-story shop and led me inside. A few chairs sat in the little shop, wooden shelves on the wall lined with glass vials, tinctures I didn’t recognize filling them.
“What have we here?” a woman said, standing next to one of the chairs.
My eyes widened. I recognized her. She was one of the thieves. Long red hair cascaded to her curvy waist. It reminded me of Jillian’s hair, except this woman’s was wavy instead of curly.
“Aren’t you . . .?”
“Arrow.” She held a pair of scissors and snipped them in the air. “Never miss a shot.”
“And you also cut hair?” I asked, shooting an unsure glance at Shadow. I didn’t know if I trusted an archer with my hair. Though, at this point, I doubted it could get much worse.
Arrow patted a chair in front of her. “Yes, well, it turns out I don’t just have a talent for thieving.”
I sat in the chair, and she stuck her fingers in my knotted hair.
“This is a mess.”
I twisted in my seat. “So what do you do when you have to go on a mission? Just shut down?”
She grabbed my head and wrenched it forward. “Look straight ahead. I have multiple apprentices who take over for me.”
A cool mist of water sprayed across my hair, then I felt Arrow massaging some kind of paste into my strands.
