Page 74 of Mirror of Malice
I cleared my throat. “I’m fine, Penn.”
“Lilypad . . .”
“Are you ever going to call me by my real name?”
The truth was, I’d softened to the nickname ever since he admitted what it really meant to him.
He rubbed his stubbled jaw, and I wanted to feel that stubble against my cheek again, feel the gentle rasp of it as it scraped my skin. Blood and earth. I needed to get a hold of myself. Go throw myself into the cold ocean when we arrived in Apolis.
“You can do this, Lilypad. But I need you to believe that too.”
He was being kind, and it unnerved me. He’d been kind a lot lately. Playful. Tempting. An unbidden image flashed in my mind of Arrow pressing herself into him at the tavern that night that felt so long ago. My mood darkened. Even if the king of thieves showed any interest in me, it didn’t matter. He was taken.
“Arrow must be missing you,” I said, changing the subject.
His brows bunched together. “Why would Arrow be missing me?”
I shrugged, trying to be careful with my next words. “I just noticed you two were together quite a lot. Specifically, she was in your lap several times. That doesn’t seem casual to me.”
Penn was smiling now, staring down at me, those mischievous green eyes twinkling, like he knew something I didn’t.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I glared at him.
“Are you jealous, Lilypad?”
“No,” I said, keeping my tone even.
A gust of wind blew sand up in our faces, and we both pulled our scarves up at the same time, covering our noses and mouths.
“I’m making conversation, Penn. The walk is long. I’m bored. And you just complained that I’ve been rather quiet this morning.”
Lies. All lies.
“So are you...?” I asked, keeping my tone light.
“Am I what?” I couldn’t see his mouth but could hear the smile in his voice.
He was really going to make me say it. “Are you and Arrow together? A couple?”
“No” was all he said, not elaborating.
I whirled on him, and he stopped.
“No? But all those times she was all over you. If she was near you, she couldn’t stop touching you.”
“Did you notice she was all over everyone else too? That’s what Arrow does. She’s handsy. Especially when she’s been drinking. Also, she’s been in love with Charming for years. She often tries to make him jealous by throwing herself at others.”
I hadn’t noticed her all over anyone else. I’d never paid attention to anyone else when Penn was around...
Oh, bloody fucking earth.
I didn’t—I couldn’t... have feelings for Penn. I hated him. He was the king of thieves. A criminal. He stood for everythingthat was wrong on this continent. But he was also brave and confident and determined. He was a leader, and people clearly respected him. He cared about the thieves in his academy, cared about everyone in Mosswood Forest. He sacrificed himself to help his people.
Okay, I might possibly have caught some feelings. I yanked my scarf down.
“There you go, chewing on that bottom lip again,” Penn said, continuing to walk.
“I’m fine,” I squeaked, horrified at my revelation as I trailed after him.
