Page 168 of Malicent
He blinks, still catching his breath, and looks like he’s trying to figure out what to say.
I turn to him with arms open.
The sunlight catches my witch marks, making them sparkle.
And then I remember…
ARCADIA HOLDS OUT MY ARMS, rotating them ever so slightly to catch the light. My marks shimmer.
“My queen you are radiant, literally.” She snickers.
I smile, warmth blooming in my chest at her laugh and touch. “Please, I’m positive you’re one of those rays of sunshine.”
Her own witch marks glimmer faintly across her collarbone, the gold matching the overcast above us as the sun rises.
She releases my arms and pulls me close. We sit like that for a long time, saying nothing, content to just watch the sun rise over the forest.
We’ve always loved this hilltop, the way it offers the whole sky.
Her soft voice breaks our silence. “Why did we stop this?”
“I’m tired a lot,” I say, “and the lessons go late.”
“They are more frequent, too.”
I nod.
“They’re changing you.”
I freeze, no longer leaning into her. “They are making me stronger.”
“Millicent,” she whispers, “youarestrong. You are enough. You are worthy. You don’t need to become whatever Nora is turning you into.”
I pull away from her grip, glaring at her with the sharpness of a blade.
“It is not enough, Arcadia. One should always seek more.”
“You sound just like her.” Her words are filled with spite.
“Good. Nora is strong. And I will be, too.”
My breathing grows heavy. My hands dig into the grass.
She is insolent,the voice hisses. Rage rises like fire beneath my ribs.
“You come back covered in blood,” Arcadia snaps. “You don’t speak. You don’tremember! You’ve no memory of me.Youdon’t even recognize me!”
Her voice cracks. The tears follow close behind it.
I feel nothing. Her pain rings in my ears.
And yetI don’t care.
“Some of us have what it takes to grow stronger, Arcadia. Some don’t.” I know my words are cruel, but I say them anyway as I leave her side.
Arcadia flinches but doesn’t break.
“I am strong,” she says quietly. “It’s my strength that lets me love you, even when you’re hateful.”
