For the first time, knowing that Mina had a secret cast a pall over me. I had been so convinced that whatever she needed to tell me would be something I could laugh off, but now I worried. I reached out, placing my hand atop her fist. “What is it, Mina?”
She flexed her fingers and I let my hand drop. She pulled the necklace out and pinched the crystal dangling from the end. Even in the shadows under the willow, it sparkled, each facet brilliantly clear and yet also containing a rainbow of color.
I stared at the pendant. An icosahedron, Mina had called it. The perfect shape for a mind-bender’s charm.
She struggled to draw in a breath. “My father’s not a Haiwellan merchant. He’s... I’m... my real name is Charmina Devaoile.”
Twenty-Four
Mina
???
I forced thewords out, Alan’s blank stare sending shards of ice through me. “I’ve been using a charm the entire time I’ve been in Skorsa to hide my identity.”
“You’re the princess,” he said slowly, taking a step back.
“I’m still the same person. You know me, Alan.”
“How can I know the crown princess?”
“A title doesn’t change who I am. Everything I’ve told you about my life has been true; I just left out a few minor details. I’m still the same person.”
“Being royalty isn’t a minor detail. And I’m not sure I do know you. The woman I thought I knew wouldn’t have used a charm against me.”
My vision blurred, but I didn’t cry. “I never intended for this. I used the charm because I wanted to experience life without my title getting in the way. I wanted to see how people treated Mina. I never expected to meet someone like you. To fa—”
“Don’t.” He cut me off with an angry slash of his hand. “Don’t you dare say that now. You manipulated me with magic, just like Powell. Nothing else matters.”
He pivoted, forcing his way through the boughs of the willow.
I tried to call out his name, but choked on the word, the tears now falling hard and fast.
???
It was fulldark by the time I emerged from the willow’s embrace. I stumbled back to the village under the light of the quarter moon. It was only luck that prevented me from falling into the stream as I crossed over the stepping stones. Or, perhaps, the opposite of luck. Falling, the shock of water, might have broken me free of the numbness that had descended as my tears ran dry. A distant part of me knew that the numbness wasn’t good. It wasn’t safe or even comfortable.
Numbness was supposed to be a lack of sensation. But this was instead a freezing. And I was frozen in despair.
I had waited too long, hoping for the perfect moment. There never would have been a perfect moment, I admitted. I should have told Alan the truth when he first asked if my pendant was a charm. Or if not then, I should have admitted it that first evening under the willow, when I realized the attraction between us was more than physical. What had been the point of holding him at arm’s length?
My need to see how he responded to me without the weight of my title hanging over us seemed feeble now.
I moved past the houses on the outer edge of the village and realized I had lost hours beneath the willow tree. There were no lights shining through the windows. Everyone had already gone to bed. My path led me to the back door of the Wrisons’ home, another building with dark windows.
I entered through the kitchen and made my way slowly up the stairs. My intent wasn’t to sneak to my room—if anything, my lumbering only encouraged the wood to squeak more. I simply didn’t have the energy to move any faster. As I neared the end of the stairs, I noticed a light for the first time. A sliver of gold outlined Sam’sdoor where it stood ajar. His room faced the front of the house, so I hadn’t seen the glow of the candle from outside.
He must have been waiting for me, though he never had before. He opened the door fully and stepped halfway into the hall by the time I reached the top step. The smirk on his face slid into concern when he got a good look at me. “Mina? What’s wrong? What happened?”
He spoke softly, his eyes darting toward the end of the hall and his parents’ room.
I shook my head and tried to step past him. He blocked my way, and though I didn’t want to talk, I found myself letting him herd me into his room with its cozy warmth.
Sam settled me in a chair, but instead of moving away and finding a seat for himself, he stood in front of me, gripping my fingers. “Mina, what happened?”
“Alan asked to travel to Haiwella with me,” I said. My voice sounded distant to my own ears, like another person entirely was talking.
Sam gave me a searching look. “That’s bad?”
