Hero

Peregrine stood up fast, knocking the stool over in his haste. Elodie waiting, he had been prepared for. Elodie forgetting him, he had been prepared for. A hundred years passed and Elodie dead and gone had never crossed his mind.

“Pour our master a drink, Hansel.”

Betwixt righted the stool and Gretel guided Peregrine back to the table. Hansel handed him a glass—actual glass!—of a tawny brown liquid that burned his nostrils. Peregrine forced himself to take a swallow, and it scorched a path of Earthfire down his gullet. He handed the glass to Betwixt, who gulped the rest of the contents whole.

“Forgive me, but this is easier for me to tell as a story,” said Gretel. “You’ve only ever been a story to me.” Peregrine nodded for her to go on. “When Peregrine of Starburn vanished on the way to claim his bride, people across the country were devastated. Gossip began to spread that there was a curse on Starburn, that none who lived here would ever be able to find true happiness.”

“They weren’t far off,” said Hansel.

Gretel ignored her brother’s interruption. “Not long after, a young lady appeared at the castle, claiming to be a cousin of the Earl of Starburn, and thus its rightful heir. She was the most beautiful creature anyone had ever seen, possibly the most beautiful woman in the world. And because she was so beautiful, everyone believed her.”

“What did she look like?” asked Peregrine, but he already knew.

“Hair and eyes as black as the midnight sky, skin a dusky olive hue, and everywhere she went, it smelled like ci

Leila, it seemed, had not simply cursed Peregrine to take her place at the Top of the World. She’d taken his place here in Starburn as well.

“She was not as kind as she was beautiful. She cared nothing for people, only power. She traveled the world in style, attending party after party, drowning herself in one extravagance or another until Starburn was bankrupt. When there was no blood left in these stones, she married a dark prince from a kingdom west of Arilland and was never heard from again.”

“It is said she lives there still,” added Hansel. “That her beauty never dies. Just like you.”

“The witch’s daughter,” said Peregrine. “Leila. She had that kind of power.”

“I would believe that now,” said Gretel.

“She only ever had us call her Mistress,” said Hansel.

“And how do you two fit into all of this?” asked Betwixt.

“Our birth was seen to be part of the curse on this estate,” said Gretel. “I was the first petelkin, and then my brother. Our mother died in childbirth. No woman was brave enough to bear a child in Starburn after that.”

“I’m sorry,” said Peregrine. “But I am glad that Leila didn’t force you to leave.”

“She couldn’t.” Hansel smiled proudly. “Because of the contract.”

Gretel explained. “Before Peregrine left these lands, he publicly gave power of his estates over to his steward.”

“Hadris,” said Peregrine.

“By virtue of that power, none could remove Hadris or his family from these lands, not even the dark mistress herself.”

“He fought long and hard, Great-Uncle Hadris,” said Hansel. “To the bitter end.” He raised his own glass in a toast and drained it.

Poor Hadris. He’d been a good, strong man, kind but strict, so much like the earl. Peregrine clapped Hansel on the back. “You’re a credit to his memory. I can’t think of two people I’d rather have in charge of Starburn.”

“Don’t you want to run the estate, now that you’re back?” asked Gretel.

“Yes. And no,” said Peregrine. “There are still some things I need to do first.”

Hansel elbowed Gretel in the side. “It’s a girl,” he whispered.

“You are not wrong, my good man,” Peregrine said proudly. “She saved me from a demon witch. I owe her my life.”

“Same here,” said Betwixt.

Hansel grimaced. “She’d have to be the sister of Jack Woodcutter himself to be worthy of our Peregrine.”

“Fu

“Her name is Saturday Woodcutter,” said Peregrine.

Hansel stared at them.

Gretel smiled. “A fortunate name for a fortunate girl; I hope she is prepared to prove herself worthy. Peregrine’s story has been told at children’s bedsides for a century. Every pretty little thing for miles has fancied herself Elodie and dreamt that her own Peregrine, done with his adventures in the Vanishing Lands, would appear to sweep her off her feet and take her as his bride. You’ve been wished for upon more stars than years you’ve been gone, I’ll wager. I wished for you a time or two myself as a girl, I’m not ashamed to say.” Gretel’s blush convinced him otherwise.

“I’m honored.” Peregrine took her tiny hand in his and kissed the back of it.

“And here I am, no longer the pretty little thing I was, and here you are, Peregrine of Starburn, done with your adventuring and knocking at my doorstep. Who would believe it?”

“Not I,” said Hansel.

“Nor I,” said Betwixt. He snorted and magicked himself back into a pegasus, much to Hansel’s delight.

“I will be back soon,” said Peregrine. “We will refill the coffers and stock the cupboards and open the market and Starburn will live again.”

“Thank you,” said Gretel. “Thank you for coming back to us. To me.”

Peregrine bowed to the woman. As much as he wanted to stay, he desperately needed to catch up with Saturday and stand by her side for as long as she’d have him. “Thank you for telling me the story. In a way, Elodie will live on forever.”

“That she will,” said Hansel.

Gretel put out her arms and Peregrine knelt to hug the little woman. “From what I know, the real Elodie did wait for you, long past her prime, but a wandering knight fell in love with her anyway and followed her day and night until she finally accepted him. I don’t know how many they had, but there were children, and I believe her family still resides in Cassot.”

“I look forward to meeting them,” said Peregrine, “and sharing with them the rest of the story.”

Hansel crooked a finger and Peregrine leaned over to hear him whisper, “You might want to leave out the part about being a girl for a hundred years.”

19

A New Adventure

“HE’LL BE BACK, love. Trust me on this one. I’ve seen enough besotted men to know.”

Love. The very word rankled, no matter what its use.

“Who, Peregrine?” Saturday asked Wolf nonchalantly. “Whatever. He’ll be back, or not. Who cares?” She glowered at the path in front of them. Even the trees of the forest they rode through didn’t make her happy anymore.

“You care, that’s who,” said Wolf. “You’ve been scowling for the past ten miles.”

“I always do that,” said Saturday.

Wolf looked skeptical.

“I’m just tired. This wagon is bruising my backside. And it’s too bright.” She held up a hand to shield her eyes from the glowing red sun setting through the leaves ahead of them. After spending so long cooped up inside a mountain, she still hadn’t acclimated to the light.

The wheels began to kick up sticks and stones. “Whoa, Sassy.” Wolf snapped the reins and guided the old gray mare back onto the path. “From what I hear, you could make our journey a lot shorter if you wanted to.”

It was true enough; her knapsack still held the ebony-handled brush Thursday had given her. She could throw it like the one she had thrown from the back of Betwixt, calling the Wood to them and Faerie with it. Assuming that the power would do as she willed. So far, there was no evidence that she could harness anything from the ether outside the mountain.

“I’ve had enough of magic shortcuts,” she said. In the back of her mind, Velius crossed his arms over his chest proudly. She wanted to slap that vision. She spun the ring-that-used-to-be-a-sword on her finger: once, twice, thrice. Stupid teachers. Stupid ax. Stupid sword. Stupid witches. Stupid gods.

“Suit yourself.” Wolf directed his attention to the road. It was a small comfort. “They call you Earthbreaker, you know.”