Hero

“What?!” Saturday swore. “What happened in Starburn?”

“This happened long before Starburn. It started happening even before we left the mountain. Leila cursed me to die, so I am dying.”

“But you’re not ill!” cried Saturday. “And the part about losing a vital organ? We all came down from that mountain in one piece. You’re not sick, and you certainly haven’t lost your mind.” She shook her head. “I have, maybe. But not you. Never you.”

“I lost my heart,” he said, looking straight into her eyes. “That’s pretty vital.”

“Over me? No. No one should have to die for me. You can’t die, Peregrine. You can’t. I just got handed the rest of my life and I have no idea what to do with it, but I knew at least I had you. You and Betwixt and me, we all have each other. Now what do I do?” She pounded his chest with her fists. “What do I do?!”

“You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever met—”

“I’m one of the only women you’ve ever met,” said Saturday.

“—and your life will be full of amazing things. You don’t need me for that.”

Saturday couldn’t look at him anymore. She stared at her feet instead, at the toes of boots that had seen the Top of the World and the edge of an ocean. “But I want you there,” she said to the ground. “I just want you, period. I love you.” She took a deep breath, inhaling as slowly as she exhaled. Damn the gods. Damn Fate. Damn everyone. “How long do you have?”

“Until I die?”

Saturday turned on him with the full force of her anger. “No, until the moon dances, you idiot.”

“Right.” Peregrine pressed his lips together. “I suspect I have only as many years left as any other mortal man.”

It took a beat for his words to register. “Why, you—”

Saturday raised her fists to punch him again, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Laughter erupted from the other side of the bush that hid Wolf and Betwixt from sight.

“That’s enough from you!” she yelled at the shrubbery. She pushed Peregrine hard enough to topple him over, turned on her heel, and went back for her sword.

“Calm down,” said Peregrine. “It’s not like I’m dying tomorrow.”

“Keep it up and you might be.” Saturday picked up her sword.

“Saturday, you can push me away all you want, but I’ll have you know that I plan to fight for you. I will fight to stand beside you, and I mean to die beside you.”

“I could run you through right now,” she offered.

“I wish you’d wait. We’re desperately low on gryphon’s tears.”

Peregrine regained his footing all too quickly, and when he turned her back around to face him, he noticed the tears she didn’t want him to see. He wiped them away for her. “We should bottle these instead,” he said. “They’re far more rare.” He held her then, like he hadn’t held her since that first cold night on the mountain after Cwyn had captured her, like she wished he’d hold her every day from now on until the end of their adventures.

“So,” he said finally. “You love me.”

“You loved me first.”

He hugged her tighter. “And don’t you forget it.”

There was a smattering of applause at Peregrine’s declaration. From the shadows and the fireflies stepped the figure of a thin young man with a quiver of arrows at his back and a bow slung across his chest.

“Trix!” Saturday ran and embraced her little brother, bow and all.

“Watch it, sister, you’re armed.”

She let her sword fall to the ground again. “I’m sorry,” she said.

Trix reached up, took her face in his hands, and kissed both cheeks. “I’m sorry too,” he said. “Will you ever forgive me?”

“Hmm.” Saturday scrunched up her face in thought. “Well, I’d make you promise to do the washing up for a month, but since I don’t think either one of us is going to see the towerhouse for a while, how about you just owe me one?”

“Deal,” said Trix. He spat in his hand and they shook on it.

“It is so good to see your face,” said Saturday. “I missed you.”

“Really?” asked Trix. “I didn’t miss you. You were with me the whole time.”

“Was I?”

“Oh yes. Every time I needed to be strong, I thought of you, and you gave me your strength.” He pointed to the blue-green band at her wrist. “And every time you needed my strength, I gave it to you. Didn’t you notice?”

Saturday ran her finger across the strip of fabric with her siblings’ hair inside it—even Jack’s, now. She had thought it was the magic of the mountain fu

“Once or twice I swore I could even hear your voice,” said Trix.

Peregrine and Saturday exchanged glances, remembering what had happened in the cave of mirrors. It was probably best that particular room had been consumed by Earthfire.

“Amazing thing, magic,” said Peregrine. “I’m Peregrine, by the way.”

“Trix,” he said as they shook hands. “I’m the reason Saturday got into all this mess.”

“I fell in love with your sister in the middle of this mess,” Peregrine replied.

“Really?” said Trix. “Which sister? I have seven, you know.” Saturday grabbed Trix before he could get away and tickled him mercilessly, as they had done back home, before she’d broken the world. She didn’t know how much she’d needed that until just then. Who’d have ever thought that one day she’d long for a moment of normal life?

“How did you find us?” Saturday asked when they’d caught their breaths.

“A brownie told me,” said Trix. “A wild one, from a tribe I’d never heard of. He showed up at the Hill spouting all sorts of wild tales about dragons and witches and falling off a mountain. Said he was rescued by a bad-tempered giant in a skirt. I can only assume he meant you.” Trix examined Saturday from head to toe, and then Peregrine, in his long, full coat. “Then again, maybe he meant you,” he said to Peregrine. “Either way, I’m here. We need your help, Saturday.”

“I’m here to give it,” said Saturday. “Who’s ‘we’?”

“I come to you as the emissary of the Queen of Faerie,” Trix said in his noblest voice.

“Do you, now?” asked Saturday.

“I speak to the animals,” he said. “And for the animals.”

“So it’s the animals who need help?” asked Saturday.

“Yes. And the Queen of Faerie, too. And . . . well . . . pretty much everybody in the whole world.”

“Again?” said Peregrine.

Saturday sighed melodramatically. “Typical. You in?” she asked Peregrine.

“Always,” he answered.

“Same here,” said Betwixt as he emerged from the bushes.

“I’m headed in that direction anyway,” said Wolf.

“Saturday,” Trix whispered, “why didn’t you tell me you have a pegasus?”

Saturday planted a kiss on her brother’s cheek before he could cringe away. “Trixie, dear, I have a lot of new surprises. Do we need to leave now?”

Trix looked up at the clear night sky. “We can wait until dawn.”

Wolf’s eyes flashed yellow in the darkness. “Sassy and I don’t mind traveling through the night if you don’t.”

“Then let’s go!” cried Saturday.

Peregrine tugged at her elbow. “One quick thing.”

“Make it snappy.”

He pulled Saturday into his arms and kissed her soundly.

Somewhere on the forest floor, a sword shifted back into a ring. Somewhere above them, a silver moon danced among the clouds. Somewhere on a peak in the White Mountains, a dragon drifted lazily through the air. And somewhere on the borders of Faerie, Saturday Woodcutter embarked on a new adventure.

As their lips parted, Saturday smiled up at the gods. Those troublesome bards could sing all they pleased—she’d won her prince after all. She tossed her short hair in the forest breeze and laughed until two strong hands captured her head and turned it to the side.