The Secret World of Briar Rose(78)

In the dreamworld, a shooting star leapt across the sky. The motion was so sudden that Corin blinked and nearly missed it. The star descended to the shore and drifted toward Briar. She caught the light in her palms and cupped it like a firefly. The rock shimmered on her skin, a moment of life before it disintegrated into colorful dust. She looked up at Corin, realizing who was watching. When Briar waved, her hand glimmered in the darkness.

Corin held her breath, watching stars twinkle between Briar’s fingers, remembering Elly’s own hand stretched to the sky. This was the fairy tale Elly had been talking about. She hadn’t searched for gold or some grander power to rule over a kingdom. She had been looking for the magic of ordinary things, seen the possibility of an infinite night sky.

A new dawn broke through the atmosphere. Fractures of sunlight whisked away clouds until a crown shone over the ocean. An itch to capture everything in memory compelled Corin to grab the black canvas and return to work. Careful strokes painted golds that hit the peak of the mountains. Green shimmered over moss-covered rocks, while specks of white dotted the pale sky to show the remaining stars.

She was so absorbed in painting this scene that she didn’t realize Malicine had spoken.

“Don’t get into any more trouble while I’m gone.”

Corin jerked her head up, but the demon had already stood to walk away. “Where are you going?”

“I’m getting my amulet back.” Their silhouette disappeared inside the jungle. Corin followed the flicker of their cape, bounding past the foliage until she could reach them. Her boots pressed heavy into the soil as she blocked their path.

“I’ll go with you,” she said. “It was my fault you lost the amulet in the first place.”

“No. It’s too dangerous, and you’ll only cause more trouble. The more people who venture inside the island, the more chaos unfolds.”

Corin swallowed hard, remembering how Malicine had to carry her through the island. Terrors in all figments had swarmed them both. The two of them had barely made it out. If she joined Malicine, she couldn’t guarantee she would prevent the nightmares from taking her again.

The demon brushed the woody vines from their view to catch a glimpse of the rumbling island across the ocean. Their eyes turned distant, a veil of thoughts that Corin couldn’t discern.

“It’s strange. I always thought abandonment would be all I’d ever know. Yet somehow, the most unexpected of people have come back for me. First Amelia, now you.” A chuckle escaped Malicine’s lips as they shook their head, finding humor in the irony. “I wonder how many people in the real world share your foolish hearts.”

Corin followed the demon’s descent down the mountains. Sunlight brought warm air to the jungle as bees buzzed around orchids and giant water lilies. Sweat slicked the side of her temple, but instead of humidity, it came from frantic thoughts racing through her head. There was no way Malicine could escape Autumnland unscathed. She tried not to listen to crackling branches as they moved, or else she would continue to imagine them trapped in the island forever.

A path of rubber trees parted way for the beach’s sandy opening. The sun fully emerged above the ocean as Briar waved them over. Before Malicine took another step, they turned to Corin.

“If I don’t make it back, tell Briar that I . . .”

The words drifted away like salt in the air. They paused, lost in thought.

“Tell her what?” Corin asked.

“It’s fine. I don’t have to say it for her to know.”

Briar stopped when she saw the expression on Malicine’s face. Her arms fell to her sides, like a sunflower drooping once it sensed the light would not stay forever.

“You’re leaving.” She said it not as a question but a sad truth, one of many she had been accustomed to in a previous life. Malicine nodded, and Briar’s face fell, as if she already knew she wouldn’t be able to change the demon’s mind. She balled her hands into fists for a long moment. Her fingers eventually flexed free as she threw herself to Malicine in a tight embrace.

“When you come back, we’ll have a tea party,” she said. “There will be pastries, and scones, and even those ugly floppy hats you hate. That’s why you must come back, Mal.”

Malicine ran their nails through Briar’s hair. Corin witnessed a flicker of sadness pass their eyes, an unspoken truth that settled on their lips. They didn’t reply, because they couldn’t promise anything. Instead, they pressed a kiss at Briar’s temple. It was the most tender Corin had ever seen Malicine, and that was how she knew the demon did not expect to return.

Malicine and their raven spread their wings and soared toward Autumnland, their figures swallowed whole by gray clouds. Briar watched with a quiet intensity that Corin recognized in fleeting moments. The girl’s eyes were the color of sea glass, filled with endless water and light. They knew more than she let on, and more than Corin had understood before. She was not a naive princess cursed against her will, and Malicine was not a villain. They were simply people who wanted to escape.

This world wasn’t real, but its inhabitants were. Like a secret, Corin wanted to protect it.

“You should paint again,” Briar spoke while staring into the ocean. “That way, when Mal and Talon return, you’ll have something to show them.”

Saliva dried in Corin’s mouth. “I can’t—” She cleared her throat. “I don’t know how to do this.”