Page 52 of The Frog Prince

“They’re often overlooked,” Alwin said, letting Farwin hop down. “Which makes them excellent messengers. And notorious gossipers.”

Otto’s laughter was as bright as his presence, his eyes crinkling attractively. “I dread to think what they might have heard and spread.”

Alwin gave Farwin a dry look. “A great many tales, I assure you.”

“Your court must hold the secrets to the kingdom!” Otto joked. “One word from you and it could all come tumbling down around Her Majesty’s ears. Wouldn’t that be a sight?”

Alwin tried to hide his flinch, but he was unable to control it.

“Alwin?” Otto straightened back up. Alwin shivered at the sound of his name, still unused to it. “It was said in jest. I apologize if I said anything wrong…”

“No,” Alwin said quickly. “You said nothing wrong.”

“Was it the mention of the queen?”

Alwin turned away, feeling sick to his stomach as laughter echoed in his ears and phantom pain radiated through his body. He looked down at his shaking fingers and what she had done to him.

“We should leave now. We don’t want the sun getting away from us,” he choked out.

Otto was silent, and Alwin could feel his eyes boring into his back.

“I guess frogs really are good at keeping secrets.”

“Yes,” Alwin whispered. “Even if we do not wish to.”

Otto stepped closer, the warmth of his hand hovering over his arm. “Alwin—”

“It’s this way.” He cut the conversation short, stepping away from the comfort. Not because he didn’t yearn for it, but because his skin was crawling like he had insects inside him. The idea of Otto touching this foreign body while the queen’s voice laughed at him made him want to scream until his throat tore.

Leaving Otto to trail after him in silence, he strode for the edge of the forest, where it turned dense and dark.

Alwin watched from the corner of his eye as Otto stopped just outside the shadows, cloak now tied tightly. He swayed back and forth, as if unsure whether he could cross that line once again.

“You know, I have always respected the forest,” Otto said, surprising him.

Alwin stared at Otto’s strong profile for a few moments. “You’d be one of the rare ones.”

While he despised the fact that he was forced to live in the forest looking the way he did, he’d never really understood the hatred the others held for the trees or the animals in it. Not even when he’d still been human.

In a weird way, he’d bonded to the place in the years he’d been sequestered here. It now felt like there was a part of him he’d never be able to leave behind, even if he did manage to regain what he’d lost. The forest had shaped him from within. While the curse had changed his skin and bones, water now ran through his veins, roots holding him together in place of muscle.

“Bad things happen in it,” Otto conceded. “Bad people find refuge here.”

“That is hardly the forest’s fault, wouldn’t you say?” Alwin said, casting his eyes over the looming canopy. “The trees have very little choice in who gets to hide in their shadows. It’s people you should fear.”

“You’re right,” Otto said quietly. “But people are afraid, and it makes little sense to turn their hatred on those truly deserving because they can retaliate. Hating the forest is safer. Blaming the trees for the wrongdoings of others brings no consequence to them.”

“The trees will also protect those who need protection, hide those who are running from bad things, and provide shelter and food to those who know where to look,” Alwin said. “This forest is not evil, it’s just misunderstood.”

“Like you?” came a soft whisper.

Alwin jerked his body around to face Otto. A bloom of hope filled his chest, and he pressed the palm of his hand over it, willing it both to stay and not to suffocate him.

Alwin couldn’t read the expression in Otto’s face, too many emotions clouding the blue of his eyes as they locked gazes. Did he believe that? Or was he asking Alwin to convince him?

He took a deep breath and looked away, scared to push for anything more. Terrified to hope again, only for it to be crushed.

“We really should get going before we lose too much light,” Alwin said, stepping into the forest and twisting around to look at Otto, who seemed disappointed. It made Alwin’s traitorous heart skip a beat. “Shall we?”