26. The Princess
Iscribbled a hasty note for Theron and left it next to his sleeping form, grateful he still hadn’t stirred.
Some assassin,I thought with a smirk, running my hand down his cheek as I gazed at him one last time. I wanted to memorize his features, imprinting this image into my memory until my last breath.
I wanted his face to be the last I saw before I died.
Eira… Calista’s echoing call resonated in my mind.
I was out of time. I needed to find her before she found me—and Theron.
No matter what happened, I would not let her take him.
I dressed in a servants’ uniform I found in the closet, then untucked my hair so it obscured the roundness of my ears. After ensuring the mirror was secured into the folds of my tunic, I slipped out the door.
My heart thundered loudly in my chest, my pulse ringing in my ears as I strode down the hallway, trying to act like I belonged. My sweaty palms remained at my sides, fear making my very bones quiver.
A few servants passed me, and I forced myself to make eye contact and nod politely at them. They returned the gesture and continued on their way. I released a breath, grateful that they, like Theron, were ignorant of what the Snow Princess looked like.
Calista had gotten her wish; I’d been scrubbed from the people’s memory.
Would they ever accept me as their queen?
I supposed it didn’t matter. I was dying anyway. But if I defeated Calista, it would all be worth it. There was a plan in place for the kingdom if I should die. Hopefully, my seven human friends wouldn’t have too much trouble. Once Calista’s true identity was exposed, the kingdom would lose faith in her.
They had to.
It took me a few turns to get my bearings, but once I reached a hallway I recognized, I knew exactly where to go. My feet moved automatically, remembering the years I’d spent creeping around the servants’ quarters as a child, exploring every undiscovered nook and cranny of the castle.
Two more servants passed me as I climbed the spiral staircase that led me to the main floor of the castle. When I pushed open the door, the marble pillars and sparkling gold chandelier made my breath catch in my throat. A flood of memories assaulted me, rushing through my mind like the rapids of a river.
My father, a warm, gentle smile on his face. Calista, with her arm in his, her cold smile telling me what my father was too blind to see: she was cruel and unkind. Even from the first moment I saw her, I knew she would never love me as her own daughter. I wasn’t even sure if she loved my father.
And yet, he’d been enamored with her. Completely besotted. When I’d complained that she was cruel to me, he’d tucked me into a tight embrace and kissed my head, murmuring reassurances that with time, Calista would come to love me as he did.
A hot lump formed in my throat, my eyes burning with unshed tears as I remembered the day I’d been told my father had fallen ill. How I’d suspected Calista at first.
But the physicians told me he’d been poisoned by a dark fae in the woods, and the creature had run off before the hunters could catch him.
Now, of course, I knew better. Calista had poisoned him.
Just as she’d poisoned me.
Footsteps echoed nearby, jolting me from my thoughts. I quickly ducked behind a pillar, pulse racing, as the door I just came through swung open again. I peered carefully around the pillar, then sighed with relief.
It was Theron.
“What are you doing?” I hissed, stepping out of my hiding spot.
He turned, his dark eyes sharpening as he looked me over. “Are you hurt?” He strode toward me and grasped my shoulders.
I swatted his chest. “You were supposed to stay put. Didn’t you read my note?”
“I was worried about you.” He ducked his head as if he were embarrassed.
I raised an eyebrow. “Bashful again? I thought we’d moved past that.”
He sighed. “I just can’t believe I fell asleep.”
“Well, I effectively wore you out.” I offered him a sly smile, then glanced behind him. “Come on, we need to get out of here before Calista finds you.” I tugged on his arm, and we hurried down the massive hall, our footsteps echoing. Light shone through the grand stained glass windows, twinkling from the late morning sun.
When we reached a familiar alcove I’d hidden in as a child, I pulled him into the shadows and clutched him in an embrace. He grunted in surprise, his arms circling around me.
“What’s this for?” he murmured.
“I—I thought I wouldn’t see you again. I know I told you to stay put, but I’m glad you didn’t.” After pulling away, I stood on my tiptoes to bring my lips to his, but he stopped me.
“I have something for you.”
My smile brightened. “Oh? A gift?”
He dug through his satchel until he withdrew a familiar shiny red apple.
I choked on a laugh, covering my mouth to stifle the sound. “A sparkwood apple? I knew you secretly loved them!”
He grinned and handed the apple to me. “I figured you’d be hungry for one right about now.”
Truth be told, I was hungry… Part of me felt I should be cautious and not eat one, just in case it affected my invisibility magic.
But if my nearness to Calista activated the poison within me, then I perhaps had hours left. Maybe less.
I needed to prolong that for long enough to enact my plan.
I swiped the apple from Theron’s grasp and bit into it. A strange, satisfied smile spread on his face. It wasn’t the gentle, affectionate smile I’d been expecting. No, this expression was… triumphant.
My chewing slowed as I narrowed my eyes at him. “What…”
“How could I forget the filthy little rodent you were, always climbing those trees to snack on apples,” Theron sneered, his face twisting until he became something unrecognizable. “Like the wild creature you are.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. My tongue was completely numb. Aching shivers wracked over my body, and I slumped against the wall, suddenly dizzy.
“And when I cut them down because they interfered with my magic, you cried,” Theron spat, his face continuing to shift. His tan skin paled until it was bone-white. His eyes brightened to a frighteningly familiar crimson.
“You—You—” My tongue was so heavy. Why couldn’t I speak?
My eyes fell to the apple in my hand. It was oozing a bright green liquid. With a yelp, I dropped it, but it was too late. The damage had been done.
When I looked at Theron again, it wasn’t Theron at all.
It was Calista, still wearing that triumphant smile.
And as the fire consumed my veins, it brought back that chilling memory. The memory I had been running from for so long.
“You little thief,” Calista seethed, claws elongating from her fingers. Her eyes, red with fury, seemed to darken as they darted from my guilty expression to the hand mirror clasped in my shaking fingers. “That belongs to me.”
My eyes bulged as I stared at her claws. Why did she have claws?
A thick black mist pooled into the room, coating the floor. And that smell, blood and ice, it was like the smell of a dying animal.
With a shout, Calista lunged for me, claws swiping. Her skin was slowly turning gray, and fangs protruded from her mouth.
Oh gods… Oh gods…
The black mist now coated the floor, and I stumbled over something I couldn’t see. I crashed to my knees, pain ricocheting up my body.
But I had to get up. I had to move, or I would die.
Calista was unseelie. And she was going to kill me.
Light gleamed in my peripheral vision, and I glimpsed the open door of her bedchamber. My only chance to escape.
Calista struck again, and I ducked, rolling underneath her. But as she turned, I was hit by something heavy and solid, my body crumpling from the impact. Dizzy, I staggered to my feet, only to gape in horror at the sight before me.
Calista was in her full unseelie form. And she had great black wings stretched behind her. More black mist oozed from her, and it wouldn’t be long until it consumed the entire room.
Where were the guards? Her door was wide open. Why weren’t they coming? Surely, the people had to see this. They had to know.
I stumbled toward the open door, desperate to escape, to survive. If I was the only one who knew Calista’s true form, it was my duty to the people to expose her. I had to?—
My thoughts were silenced as a sharp pain split through me, followed by white hot fire scorching my veins. I tried to scream, but no sound came out. Gods, the pain was blinding. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t feel my body at all.
Move! I had to keep moving!
Something hot and liquid dripped down my arm. Numbly, I glanced at it, only to find a bloody gash just below my shoulder. Bubbling green liquid formed around the exposed wound.
Poison. Calista had poisoned me.
I was dying. Any moment now and I would die.
No. I had to survive. Even if it meant exposing my magic, I had to…
With a deep breath, I summoned my invisibility, shrouding it over myself. I heard Calista’s sharp intake of breath as I vanished from view. Blood still flowed down my arm, making my vision blur.
Get out. Get out. I had to leave the castle and then I could tend to the wound.
I was through the door. Calista’s roar of fury echoed behind me. And in my mind, I saw her monstrous unseelie form, the fangs, the claws, the beastly wings, the look of bloodlust burning bright in her eyes…
“Goodbye, Snow Princess.” Calista’s voice brought me back to reality, back to this living nightmare. She had poisoned me—again.
But this time, there was no escape. The apple nullified my magic. I couldn’t turn invisible and flee like before.
And even if I could, the fire was spreading through me much quicker now. Perhaps it was the poison already lingering in my blood. Or perhaps Calista had somehow given me a stronger dose of it.
But I only had moments left. My consciousness was fading fast.
Scream,I told myself. You have to scream. Now!
I drew in a long breath, but black spots floated in my vision, threatening to consume me.
Scream, Eira!
The voice in my head sounded like Theron. If he were here with me, he would shout at me to hold on. To withstand the poison coursing through my veins.
Scream!
I opened my mouth wide and unleashed a piercing shriek that bounced off the walls, resonating in the castle like a shrill siren.
Calista smacked me across the face, silencing me. Only then did my body collapse as I gave in to the darkness.