Chapter 24
“M agic Mirror on the wall, tell me, who is the fairest of them all?”
Seraphina brushed her long, black hair with an ivory comb, content in the knowledge Snow White was dead.
The mirror came alive. “With dreams that sparkle and passions that enthrall, in your heart, you’re the fairest one of all.”
She stopped brushing to glare at the featureless face in the mirror. “The princess is not yet dead?”
“No, my queen. She lives.”
In a fit of rage, she threw the comb across the room. It clattered against the stone floor. “I knew I couldn’t trust that blacksmith to do it.”
He heart pounded like a war drum as she stormed back and forth across the room, each footfall echoing with her fury. Then she halted, staring into the mirror.
“Where is the blacksmith?” she demanded.
A long pause before the mirror responded. “In the village with elves so fair, where moonlight weaves a silken air, beneath the boughs of ancient trees, a forest where magic flows with ease.”
“Is he with Snow White?” she asked.
“Indeed, he is, my queen.”
She opened her palms, watching as purple fire danced between her fingers. “Then let them both feel my wrath.”
Snow hurried through the village looking for Roderick. She found him along with Elator and Ardan on the edge of the village just inside the Elder’s protective magic. She should have been surprised to see him talking to Ardan about his enchanted dagger, but she wasn’t. Roderick pulled out his own blade and showed it to the young elf.
It was a simple thing. Almost as though they were sharing a love of enchanted weapons. Or perhaps merely a love of weapons. Even Elator was impressed with the craftsmanship of the daggers. She halted there, watching them as they compared blades, their voices hushed. She was unable to hear what they said. Their comradery, though, made her smile.
As she took a step toward them, the air shifted. A bitter breeze blew through the trees, which was odd in the middle of summer. Her senses suddenly went on high alert as she stood there, gazing around the treetops, watching the leaves dancing in the late afternoon sunshine.
But something was wrong.
A quick glance at Roderick told her he sensed the same thing. His face had paled. Their eyes met. His brows drew together in concern. Instead of sheathing his blade, he clutched it in his fist, as though ready to do battle.
A flash of light at the edge of the village exploded followed by an odd shattering. It occurred to her the magic barriers the Elders constructed were broken. Her heart rammed against her chest. She clutched her skirts, ready to run. But Roderick was already moving toward her.
Wraith-like creatures invaded the village, sweeping around the trees. In an instant, Roderick was at her side, his hand wrapping around her upper arm.
“We have to get you out of here,” he said.
“What is it?” She watched in horror.
“Snow?” Yirrie called from the front door.
“Get back inside and stay there!” Roderick shouted.
The slamming of the door was evidence enough Yirrie had obeyed.
Snow’s gaze was fixed on the creatures floating through the village. One seemed to fixate on her and sped toward her. She stumbled backward, despite Roderick’s hand on her arm. As it neared, she realized it was more of a black mist in the shape of a wraith, faceless yet terrifying.
A puff of purple smoke billowed upward from the ground. Once it cleared, Seraphina appeared. The wraiths skittered behind her, hovering there waiting for her next instructions. Roderick shoved Snow behind him, holding his enchanted blade at the ready. Her gaze flickered from him to Snow and back again. A tense silence settled over the village.
Snow was aware of the other elves witnessing the arrival of the queen. She was also aware Ardan was taking long, slow steps toward them. She cut him a glance and gave him a quick shake of her head. He halted where he was.
“Well, well,” Seraphina said, her voice ringing out across the village. “Snow White still lives. A pity you did not perish years ago.”
Snow pressed her lips together into a thin line.
A commotion caught her attention. Tasnia and the other Elders had arrived. Even Master Harwin was with them, which was a surprise. Seraphina flung out a hand, pushing them back.
“Who are you?” Tasnia demanded. “What do you want here?”
“I am the queen of the Mystic Vale,” Seraphina said, her voice strong and sure. Her gaze flickered back to Roderick. “He knows what I want.”
“The stranger?” Tasnia asked.
The Elder didn’t understand what was happening, but Snow did. Perhaps if she gave herself to the queen, she would leave the village.
“Yes, the stranger,” Seraphina snapped, her words venom. She pinned Tasnia with her lethal glare. “I have broken through your magical barrier, elf. You have harbored this individual long enough. Now, it is time for her to return with me. As my prisoner.”
Ardan moved to stand between the queen and Roderick and Snow. “You can’t have her.”
“Ardan,” Snow gasped.
He did not realize the danger he’d put himself in by standing up to the queen.
“Step aside, young elf. My quarrel is not with you, but with the princess.”
This time it was Elator who spoke. “She belongs here with us.”
Hot pinpricks of fear skipped up her spine, tingling the back of her neck. Elator moved to stand next to Ardan, making her cringe. She appreciated they wanted to protect her, but she feared what would happen to them if they tempted Seraphina’s fury.
“You have to stop them,” she whispered to Roderick. “ Do something.”
“Stand aside, you pathetic weaklings, and give me what I’ve come for. Her .” She pointed at Snow. “If you do not stand aside, then I will be forced to take drastic measures.”
A glint of a blade in Ardan’s hand caught Snow’s attention. She realized then he wielded his enchanted blade. He charged the queen. Snow shouted something incoherent—intending to tell him to stop but it came out as nothing more than a shout.
Seraphina sensed the attack before it came and spun, using a punch of magic to shove him away from her. He went flying across the village and somehow managed to hold onto the hilt of his blade. She seethed, her hands balled into fists as she pinned the young elf with her death glare.
Snow wanted to run to him, to see if he was all right, but Roderick spun and pushed her back, holding her in place.
“I have to help him,” she said, desperation lancing through her voice.
“She means to kill him,” Roderick said, his voice low.
As the queen advanced on him, she realized she intended to do just that. She raised her arms over her head, ready to strike once again with her magic.
Snow wasn’t going to allow her to hurt Ardan. She shoved Roderick off her and stepped back, raising her own arms level with the ground. The vines and the leaves and the trees answered her call. The vines struck first, wrapping their long tendrils around the queen’s raised arms, tightening with every struggle she made to get free. A shriek of frustration exploded from her.
“Release me!” she demanded.
“Never.” Snow stepped around Roderick and faced the queen, no longer afraid. “You will leave this place and never return.”
A long beat of silence passed between them as the wraiths hovered behind the queen, desperate for their next order. Then Seraphina emitted a long, low laugh.
“You silly girl. You think you can defeat me?” She shook her head, still smiling. Then she used a bright flash of magic to singe the vines and release her bonds. “You will never defeat me. Attack her.”
The wraiths charged Snow White.
But Roderick was ready for them. He lunged as one whipped overhead, stabbing with the enchanted blade. The wraith emitted a high-pitched screech and then dissipated into mist. Ardan joined the fray with his blade, destroying another one.
With shaking hands, Snow wielded the one Roderick left on the table, killing another one as it tried to attack her. Seraphina emitted a cry of frustration and sent three more wraiths to attack. Snow, Ardan, and Roderick all stabbed them with their enchanted blades, killing them.
“You traitor!” Seraphina shrieked. “Instead of killing her with that blade, you gave it to her !”
Her wrath was directed at Roderick. She flung her hands toward him, a stream of magic pulsing from her fingertips. It looked like lightning. When it hit Roderick, he flew backward, landing against a tree. Snow gasped, watching as he fell to the ground, unconscious.
“I should have killed you myself when I had the chance,” she said, advancing on Snow. The lightning danced between her fingers as she lifted her hands to attack.
Suddenly, she cried out in pain, her back bowing and the light disappearing from her fingers. She spun to face the attacker. Ardan yanked his dagger from her shoulder. As soon as it cut her, there was a hiss and smoke rose from the wound. She shrieked out of pain and frustration and anger.
Snow sucked in a sharp breath. “Ardan!”
“You!” the queen seethed.
Rage creased the queen’s face as she turned to the young elf. Snow clutched her dagger, torn between helping Roderick and defending Ardan. Just as she decided to sprint to the elf’s side, Seraphina flung her lightning hands toward him.
A flash of light blinded Snow for a brief moment. When it cleared, she saw Ardan on the ground with a smoking hole in his chest.
“No!”
She ran to him, dropping to her knees beside him. His eyes were glassy as he looked into nothingness. He was dead. Tears flooded Snow’s eyes as she reached for his hand, clutching it in hers.
Tasnia was finally spurred into action. She and the other Elders joined hands in a semi-circle around Seraphina. Too late did she realize what was happening to stop it. The Elders chanted something in elvish and light swarmed around them, moving in a shimmering cloud toward the queen. Seraphina backed up but there were others behind her doing the same thing. She was surrounded.
With clenched fists and a scowl etched deep on her face, she let out an exasperated cry before vanishing into thin air, leaving behind a swirling cloud of angry purple mist.
But the damage was done. Ardan was dead. The village would never be the same.