said, “Thank you for trying, Gerta.”
Gerta managed a crooked smile. “So now do you trust me?”
Gerta might be a stranger, but she spoke with weary familiarity, so much like Snow that Danielle couldn’t help but smile in return. “It’s a start.”
“Will Snow come after you?” Talia asked.
“I don’t think so.” Gerta checked her thumb. Blood welled from the cut, and she wrapped it in the hem of her cloak. “She hid me from herself, ripping the memory from her own mind to protect me from the demon. She knows someone tried to free Armand, but she doesn’t know who I am.”
Danielle turned away. What had Snow intended for Gerta? Gerta wasn’t strong enough to fight a demon. Was she a merely a way for Snow to save some part of herself?
“What now?” asked Talia. “Half the palace is out hunting for Snow and the prince, but we don’t know where she intends to go next.”
“She’s at sea,” said Gerta.
They turned to face her.
“As Snow tried to take me, I… I think I glimpsed her as well. Her whereabouts and her thoughts. Like a nightmare, trying to swallow me into darkness, but I saw water, and I felt the shift of the deck.”
“She’s going home,” whispered Talia. “To Allesandria.”
“How do you know?” asked Gerta.
“She spoke of the pain of leaving your home. Of surrendering your birthright.” Talia stared at the floor. “‘Nobody forced you to flee, to turn your back on your throne.’ She was talking about me, but.. .”
“But herself as well,” Danielle finished. “If the winds are favorable, we might be able to intercept her before she reaches Allesandria.”
“Do you know how to stop a demon?” asked Gerta. “She took your son and swept through the palace as though neither guards nor wards even existed.”
“Accounts of such creatures are rare,” Isaac said, hooking his thumbs through his necklace as he paced. “The church teaches that demons are beasts of Hell. By their nature, they spread pain and chaos, and they do not stop until they are destroyed or returned to Hell.”
“There are theories that Hell is simply another world,” Gerta said. “Albeit one less hospitable to beings such as ourselves.”
“Perhaps.” Isaac turned to Danielle. “Like the devils of old, this one works through lies and deception. It seeks not to control Snow, but to corrupt her.”
“Snow’s mother bound it into the mirror,” said Danielle. “If we could do the same-”
“Once trapped, we could find a way to destroy it!” Gerta nodded eagerly. “There was a witch named Noita. She lived by the river near the winter palace in Kanustius. My mother went to her on occasion, when she required assistance with certain rituals.”
“Would she know how your mother controlled this demon?” asked Danielle.
“She might. Not even my mother could have worked such magic alone.”
“We’ll take the Phillipa,” said Danielle. “She’s the fastest ship in the Lorindar navy. If we can intercept Snow before she reaches Allesandria, we’ll try to rescue Jakob. If not, we find Noita.”
“How do you plan to steal Jakob away from her?” Talia demanded. “She took Jakob from the heart of the palace. When I faced her, I barely escaped with my soul intact.”
“So don’t face her,” Danielle snapped. “While we engage with Snow, you sneak onto her ship and find my son. Snow might be too powerful for us to stop, but you’ve had no trouble dealing with her other victims.”
Unspoken between them was the fact that they had no idea how to save Snow herself. Talia dug her nails into her palms, but nodded once. “The Phillipa was Bea’s ship. Captain Hephyra’s oath was to her, not to Lorindar. With the queen dead, she might already have left.”
“Not yet.” Danielle was already hurrying toward the door. “Her crew were men of Lorindar. She would need time to raise a new one. Pack your things. We leave at high tide today.”
Talia found Danielle in her quarters a short time later, stuffing clothes into a brass-studded carriage trunk. It was a measure of Danielle’s distress that she wasn’t bothering to fold them.
Talia coughed softly so as not to startle her. “I’ve asked the kitchen to search for some of that tea mix Snow used to make, to help your seasickness.”
“Thank you.” Danielle stifled a yawn as she shoved a jacket and a pair of boots into the trunk, followed by a thick brown cloak.
Talia glanced at the second trunk sitting beside the bed. “Armand?”
Danielle’s shoulders tensed. “Still in the chapel. Father Isaac will continue to search for ways to free him from the demon’s influence.”
Talia pressed the door shut behind her. “When I faced Snow, the things the demon said… you can’t parry words. To hear those taunts from the one you love lodges the barbs deeper.”
Danielle bowed her head. “Snow makes for Allesandria because, deep within her heart, some part of her longs to return home, to regain those dreams. That longing is real. What does that say of Armand’s heart? Deep down, did he choose me not for love, but for simplicity? Because I was safe?”
“Perhaps some part of him did.” Talia shrugged. “Just as a part of you wanted him because he could help you escape your stepmother and stepsisters.”
“I love him,” Danielle insisted, turning away from the trunk.
“I know.” Talia leaned against the doorframe, arms folded. “You love him now. What was it you loved that first night, when you knew nothing but his name, his looks, and the fact that he danced like a drunken ox?”
A smile tugged briefly at her lips. “He wasn’t that bad.”
“You should have seen him when he was learning. He nearly crippled three of his mother’s handmaidens.” Talia sighed and joined Danielle, helping to gather her things into the trunk.
Danielle was holding up thus far, keeping her emotions under control while she dealt with the crisis at hand. Talia had seen her like this before when Armand was kidnapped, and again a year later when Beatrice was attacked. But she didn’t know how long Danielle could keep going with both Armand and Jakob endangered. Danielle was exhausted, her body tight with the strain, as though the next blow might shatter what strength she had left.
“Danielle, are you certain about this? Whatever this demon is, it will fight us. Perhaps you should remain behind to keep Lorindar from falling apart. I know Theodore would appreciate the support.”
Danielle yanked a pair of trousers from Talia’s hands and refolded them. “She has Jakob.”
“So you would give her the future queen of Lorindar as well?” Talia kept her voice soft. “A single cut from her mirror and she’ll own you, just as she does Armand.”
“Then I’ll trust you to keep me safe, as always.” Danielle rose. In addition to her sword, she wore a long dagger on her belt. Talia nodded her approval. “Talia, I have to go. I can speak to the animals of the sea, ask them to help us.”
“What of your husband? If Jakob-If we can’t stop Snow… you and Armand-”
“I know what you’re not saying,” said Danielle. Her cheeks were wet. “I know my duty. Chancellor Crombie has already expressed his ‘concerns’ over this voyage. He feels as you do, that I should remain here while others search for my son. Should Jakob be lost, my responsibility is to bear another heir, to protect the Whiteshore line.”
Talia made a note to punch the chancellor in the face at the next opportunity. “You know how I feel about Jakob. I’ll do everything in my power to-”
“There will be no other heir, Talia. We’ve tried. Whatever magic the Duchess’ darklings performed on me, it left me unable to bear another child. Snow confirmed it two months ago. I asked her not to speak of it.”
Danielle spoke without inflection. From the weariness in her face, she had already shed her tears over the news. Talia stood mute, uncertain what to say. Of all the arguments she had prepared for, this one had never occurred to her.
She understood why Danielle had asked Snow to keep this secret. Once it became known that the future queen was unable to bear another child, it wouldn’t take long for certain individuals to suggest Armand turn elsewhere “for the good of Lorindar.” This would only encourage those who condemned the prince for marrying
