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On my way over to the wagons, I stole another quick glance at the mirror, only to find the glass clear and still. Intent on examining its potential further, I stashed the mirror behind the driver’s cushion and moved to the front of the cart to unhitch the steeds. Moments later, I returned to my friend with two horses.
“Thank you, my friend,” Nyssa said, exchanging the rest of the treasures she’d offered for the reins of one horse.
Saddened that I had pushed away my old friend, that she must return to the sea so soon after our happenstance meeting, and that following her imminent departure, I’d fine myself alone once again, I nodded and left.
In addition to my depression, I had to deal with the guilt hacking at my insides. Traveling on the sea king’s roads was not safe with my stepmother’s mercenaries on it. Was I abandoning my friend to peril? What if they were kidnapped and enslaved? What if they perished in captivity? My heart squeezed at leaving them so vulnerable. But the resistance wasn’t equipped to provide protection for traveling royals.
Despite all my angst, the old Snow clung to a ray of hope that Nyssa would make it home alive and rally her father and his merarmy to come to the resistance’s aid. This hope washed through me, filling every corner, even the darkest ones.
***
That night,I couldn’t sleep. I threw back the quilt and got out of bed. Curious to discover more of the mirror’s secrets, I grabbed it from my shelf and sank into the chair beside the fire. A sprinkle of Fae dust from a spoon into the fireplace created an instant blaze that pumped heat into the room. Getting comfortable, I crossed my legs and gazed into the mirror.
This time, the surface of the glass revealed a new scene—my stepmother clutching a child, crying as guards ripped her daughter from her embrace, throwing out her arms and screaming… A man slapped the witch. She fell to her knees, grasping his feet and begging him to return her only child. I watched in amazement as my stepmother received orders to go to Haven to do the man’s bidding. Traveling by boat, she clutched a necklace, tears streaming down her cheeks. Next, the witch met my father, enchanted him, even though her heart belonged to her daughter. My stepmother and the man communicated via a scrying mirror. His look of pleasure gave me chills, but I forced myself to continue watching as he permitted a brief exchange between mother and daughter.
From what I understood of the scene, the man had bribed my stepmother, using her daughter as ransom until the witch completed the tasks he’d assigned her. I frowned. So none of what had occurred had been her idea? She’d done all those evil things in order to save her daughter… For a brief moment, my heart crumpled for her.
But the mirror was not finished with its show. Wagons transported chests to my father’s manor, where my stepmother greeted the drivers. When she opened a trunk, a golden glow glittered on her chest, and she picked up a gold coin and smiled. The vision shifted to her paying a blacksmith and him then fashioning collars with strange symbols etched into them. Again, the mirror jumped, this time to a training camp, where shifters—strong, young, and sturdy—were transported and trained to fight…were beaten if they resisted and killed if they continued to defy the wishes of the slavemasters.
The vision skipped forward to depict rows of soldiers, all of them wearing strange metal collars and standing before a platform, where my stepmother sat smiling like a cat that had caught a mouse. When she gave an unintelligible order, the soldiers thrust swords into the air and shouted. One looked straight at the mirror, at me, his eyes flashing green, his features shifting. A panther. Satisified with her efforts, my stepmother descended a set of stairs to the prison cells where she’d kept me. From there, she entered a secret door that led to a tunnel—no…a crypt. She strode over to her scrying mirror. In its reflection I saw two mirrors, both opposing each other, one larger one, made from pure evil and darkness, the other, a small, handheld mirror like mine, composed of light and all things good in this world.
Frightened, I turned over the mirror, thinking. What the hell was my stepmother doing, gathering an army of shifters? Specifically panthers? Was this her answer to a strike from the sea king? Who was the man holding her daughter captive? For what purpose? Did I possess the good mirror, the one I’d seen in the reflection just then? Were the two mirrors competing against each other, one trying to defeat the other? If I could see all this, what could my stepmother see inhermirror?
A sudden urge to share this news with Grimm engulfed me, and I threw on my cape to cover my nightgown. Mirror clutched in my hand, I bounded down the hallway, destined for the council room, hoping he was in there. If not, I would visit his chambers. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind the interruption if it pertained to helping his mission.
Five feet from the council room, I overheard someone speaking.
“I took a job digging aqueducts to supply more water to the plantations.”
Was that Phantom? I pressed my ear to the wood.
“Why?” Grimm responded.
“To be closer to my father,” Phantom continued.
“What did you observe?”
I frowned. Why were the dwarves grilling the shifter?
“On the first day of every month, they deliver a fresh batch of shifters,” Phantom explained. “They divert guards from patrolling the fences and the prisoner’s cabins to process all the new blood.”
“Thank you for this information,” Grimm said. “It’s incredibly valuable to our cause.”
“Anything I can do to help free my father,” Phantom said.
This was the perfect time to interrupt with the news I had to add to help them with their plans. I burst into the room, where Phantom sat at the table opposite Grimm, Teeny, and Mama Jo.
“Snow.” Phantom rose out of his chair.
Inviting myself in, I closed the door behind me and took a seat at the table. “I know what my stepmother is planning.”
Grimm folded his hands and leaned forward. “I’m listening.”
I held up the mirror for him to look.
Grimm tilted his head. “What is this?”
“Look into it,” I said. “It will show you.”
