Red Hood's Revenge

curse.” Talia stared at her hands.
    “The fairies mean to use you against Lakhim,” Roudette said. “To trigger your curse a second time. I was to bring you to Lakhim. Alive if possible, so her sages could study your curse. Dead if necessary.”
    “Why kill Talia?” Danielle asked. “If Lakhim discovered this plot, why not kill the fairies behind it?”
    “They’ve tried,” said Roudette. “A century ago, such a plan might have worked. The fairy who cursed Talia was hunted by the people and burned to death. But today, Lakhim wouldn’t dare move openly against the ‘saviors of Arathea.’ ”
    “So why not cast a new curse?” Snow asked.
    “That has been tried as well,” said Roudette. “Time and again, without success. With one of the original fairies dead and Talia gone, they’ve been unable to duplicate the exact spells used in her curse. They will do anything to claim her.”
    Snow shook her head. “The Duchess prepared the fairy sprite you meant to use. Why would she work against her own kind?”
    “Fairies are no more united than humans.” Roudette spat. “In this land, they say fairies are creatures of fire who betrayed the gods and were banished from Heaven. They were born of treachery. Don’t ask me to understand their twisted alliances and betrayals. I was told the Duchess would help. I didn’t question what she would receive in return.”
    Talia was staring toward the city. She didn’t appear to be listening, but when Roudette fell silent, Talia whispered, “Who leads the fairies in Arathea?”
    Roudette pushed Danielle’s sword away. “The one you want is called Zestan-e-Jheg. Spare my life, and I’ll help you kill her.”

CHAPTER 7

    R OUDETTE SAT BOUND BY THE THIN LINE of Talia’s zaraq whip. Testing the whip had done nothing but cut her wrists, so now she waited in silence as they debated her fate. She might have been able to break the whip, but Talia was watching her. By the time Roudette freed herself, Talia would have planted one knife in Roudette’s chest and would be throwing the second.
    So she waited. Waited and listened, using the wolf’s senses.
    “Roudette is a murderer,” Danielle was saying. “How many people has she killed today alone?”
    Snow chuckled. “When Danielle Whiteshore says you can’t trust someone, it’s time to listen.”
    “She’s telling the truth about what the fairies did to me. What they did to Arathea.” Talia’s eyes narrowed as she watched Roudette. Did she suspect Roudette could hear them? Talia lowered her voice further. “I can’t let it happen again.”
    If Roudette were in their place, she knew what her answer would be. Faith and trust got you killed, and Talia knew exactly how dangerous Roudette could be.
    Death didn’t bother her. Roudette had accepted the possibility of death the first time she donned the wolfskin, the same day she killed for the first time. What frightened her was the idea of dying without being able to finish this final task. Talia held the key to everything Roudette had worked for these past thirty years, but if she fell into Zestan’s hands, all Arathea would suffer.
    “What about a binding?” asked Danielle. “The spell Snow used on Rumpelstilzchen kept him under control.”
    The hair on Roudette’s neck and arms rose. Not since she was a child had she allowed magic to be used upon her.
    “Even with a binding, I don’t trust her,” said Snow.
    “Neither do I.” Talia was watching Roudette’s face. “But you saw the way she spoke of the fairies. I trust her hate.”
    That seemed to settle the matter. Talia held her sword ready as Danielle approached to say, “You have a choice. Accept Snow’s spell, which will bind you to your word. Or refuse and accept the punishment for your actions.”
    In other circumstances, Roudette might have chosen death. Instead, she stood and pushed back the shoulders of her cape, exposing herself to Snow’s magic.
    Snow placed a thumb in the hollow of Roudette’s collarbone. Roudette’s skin grew cold, then numb. A thread of smoke rose from beneath Snow’s thumb, smelling of new-forged metal.
    “By this mark, I charge you to protect the three of us with your life,” Snow said. “You will not raise a hand against us, nor will you allow us to come to harm. Your contract with Queen Lakhim is broken. When Zestan is dealt with, you will surrender yourself to Lorindar. At no time will you stray more than fifty paces from either myself, Danielle, or