The Snow Queen's Shadow

But he had obeyed, knowing what was needed. He had cried when she cut him—they both had—but he never flinched away. She unbuttoned her jacket, wrapping it around him. “What of you? Your eye, your side—”
    “Hurt like hell, both of them,” Gerta admitted. “But I’m not bleeding.” She pointed to the weapon in Danielle’s hand. “You shouldn’t need that. With the demon gone, the mirror shards have no hold over them anymore. They’re free, all of them.”
    Even Armand. Danielle sheathed her sword and sat, her muscles gone weak as though her limbs were melting. The creatures stumbled about, confused and frightened, but no longer hostile. Jakob climbed into her lap, and she held him with one arm. With her other, she gently reached over to touch Talia’s back. Talia’s muscles were like stone.
    Years ago, Talia had awakened from a fairy curse to find her entire family dead. She had fled to Lorindar, where Beatrice and Snow found her and took her in. Now Bea and Snow were both gone.
    “Snow chose this,” Gerta said. “The moment our mother’s mirror cracked and she sensed what hid within. She trusted her friends to help her destroy that evil.”
    “I know.” Talia didn’t move. Her hair hid her face. “This is Allesandria, home of magic. There must have been something more we could have—”
    “There wasn’t.” The certainty in Gerta’s voice was absolute. “You saw how many nobles fell to the demon, not to mention the king of Allesandria. Snow spent her life studying magic. She was gifted enough to rule, stronger even than our mother, though she never believed it. She knew there was but one way to undo what Rose Curtana had set in motion. She wouldn’t want you to grieve. She’d want you to celebrate her victory.”
    A cracking sound echoed through the throne room. A thin curtain of snow drifted from the ceiling. Danielle rose. “What happens to this place now that the demon is gone?”
    “Nothing good.”
    An animal like a dog with vestigial wings of edged ice charged toward them. Its snarls sounded more panicked then angry. Danielle tried to stand and draw her sword, but Gerta was faster, slapping a palm to the surface of the frozen lake. The dog yelped and limped away, favoring its front left leg. Blood dripped from its paw.
    “We can’t stay here,” said Danielle.
    Talia took a deep, shuddering breath. She rolled Snow’s body to face her, then leaned down to kiss her lightly on the lips.
    Danielle held her breath. Once before, deep within Fairytown, Talia had awakened Snow from a curse with just such a kiss . . . but Snow was gone. Talia seemed to shrink into herself.
    “Talia, we have to go.” Danielle wasn’t letting go of her son, and Gerta was too badly hurt to physically drag Talia from the palace, assuming Talia didn’t knock her unconscious for trying.
    “You promised her,” Gerta said.
    Talia didn’t move. “You heard that?”
    Gerta tugged Talia’s shoulder. “Do you have the faintest idea what her spirit will do to yours if you stay here and let yourself die? It won’t be pretty.”
    Slowly, Talia nodded. She lifted Snow’s body, cradling her to her chest, and stepped away from the throne. “What about the traps?”
    “I should be able to take care of them now,” Gerta said.
    Danielle did her best to call out to Snow’s creatures, warning them to flee. She didn’t know whether they could understand her, or if they simply sensed the danger as the magic holding the palace together began to unravel. By the time they reached the doorway, the throne room was empty.
    Outside, a light snow was falling, but it couldn’t hide the carnage of battle. Tears spilled down Danielle’s cheeks at the sight of animals and monsters scattered over the ice, their blood staining the snow crimson. Trails of blood showed where the wounded had dragged themselves away into the woods. “I’m so sorry,” Danielle whispered. “Thank you.”
    With the darkling dead, they had no way of traveling, yet Danielle couldn’t bring herself to call upon the animals again. Not when they had given so much. “We’ll need shelter.”
    “No, we won’t.” Once they reached the edge of the lake, Gerta dropped to her knees and cleared a patch on the ice. Unlike the floor within the palace, the ice here was rippled and flawed, but Danielle could see Gerta’s reflection in the surface. “Frozen lake beneath my hand, show the ruler of this land.”
    Nothing happened at first. Danielle