The Snow Queen's Shadow

true form within, that of a young woman missing her left hand. Snow opened her mouth wider, and the spirit disappeared down her throat.
    It was a curious sensation, like swallowing air on the coldest day of winter. She felt . . . bloated.
    Duino was next. He tried one final spell, seeking to split his spirit like a lizard shedding its tail, but Snow’s magic was too strong.
    She could hear their screams, taste their thoughts.
    “You spoke with Laurence,” she whispered, seeing that exchange through Duino’s eyes, hearing the king’s promises to send reinforcements. But Duino refused to wait. He had to protect his people, to put an end to the chaos Snow’s minions spread through his land.
    Duino was believed to be a good man who had devoted his life to serving his people, but Snow was privy to his innermost desires, the secrets he hid even from himself. In his heart, Duino was as rotted and maggot-ridden as the rest, no matter how pure he appeared from without.
    “You can’t!” Duino’s voice, strained and desperate as he glimpsed her plans from within. “Allesandria—”
    “Has earned its fate,” Snow said firmly. She closed her eyes, allowing him to see more.
    “So alone . . .” Duino’s struggle faded. Was that pity in his words?
    Snow reached out, feeling those touched by her mirrors. Hundreds now, and soon they would be thousands. “Not anymore.”
    With a thought, she tightened the threads and crushed the two captive spirits to nothingness. Her body belched in response, and then she was drawing the rest into herself.
     
    Ever since an unexpected journey to Arathea months before, Danielle had been spending more time with her tutors, trying to learn the languages of her neighboring kingdoms. She was nowhere near as fluent as Talia or Gerta, but she was making progress. Not enough to follow all of Noita’s conversation, but she recognized the word “flowers” when Noita gestured toward a cluster of tall, flame-colored tiger lilies.
    “She’s telling Gerta to pick a flower and inhale its scent,” whispered Talia. Like Danielle, she kept her weapon ready. “They show the future, and might help us to see what we must do.”
    “Have her go first,” said Danielle. “To prove it’s not another trap.”
    Talia barked another order. Noita sagged and walked over to pick one of the flowers. She brought it to her nose and breathed deeply.
    “My garden.” Tears filled Noita’s eyes. “My beautiful garden.”
    Danielle couldn’t follow the rest. Noita wept, repeating the same phrase over and over.
    “‘She destroyed it all,’” said Gerta. “I think she’s talking about Snow. Noita meant to hide here, but Snow finds her. Because of us.” Gerta used a small knife to cut another flower. She pressed her nose to the petals and inhaled. She frowned, then tried again. “I think I have a bad flower.”
    “What do you see?” asked Talia.
    “Nothing.” Gerta dropped the flower and cut a new one from the ground. “Maybe Snow’s magic is blocking the vision. There’s nothing but blackness.”
    Talia snarled something at Noita, whose face softened.
    “You poor girl.” Even though Danielle didn’t understand most of the words, she could hear the sadness in Noita’s voice as Talia continued to translate. “Snow might be able to hide herself, but there’s only one reason the flowers would fail to show anything at all. The flowers show your future. Continue upon this road, and you have none.”
    Gerta paled. She stared at the flower, then inhaled again, more deeply this time.
    “Death clouds everything around it,” Noita said. “Not even your mother was strong enough to foresee her own end.”
    Gerta flung the flower away. “Talia—”
    “Those flowers also told Noita she’d be able to capture us, remember?” Talia said. “Magic is unreliable at its best, and she doesn’t strike me as the most trustworthy witch.”
    “Let me try,” said Danielle.
    “You’re sure?” Noita clucked her tongue. “Like your friend, you might not want to see the truth.”
    Danielle used her sword to cut another tiger lily. Without a word, she lifted it to her face until the petals stroked her nose.
    “Concentrate on the one you want to see,” Talia said, continuing to relay Noita’s words. “Your will and focus guide the visions.”
    Danielle sniffed the flower. The garden melted away, revealing walls of ice. Fog carpeted the floor. Jakob sat playing with flat shards of ice, so clear they