The Snow Queen's Shadow

palace. When Snow burned down part of the building, she broke that circle . . .” Her eyes widened. “Talia, it was an unbroken circle. ”
    Talia stared, not understanding.
    “My mother added this trim when she first became queen. I thought it was so she could communicate with her servants, and to spy on them. But a ring this size could also be used for summoning.”
    “That’s how she trapped the demon,” Danielle said.
    Gerta nodded excitedly as she picked at the trim. “I bet Noita’s enchanted trees provided the wood. She never came to the palace, as far as I know, so she might not even have realized how our mother used her trees.”
    “Can the circle be repaired?” asked Talia.
    Gerta’s smile faded. “I wouldn’t know how. Even if we knew what kind of tree she used, and we could get more wood from Noita . . . I’d need years to figure out how she did it.”
    “Snow knew,” said Danielle. “That’s why she attacked the palace. She destroyed the one thing that could stop her.”
    “Not Snow. The demon. It would remember how it was first trapped.” Talia paced the room. She felt naked without the cape. She had come to rely on the wolf’s anger. Without it, it was all she could do to keep her grief at bay. “It’s Snow’s words. Her thoughts. The demon twisted her, but she’s still in there.”
    “She created me to save her, and I couldn’t,” said Gerta. “I couldn’t reach her.”
    “You’ll get another chance,” Talia said. “We know the demon plans to destroy Allesandria. What’s its next step, now that they’ve taken Laurence?”
    “I saw a palace of ice,” Danielle said. “On a lake.”
    Talia snorted. “There are hundreds of lakes in Allesandria.”
    “She may intend to punish the king personally, first.” Gerta sighed. “Snow was grateful for everything Laurence did, but deep down she also resented him for receiving everything that should have been hers.”
    “She never spoke of it,” said Talia. Snow rarely talked of Allesandria at all. When she did, it was about the beauty of the mountains, the crisp winter air, the colorful fashions . . . not once had she shown any hint of anger or bitterness.
    How much else had she kept to herself?
    “They have to return for us eventually,” said Danielle. “Sooner or later, the door will open. That will be our only chance to escape. If I summon the rats—”
    “Magic keeps all such vermin from entering the palace.” Gerta tugged at the chain around her neck. “So long as I wear this, I can’t cast the simplest spell. Your weapons are gone. A single Stormcrow could overpower us all, and Snow controls most of the palace.”
    “Stop calling her that,” Talia whispered.
    They both turned to look at her.
    “That thing. It’s not Snow.” Talia hammered a fist against the door, which swallowed the impact with hardly a sound. “Snow fought this thing. She ripped herself in half so we would have the key to stopping it. It’s not her fault we’re too dense to figure out how to use that key.”
    She spun away from the door, rubbing her arms against the chill and fanning her anger until it was almost a match for the wolf’s. “Every time you call her Snow, you’re giving up on her. You’re saying she’s gone, that we can’t save her. You’re wrong.”
    “Nobody has given up,” Danielle said, her words gentle.
    “ Don’t try to calm me down.” Talia clenched her fingers together.
    “You truly love her, don’t you?” Gerta’s eyes shone.
    Her pain broke through Talia’s anger. A part of her wanted to apologize. Another part simply wanted to get away. She hadn’t asked Gerta to fall in love with her. It wasn’t her fault.
    No, it was Snow’s. She had chosen to give Gerta these feelings. But why?
    “I have an idea.” Danielle stared at the floor, not meeting anyone’s eyes.
    “I’m not going to like it, am I?” asked Talia.
    “No.” Danielle took a deep breath. “This room is enchanted to keep us from escaping. Does that enchantment also prevent others from entering?”
     
    “Absolutely not.” Talia’s face was red, her expression taut.
    Danielle couldn’t blame her. If there were any other way . . . “Snow told us the demon’s magic was less effective against fairies. The Duchess—”
    “You spoke to her?” Talia asked. “You bargained with a fairy criminal? In your own bedchamber! Did you ever think what might have happened? You invited her into your home, risking—”
    “When we