The Stepsister Scheme

between stories and reality. “No, I don’t.”
    “I was awakened by the agony of childbirth,” Talia said, “as my twin children were expelled from my womb.”
    Danielle could see her shaking.
    “My prince wasn’t as kind as yours,” Talia said. Her words were like knives. “I’m sure he began by planting a royal kiss on my cold lips. That’s what you’re supposed to do, right? But it didn’t work. I didn’t open my eyes and fall madly in love with him. So instead, he indulged another fantasy.”
    “Oh, Talia.” Danielle reached out.
    “Touch me right now and I swear I’ll break your wrist. Princess or no.”
    Danielle drew back her hand.
    “The thorns and vines died the day I awoke. The prince returned, ready to claim me for his bride. He found more than he bargained for.”
    “What happened?” Danielle asked.
    “He brought me to his palace. And then I ran away.”
    The emptiness in those simple words made Danielle want to weep. “But your children—”
    “They weren’t my children,” she whispered. “He sent them to be raised at one of the temples. I never learned which one.” A bitter smile quirked her lips. “He said he would forgive me for being so crass as to bear children before we were married, but that it was better for everyone if the people never learned I was impure . That night, I killed him while he slept.”
    Talia shuddered, then wiped her face. When she spoke again, she sounded steadier. “To sleep is to be helpless,” she said. “So when Rose threatened to revive my curse, I ran. Again. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t let her—”
    “She won’t,” Danielle said. “I promise. I won’t let her.”
    “Don’t make oaths you can’t keep, Princess.” Talia tilted her head to one side. “Is there anything more you’d like to pry from me? Shall I entertain you with further tales of my cowardice?”
    “What made you return to Fairytown?” Danielle asked.
    “The farther I went, the more I imagined you sitting here waiting for me to show up and save you. Right up to the moment they cut your throat, you’d still expect everything to work out, for me to rush in and help you rescue Armand. I kept seeing the disappointment in your eyes when you finally accepted the truth, and I couldn’t stand it anymore. The world doesn’t work like that, Princess.”
    “But you did come back,” Danielle pointed out.
    “Shut up.”
    Danielle searched for something more to say, something to let Talia know it would be all right. That Danielle didn’t despise her for leaving. She could hear the pain in Talia’s voice, and she would have taken back her questions if she could. “You’re not weak,” she said at last. “And I trust you.”
    “Idiot.”
    Danielle smiled. “Maybe.”
    That earned a short laugh. “If you’re finished with the interrogation, Princess, would you mind terribly if we rescued Snow and Armand?”

    CHAPTER 13
    Danielle watched with ever-increasing skepticism as Talia unwound the line of her zaraq whip. She approached the gray rat who had responded to Danielle’s call. Thanks to Trittibar’s magic, the rat appeared roughly the size of a horse.
    Talia reached out. The rat promptly snatched the weighted end of the whip and tried to chew it. “Would you mind?”
    “Give that back, please,” said Danielle. “She’s not going to hurt you.” She felt a twinge of guilt at that, remembering the last rat who had come to her aid. But like the others, this rat appeared to trust her. His eyes tracked Talia as she looped the line around his chest, tying a crude harness, but he didn’t try to stop her. Talia tied a second length around her own waist.
    “Don’t worry.” Talia leaned down, grabbing the harness in her hands so her body pressed flat against the rat’s back. “The only thing you’ve really got to worry about is fleas. At this size, they can take a nice chunk out of you.”
    Before Danielle could answer, Talia and her rat were scrambling up the support beam. Danielle waited in the darkness, listening to the scritching sound of claws on wood. The rat climbed in fits and starts, pulling himself and Talia up, then stopping to sniff the air before continuing.
    “Made it,” Talia called out at last. “I’m out of the harness. Bring him back down.”
    Danielle nodded and summoned the rat. His descent was far less graceful. He climbed head down, one paw on the rough stone for balance, and his hindquarters seemed forever on the verge of