The Stepsister Scheme

darklings scrambled to cut her off. With a wild grin, Talia leaped and kicked off the wall with both feet, hard enough to launch herself over the darklings’ heads.
    The bench began to press against Danielle as she grew. She rolled out and stood. Snow still wasn’t fully awake, and Talia could do nothing to hurt the darklings. Moving as quickly and silently as she could, Danielle circled around the table where Talia had turned to face her opponents.
    Both darklings climbed onto the bench. Their limbs quivered as they prepared to leap. Talia smiled tightly as she spotted Danielle. Danielle raised her sword and nodded.
    Talia stepped back and pretended to stumble.
    They pounced. Talia rolled back, catching the first darkling with both feet, then launching him back through the air. He screamed and flailed, and Danielle swung with all her might.
    He was dead by the time he landed on the ground. And the bench behind her. A bit also sprayed onto the wall. The mess would take hours to clean.
    The second darkling was more fortunate. He landed higher, hands tangling Talia’s hair. One arm snaked around her throat.
    Talia sat up, then threw herself flat, crushing the darkling against the table with all of her weight. Her head snapped back, smashing the darkling’s face. A normal foe would have been stunned, but the darkling clung hard, ripping Talia’s shirt and biting her shoulder. Talia grabbed his wrist with both hands, trying to twist him away, but the black fingers simply dug into her skin.
    Danielle ran toward the table, changing her grip on the sword. One hand held the hilt, while the other grabbed the blade for control. As before, the sword didn’t even break her skin. “Talia!”
    Talia rolled, and Danielle plunged the blade into the darkling’s back. The darkling screamed and twisted. Hot blood splashed Danielle’s arm as the darkling tore free and scrambled to the edge of the table. She swung again, wanting nothing more than to destroy this perversion.
    “Fine control, remember?” Talia snapped. She rolled off of the table and staggered away, one hand touching her back. There was no blood, either from Danielle’s sword or the darkling’s attack. “You swing that thing like a farmer harvesting his crops!”
    “I’m sorry,” Danielle said, her voice tight. “Would you like me to put him back so I can try again?”
    “Will you just kill the bastard already?”
    Danielle tried, but the darkling twisted aside, going for Talia’s throat. The darkling wasn’t moving as fast as before, but he was still dangerous. Talia ducked again.
    “Talia?” Snow stared bleary-eyed at Danielle and Talia. Moving like she was still half asleep, she began to climb out of the coffin.
    The darkling streaked past. His movement was erratic, like an injured cat, but he bounded across the tables too fast for Danielle or Talia to stop him.
    “Snow, watch out!” Talia shouted, but Snow didn’t seem to hear. She rubbed her eyes as the darkling sprang, fingers outstretched.
    Snow smiled and tapped the edge of the coffin. A web of light shot up, spearing him in midair. It reminded Danielle of the light Snow had used back in the cave to drive the darklings back, burning their skin. Only back then, she had used only the small mirrors of her choker.
    Her coffin was made up of hundreds of broken mirrors.
    An instant later, nothing remained of the darkling but a puff of smoke and a smell that reminded Danielle of moldering leaves.
    Snow smothered a yawn. “Got you!”
    “About time you woke up,” Talia said, rubbing her shoulder. “Do you know how long it took me to find a counterspell to that silly sleeping curse?”
    Danielle blinked. Talia stepped closer and lowered her voice. “Breathe a word about what really happened, and I’ll kill you myself.”
    Danielle looked at Snow, then back at Talia. There was a kind of weary resignation in Talia’s dark eyes. Danielle thought back to what Talia had said about her bargain with the fairy girl, how Talia had promised her unborn child in exchange for the girl’s help. Snow clearly had no idea how Talia felt. No wonder Talia had been so upset by Snow’s flirtation with Arlorran.
    “I promise,” Danielle said.
    “How long did I sleep?” Snow asked.
    “A little over a month,” said Talia.
    Snow touched her bare neck and frowned. She reached down to grab her knife. “Where’s Prince Armand?”
    “Charlotte said he was with Stacia and the Duchess. Somehow, Danielle kept