The Stepsister Scheme

father died, but that was a lifetime ago. “Charlotte, you know I can’t leave my husband.”
    “He’ll be happy,” Charlotte snapped. “The potion guarantees that much. And isn’t that what you want? For your true love to be happy? Please believe me. You have to flee.”
    “Why?” asked Talia. “You’ve already lied to us, and the fact that you tried to murder the princess doesn’t do much for your credibility.”
    “Killing this farce of a princess is one thing,” Charlotte snapped. She turned her attention back to Danielle. “But believe me, if you keep searching for Armand, you’ll wish I’d finished the job.”
    Danielle pulled her hand from Charlotte’s grasp. “What are you afraid of? Tell me.”
    “If I could, I would.” Charlotte touched the mark on her shoulder. “You can’t imagine—”
    Charlotte’s breath caught. She pushed herself to the back of the bed, her wide eyes fixed on the doorway, where two rats darted past Arlorran’s feet.
    “Off with you, you blasted pests,” Arlorran shouted. He grabbed a candlestick from the dresser and flung it at the nearest rat, who scurried to one side. “Damned things sneak down the chimneys from time to time. I built a grate, but you’d be amazed at the spaces a rat can squeeze through. Most of the time they fall and break their flea-bitten necks, but every once in a while one makes it down, usually when I’m here with... company. Ruins the mood something awful.”
    The two rats ran toward the bed. Snow watched them run, a confused expression on his face.
    Talia didn’t hesitate. She whirled away from the bed and swung her sword. The blade whispered through the air, slamming onto the rat’s back with a dull thump. The second rat scampered away.
    Talia raised her sword. The black rat shook his head. The blow had flattened the middle of his body, but he appeared unharmed. His pink tail lashed once, and then he began to grow. His fur seemed to absorb the light, until he was little more than a shadow which gradually stretched into the shape of a young boy.
    The other rat was doing the same. This one grew even larger, taking on the form of a human woman.
    “Stacia.” Danielle raised her sword. The glass blade shone as she aimed the tip at her stepsister.
    “That little fox,” Arlorran whispered. “She didn’t block my summons. She rode it right to my doorstep, then hopped free. I thought you said your stepsisters were new to witchcraft.”
    “I thought they were,” Danielle whispered. But the Stacia she remembered had little in common with the calm, confident woman standing before her.
    Stacia wore a gown of blood-red velvet, trimmed with black leather. A silver belt circled her overlarge waist. A web of delicate gold chain and rubies decorated her shoulders and chest, with a ruby teardrop suspended between her breasts. Pink spirals had been tattooed onto her left cheek and around her eye, partially concealing the scars left by Danielle’s birds at the wedding.
    Danielle’s stepmother would have died to see Stacia dressed so.
    Behind Stacia, the boy remained covered in shadow. Danielle could see enough to know he wasn’t human. The limbs were too long, and his movements too fluid, as if his bones were nothing but water.
    “Sweet, merciful queen,” whispered Arlorran as he spied the boy. “Sorry, ladies. Best of luck to you!” With that, he turned and scurried out of the bedroom.
    Talia lunged at Stacia, but the shadow was faster. He jumped to interpose his body between them. The sword slammed into his torso. He seized the blade with both hands as he fell to the ground, nearly ripping the weapon from Talia’s hand.
    “That wasn’t nice,” Stacia said. She pointed to Talia. “Kill her.”
    The shadow hopped to his feet, shoved the sword aside, and leaped. Talia brought the ball of her foot up to kick where his jaw should have been. He fell, twisting like a cat and springing again before Talia’s foot touched the ground.
    “Back!” Snow shouted. The light from her choker grew almost blinding. The shadow raised his hands and scampered away. Danielle started to follow, hoping to help Talia, when Charlotte kicked her in the side.
    Danielle fell against Snow, and the light dimmed. Instantly, the shadow attacked again.
    Talia dove away, changing the movement into a somersault and drawing her knife as she rose. With a weapon in each hand, she turned and sliced at the shadow’s face, momentarily driving him back.
    Charlotte