The Stepsister Scheme

surface. And even if we had closed them off faster, I don’t fancy being stuck down here with the likes of them.” He walked away, shaking his singed hand in the air. “I need a drink.”
    “Can you summon Charlotte back?” Talia demanded.
    Arlorran muttered Charlotte’s name, then shook his head. “Sorry. Either she or her sister finally remembered to shield her.”
    He ducked through a rounded door. Danielle caught a glimpse of bare stone walls and wooden barrels. Arlorran reappeared a moment later with a bottle of pale blue liquid, shutting the door behind him. He nudged the blanket with his foot. “Genuine unicorn hair, that was. At least, that’s what the fellow who sold it to me said.” He sniffed the air. “Smells like lamb wool to me, though.”
    Danielle looked around for somewhere to sit. This room appeared to be some kind of study. Like the bedroom, the ceiling was made of quartz. Here, the crystal had been cut into flat facets that reflected the candlelight back to the far side of the room, where a worn, heavily padded rocking chair sat. Dust and flakes of stone covered the floor. Danielle could see tiny tracks where the rats had scurried back and forth.
    A rack of stonecarving chisels and hammers hung on one wall. “Planning to carve myself a proper kitchen one of these days, but I never seem to get around to it.” Arlorran stepped toward the rocking chair, but Snow was faster. She grabbed Danielle and dragged her to the chair.
    “Pull back your sleeve,” Snow said. “Let me see that arm.”
    “It’s nothing.” Danielle flexed her arm to demonstrate. “You drove him back before—”
    “ I’m the healer,” Snow interrupted, with no trace of playfulness. She tugged the sword from Danielle’s hand and set it on the floor. Then she unbuttoned Danielle’s cuff and folded back the sleeve. “I get to say whether it’s nothing.”
    “But it doesn’t even hurt.”
    “Listen to your friend, lass,” said Arlorran. “You don’t fool around with wounds from one such as that.”
    Snow sucked air through her teeth, pulling Danielle’s attention back to her arm.
    “What did it do to me?” Danielle whispered.
    The skin was unbroken, but Danielle could clearly see where the shadow had grabbed her. Pale, dry skin had already begun to flake away. She touched one of the dark freckles that hadn’t been there before. They reminded her of age spots.
    Snow gently pinched her arm, then let go. The skin was dry and wrinkled, and retained the impression of Snow’s fingers for several heartbeats.
    “What was that thing?” Danielle asked.
    Arlorran shook his head. “Listen, Princesses. I vowed to help you, whether I like it or not.” He took a swig from his bottle. “So I’ll tell you this much. Your stepsister gave you some good advice. I’d get out of Fairytown if I were you. The sooner the better.” He kept glancing behind, at the closed chimneys.
    “Her skin looks like his,” said Talia, pointing to Arlorran. “It looks old .”
    “Hey, now. None of that.” Arlorran moved toward Snow. “She’s right about the aging, though. If it were me, I’d cast that light trick of yours again. Might help destroy any leftover power in the wound. Might not, either. Who knows? You’re just lucky he didn’t hold on any longer.”
    Danielle turned her face away as the light flared. Warmth like sunlight spread over her arm, sending tingles through the old skin.
    “The effects don’t run deep,” Snow said. She put one hand on Danielle’s arm and closed her eyes. “It brushed the muscle. You may feel a little weak, but that should pass over the next few weeks, as the skin and muscle grow back.”
    “You still haven’t told us what that was,” Talia said.
    Arlorran scowled and set his wine on the floor. “’Twas a darkling,” he said softly. “Offspring of the Dark Man himself.”
    “I’ve read of him,” said Snow. “He’s a servant of the fairy queen. They say his touch can cause a man to wither away between one breath and the next. If he’s merciful, he simply shrivels a limb or turns your eyes to dust.”
    “Does this mean the queen is involved after all?” Danielle asked.
    Arlorran gave a violent shake of his head. “The Dark Man serves the queen, and none other. But his children, they’re another matter. Wild and evil, they are. Casteless, too.”
    “The Dark Man is the queen’s assassin.” Snow turned to Arlorran. “I’ve never heard of him having