The Stepsister Scheme

fight, but she was too strong. Finally, he took his knife and opened my coffin. He could have saved himself, but instead he chose to free me. By the time I recovered enough to fight my mother, she had already killed him.”
    Snow pointed to the branches overhead. “This place reminds me of our cottage. Deep in the woods, away from the troubles of the world, safe from—”
    “This is the fairy queen’s labyrinth,” Talia said. She pressed a muffin into Danielle’s hand. “Safe is hardly the word I’d use.”
    “Don’t be such a wet blanket.” Snow swiped a muffin for herself, then tugged the waterskin from Talia’s shoulder. “The fairy queen almost never sends prisoners into the maze at night, and the creatures who patrol this place stay close to the castle. We’ll be fine.”
    Danielle took a bite of her muffin. It was dry, and the small raisins inside were hard as wood. Goat cheese had been melted over the top. Plain, simple fare, as were the strips of dried lamb meat Talia handed out next. But her stomach seemed to prefer bland these days, and it was far better than the scraps she used to receive from her stepmother. The taste reminded her of simpler times, back when her father was still alive. Back before balls and princes and stepsisters who practiced black magic.
    “The aviars are tied around the bend, munching the queen’s maze,” Talia said. “Hopefully, she won’t mind. We don’t know when the stepsisters will show up, so you should rest now, while you can.”
    Snow handed her choker to Talia. “The mirror will flash when they approach.” A few crumbs slipped down her chin as she spoke. “Wake me, and I’ll be able to see exactly where they are.”
    “If they don’t show up tonight, we’ll start searching the chasm for the Duchess in the morning,” said Talia. She drew her sword and brought Snow’s choker close, using the light to check the edge of the blade.
    “What happens if my stepsisters have more of those darklings?” Danielle asked.
    “Then we’ll probably die.” Talia flipped her sword to study the other edge. She ran a fingernail along the edge and clucked her tongue. Grabbing a small whetstone from her pocket, she sat down and began to sharpen the blade. “Get some sleep, Princess.”

    CHAPTER 10
    Perhaps it was the magic of Fairytown that twisted Danielle’s dreams into nightmares. Or it could have been the child in her womb, or the fear and anxiety of the past few days.
    In her dreams, Danielle found herself on her cot back in the attic of her old house. Her stepsisters laughed and danced around her as the shadowy form of their darkling wrapped knotted, soiled rags around Danielle’s limbs, binding her in place.
    When he finished, the darkling scrambled onto her belly, which had swollen like the hills outside of town. Producing a silver shovel, the darkling rammed the blade into her stomach and turned up a spade full of muffin, which he tossed aside. Charlotte and Stacia scrambled to gobble up the discarded raisins. Danielle tried to scream, but the darkling placed a slimy hand over her mouth. Her lips and tongue turned dry, aging and shriveling like the raisins on the floor.
    The darkling returned to her stomach, digging out more and more muffin until he stood shoulder-deep in Danielle’s belly.
    He clawed his way back out and disappeared into the darkness. Stacia and Charlotte walked around to either side of Danielle. Charlotte produced a handful of seeds, which she tossed into the hole in Danielle’s stomach. Soon an enormous cornstalk began to grow, breaking through the low roof to let the moonlight in. More darklings climbed down the cornstalk, disappearing into Danielle’s stomach as she squirmed and tried to scream, but all that emerged was a weak gasp.
    A cold hand clamped down on her mouth. “I’d prefer we not announce ourselves to all of Fairytown, if it’s all the same to you,” Talia said.
    Danielle wrenched free and scooted away until her back hit the branches. She touched her mouth, then her stomach. Her clothes were once again damp with sweat, but she was unharmed.
    “You were dreaming,” Talia said, her voice an odd mix of annoyance and envy. She wore Snow’s choker, and the lone, glowing mirror gave her face a nightmarish quality.
    Danielle looked over at Snow. Whatever noise Danielle might have made, Snow had slept right through it. She lay curled into a ball, her blanket clutched tightly around her.
    Through the branches