The Stepsister Scheme

be anything too nasty until we get to the cave. Not if she wants to keep her presence secret.”
    Midnight trotted through the branches and dropped away. Snow’s delighted shriek quickly faded.
    “Speaking of secrecy,” Talia muttered. “Go on, Princess.”
    Danielle leaned forward. “Let’s go.”
    Before, Wind had taken off from open ground, climbing slowly and smoothly toward the sky. Not this time, with the walls of the maze so close the aviars couldn’t fully extend their wings. The branches rustled as Wind walked to the end of the path. Danielle could see the far side of the chasm through the gaps. Her throat clamped shut and her knuckles whitened on Wind’s mane.
    At the edge, Wind drew her rear feet up close to her front and hopped into the chasm.
    Every muscle in Danielle’s body tightened like steel as they dropped straight down. The aviar’s wings spread slowly, steering them to the left, then slowly leveling out. Danielle could feel her breakfast battling its way up her throat. She gritted her teeth and forced it down.
    The waves broke over the rocks, white spray splattering the base of the cliff. They flew close enough to the river that Danielle could feel the mist when Wind finally flapped her wings and began to climb up after Snow.
    Wind twisted her neck and whinnied. Danielle had the distinct impression the beast was laughing at her.
    “That wasn’t very nice,” Danielle said. She unclamped her aching hands.
    Up ahead, Snow hovered over the water. She pointed to a spot on the base of the cliff. At first, Danielle couldn’t see anything except wet rock and the spray of the river. Then two spots of sunlight sparkled on the water. Danielle realized they were Snow’s last mirrors, bobbing up and down with the waves. Snow held out her hand, and one of the mirrors scurried across the surface like a water bug, then climbed the cliff. Snow flew closer, and the mirror jumped into her waiting palm.
    “There,” said Snow, pointing. Her other mirror swam toward the cliff.
    “I see it,” said Danielle. Matted vines hung down into the water, hiding the cave from view. Dirt and moss turned the weeds the same slick brown as the rest of the cliff. Tall weeds rose to twine with the vines. The cave was as tall as a man, but much wider than the passages of the labyrinth.
    “I don’t see any guards,” said Talia. “Snow?”
    Snow’s forehead wrinkled as her last mirror reached the base of the cliff. It slipped past the weeds, and Danielle caught a final glimpse of the little mirror scaling the wall inside the cave.
    “First rule of being sneaky,” Snow said. “Guards rarely look up.”
    Talia tugged the reins of her aviar, turning him toward the cliff. They flew a short distance above the cave, close enough to the cliff that anyone inside would need to peek out through the weeds in order to see them. Danielle wondered how long the aviars could stay here without tiring. Most of the time, the aviars simply glided through the air. Hovering in one place had to require more effort. “Just a little longer,” she said, rubbing Wind’s neck.
    “I don’t see anyone,” Snow said. “The stepsisters flew in unchallenged. There may not be any guards. Or they could be farther back. Some of the fairy races don’t like to get this close to the sun.”
    “How far back does the cave go?” asked Talia.
    Snow closed her eyes. “Maybe twenty paces. Then it climbs up and to the left.”
    Talia nodded. “If this were my subterranean fortress, I’d keep my guards back, out of sight. Sound carries awfully well in a cave. They’ll hear us coming, and that gives them plenty of time to either shoot us or run for help.”
    “Plus, if they were closer, their feet would get wet when the tides rise,” Snow added.
    “I’m sure the Duchess is very concerned about the dryness of her guards’ boots,” Talia said. She led Socks to one side of the cave, then swung her right leg over the aviar’s neck. She had to contort her body to avoid the pounding wings as she prepared to jump down. “The water’s shallow here. Keep your eyes open for anything unusual. We’ll send your mirror farther along to find whatever’s hiding up the tunnel, and then we can—”
    The instant Talia’s toes touched the water, the river seemed to explode. Vines shot out, wrapping around Talia and her aviar. One caught Socks’ wing. He screamed as he fell into the river, his other wing beating furiously.
    “I see something