“You let me worry about that,” I say easily, hearing the shuffling of feet before she does. Cindy spins toward the source of the noise, two men speaking from not far off, back in the hall.
“Is that a shoe?” a manly voice says, and she tenses.
Cindy wiggles her toes as I step away, nodding to her. “Thank you, Cindy. You’ve been quite helpful. I would recommend not mentioning that you saw me to anyone. Two Reapers watching over the same kingdom? People will think something is amiss.”
I don’t give her the chance to respond before I step into the shadows. Cindy straightens as I disappear, looking around the space. A few moments later, a guard steps over, sword drawn.
“Lady Cinderella," the man says, sheathing the weapon before inclining his head. He’s got the shoe gripped in his hand, another guard lingering behind him in the shadows. “Is everything all right?”
She blushes, and I shake my head before shadow hopping away. I am not a romantic; I don’t care how this story plays out.
When I’m a safe distance away, I step from the shadows and sigh. Now to look into whoever Lord Dima is.
“You seek the girl Midas sent away,” Barty says, sliding through the trees. I almost hoped he would get lost out here, or be drawn toward Ray if he’s close by, and no longer be my problem. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. “She spun a tale for another day.”
I glare at him. For the umpteenth time, I wonder if it’s worth going on this search with this babbling buffoon as my sidekick. My hand reaches into the shadows, drawing out the staff, and he swallows.
“I know Dima!” he squeaks, and I jump toward him. “I know him, I do!”
“Then why am I wandering around Swan Lake speaking to people who arenotDima?” I seethe.
The spirit shrugs, his shoulders lifting unusually high. His soul is beginning to break, and if I didn’t want my answers, now would be a perfect time for reaping. “You wouldn’t trust me to go beneath the lake until you knew this is what it would take!”
Sighing, I draw back again. If this adventure takes much longer, I’ll scream. “Show me, spirit.Now.”
Chapter 2 Neve
I’m still not entirely sure how, but my mother speaks to me in my dreams.
“Just a little longer, Neve,” she says, her voice drifting through my head. It’s strange, once I learned how to move through lucid dreaming, I realized I can control certain things, but no matter what I do, I cannot wake up. “When it’s safe, you’ll come back to us.”
I can tell the difference between when Mother speaks to me and the figures my head creates. When it’s truly my mother, her voice drifts from somewhere I can’t see, and when I try to imagine opening my eyes or using my magic where her voice carries from, it never works.
With or without her presence, I cannot escape this odd prison. At first, it was scary, but only for the first few days. It’s hard to discern time when it feels like none passes from one conversation with my mother to the next, but timeispassing. I’m just not certain how much.
Licking my lips, I can feel my dream body doing the action, but also sense myawakebody not doing anything. Sometimes I feel my real eyes fluttering, like I’m trying to wake from this dream, but I never fully get there.
“Wake me up now,” I say, pressing my hands to my hips. I stare at the ceiling of the imaginary palace, the familiar icy halls doing nothing to comfort me. It can’t be when none of this isreal. “I can help. Whatever’s happened at home, Mother, I can assist. That’s why you made me queen.”
Mother’s voice takes many moments to float through my mind again. “Not yet, Your Grace. Things are not going as planned. Your safety must be guaranteed.”
I scoff, glaring at the empty space around me. Sometimes I conjure up memories of people, but I’ve long since given up on holding a conversation with them. If everything here is but a memory or a dream, aren’t I just talking to myself?
“I need to help you,” I hiss, pacing the length of the hall. “I can find the man who killed Father, Mother. You need only let me help. He could be long gone by now! How many days have passed? This sleep cannot save me.”
She’s quiet, and it only incites my rage. I’m not sure she can even hear me like this. How putting me to sleep is helping, I don’t know. Is it supposed to keep me safe? But I know the truth, and I refuse to lie here uselessly.
“Your Majesty, the procession is ready to begin.”
Glancing up from my reflection, I look at my mother’s friend in the mirror. Only three days have passed since that man, Ban, escaped the palace dungeons. And, as he left, he stole my father’s life.
We’re laying the King to rest today. The guiding hand of my father, the man I needed to help me learn to rule, is gone. And with my mother's curse growing stronger by the day, I worry about the future of my kingdom. They gave me the title of Queen before I was mentally prepared.
“Is the Dowager Queen ready?” I ask, standing from the vanity. My handmaid helped brush my hair, but the chignon she attempted to pull my dark hair into didn’t hold. I’ve pulled the pins out, letting my short locks cascade down, barely brushing my shoulders. “It takes her the longest to prepare.”
Turning, I eye Lady Hartsell. The moment news of the King’s passing caught the ears of the rich, the news spread fast. I don’t believe Mother shared it with Lady Hartsell directly, but all of a sudden she appeared in the palace, offering comfort and solace to Mother and me.
For a moment, my eyes flash to the large red stone on her finger. Surprise shoots through me, momentarily distracting me from the sadness. “Did the King propose?”
