Chapter 23

R oderick watched Snow from across the table, heart pounding a wild beat. Her cheeks were flushed and pink. Clearly, she was unhappy with him. She hadn't wanted him to come to the village to see her here, and yet, here he was.

Tasnia told him Elator and Yirrie were the ones who raised her from the time she arrived when she was eight. He didn't know much beyond that, only that it was clear the woman didn't care for the situation. She said it with a look of distaste on her face.

He reached for the enchanted blade which he had carried in with him. No one had noticed. Not even Tasnia. He placed it on the table in front of him. Snow's eyes narrowed to slits as they darted to the sheathed blade, widening with her annoyance and her suspicion. Tension radiated from her like a coiled snake ready to strike.

"What is that?" Yirrie asked.

"That is an enchanted blade," Roderick said, never taking his eyes off her. "I forged it."

"I prefer not to have weapons on my table," Yirrie said with a sniff of derision.

But Elator looked as though he were awestruck. "May I?"

"Of course." Roderick pushed the blade toward him.

Snow huffed. "This is ridiculous."

As she said it, Elator removed the blade. Both he and Yirrie gasped with their admiration and appreciation of a fine weapon. Snow tried hard not to look at it, but it was difficult. It truly was a magnificent dagger.

"I have never seen the likes," he said.

"There are only four of them in the entire realm," Roderick said. He gave Snow a pointed look.

She knew Ardan had one.

He pulled his own dagger out of the sheath by his side. He placed it on the table next to the empty sheath.

"I forged them all," he said. "One belongs to a young elven boy."

"Ardan?" Elator asked.

"Yes, I believe that's his name." Still, Roderick's gaze never left her face.

"Ardan was the one who used his enchanted blade to save Snow from dark magic," Elator said. He replaced the blade into its sheath and handed it back to Roderick. "It's a remarkable weapon. However, we still do not know who you are or why you're here."

"I'm here to give Snow this blade so that she may kill the queen who usurped her throne and take it back."

Snow huffed out a breath as Elator and Yirrie both looked at her with surprise and question in their eyes. She sat back in the chair and crossed her arms over her chest showing her frustration and annoyance.

"That is not going to happen," she said.

Roderick forged on. "I was sent here by the queen to kill Snow White and bring back her heart in a wooden box."

Both of them gasped with their shock. Roderick continued.

"But I have no intention of doing that."

Elator leaned forward. "What are your intentions, then?"

"I intend to help her regain her throne as she is the rightful ruler of the Mystic Vale."

"And how do you intend to do that?" Elator asked.

Which only served to infuriate Snow even more. "Do not encourage him, Elator."

"I intend to take her into the villages north of here so that she can meet her people and know that she is loved and that they want her on the throne. So that she can see what Seraphina's power has done to them and the people of her kingdom. So that she will know she is the only one who can free them from the queen's tyranny," he said.

Snow snorted derision. "With what army?"

"With the people of the kingdom. They will answer your call to arms," Roderick continued.

Elator and Yirrie both glanced between Roderick and Snow.

Elator said, "So, it's true then. You are the heir to the throne of the Mystic Vale?"

Snow remained silent in her defiance. Roderick leaned forward.

"Tell them, Snow."

She pinned him with a heated glare as he sat back in the chair, taking the steaming cup of tea and sipping. A smug sense of triumph shifted through him. He was getting to her, at last, and forcing her to tell them the truth. Her truth.

"Yes, Snow. Tell us," Elator urged.

She inhaled a deep breath, exhaled it. Then she began the tale once again about her banishment.

"She told me I was nothing more than a nuisance and I wasn't wanted there. I ran away. I made my way through the villages southward to the forest."

She paused, remembering that day as clearly as though it were yesterday. She dragged her lower lip through her teeth.

"I found my way into the forest. It wasn't long after that you and Yirrie found me." She unfolded her arms and reached both hands out to them. One to Elator and one to Yirrie. They each clasped her offered hand. "But that doesn't mean I have to leave here. I'm happy here with you and the other elves."

Elator's face softened. "Snow, I think we all know what a falsehood that is. You say you're happy here, yet you leave the village to go into the forest every chance you get."

He wasn't wrong and she hated that he knew it. She released both their hands and sat back into the chair once again.

"I don't mean to," she said at last. "It's just that the forest calls to me and I must answer."

"What does that mean?" Up until now, Yirrie had been silent as she listened to them.

"It means I draw strength from nature," Snow said. "It means without it, I grow weak."

"It's why I removed the board from her window," Elator said.

"You—"

"We will discuss later," he said, cutting off his wife.

Snow almost smiled at that. "What Roderick has told you is true. I am the heir to the throne. I am the rightful ruler of the Mystic Vale."

"Why have you never told us this?" Elator asked. He didn't hide the disappointment on his face.

Seeing that sent a dagger right to Snow's heart. Heat pounded through her cheeks. She shook her head. "At the time, I was a child. I was afraid if you knew my true identity, you wouldn't like me anymore. Or you would send me back to her."

"Oh, Snow." Yirrie pressed her shaking fingertips to her lips. Tears danced in her eyes once again. "It didn't matter to us who you were. Only that you were here with us and safe."

"You could have told us the truth," Elator said. "And we would have protected you no matter what."

"But you can't protect me. Seraphina found me here in the village."

"And she will again," Roderick said. "That's why you have to leave."

Frustration edged through her. "But I have no army and the elves won't fight for me if Tasnia has anything to say about it." Snow was aware of how the Elder felt about her.

"You don't know until you ask," Elator said.

Snow shook her head. "We all know she and the others want me gone. That I don't belong here. And besides, the elves have no interest in affairs outside the forest or this village."

"Let me talk to her," Elator said.

"What good will it do?" Snow asked.

"At least let me try."

"Elator, Snow is right. Tasnia and the other Elders will never agree to fight for Snow or the Mystic Vale. The elves fighting days are long over," Yirrie said. She reached across the table and grasped Snow's hand. "You don't have to leave. You can stay here with us."

Snow appreciated the gesture. A small smile played at the corners of her mouth. If only it were that simple. If only she could forget Seraphina wanted her heart in a wooden box.

"But, Snow, if you stay here, you're risking—" Roderick began.

She slammed her hand down on the table, rattling the dishes. "That's enough. I know what I risk. Whether I go or stay is my decision, no one else's."

With that, she fled the dining area and hurried to her room, slamming the door behind her. She pressed her palms against her hot cheeks. She was tired of everyone trying to get her to do what they wanted her to do. Roderick wanted her to return to the Mystic Vale and reclaim her throne. The dark wizard wanted her to destroy the Magic Mirror and release him from his curse. Yirrie wanted her to stay in the village with them and live out the rest of her days. Even Master Harwin suggested she return to the Mystic Vale to confront the queen.

No one seemed to care or think about what she wanted. All she wanted to do was live in peace within nature. She didn't want to think about the throne or the Mystic Vale or Seraphina. Did that mean she remained here with the elves? She didn't know anymore.

She eyed the window across the room. The forest beckoned. The impulse to climb out the window and run to sit at the foot of Faradill was almost too much for her to resist.

Running into the forest would solve nothing, though. Roderick was right. If she remained here, the chances Seraphina would return to find her were great. Despite the Elder's magic around the village, there was still a chance the queen's dark magic could pierce through it.

She slid down the length of the door, resting her back against it and drawing up her knees, encircling them with her arms. She had a decision to make. She just didn't know what that decision was going to be yet.

A soft knock sounded on the door.

"Go away," she said.

"I just want to talk." It was Roderick.

"You've talked enough," she snapped.

There was a long pause, then he said, "Snow, I'm sorry. It was Faradill's idea for me to come here but I should have stayed away."

Faradill? Her brows drew together in question. She recalled something he said to her not long ago. That darkness had crept back into the forest and that it will return. Chills skittered up her spine then and now as she recalled the words of the oak.

She pulled herself to her feet, then flung open the door, but Roderick was gone. She rushed into the kitchen to see the enchanted blade was still on the table where he left it. Yirrie was in the kitchen washing dishes. Elator was nowhere to be found.

"Where is Roderick?" she asked.

Yirrie glanced over her shoulder at her. "He's leaving. Elator is escorting him out of the forest."

On impulse, Snow snatched the dagger off the table and hurried out to find them.