Sneaky Snow White (Dark Fairy Tale Queen Series Book 2) by Anita Valle Read Free Book Online Page B

take away my Hunter. I set my jaw. “Where is this cottage?”
    Hunter’s face closes off. “I can’t tell you.”
    I stamp my foot. “This isn’t fair! All I want is for us to be together!”
    “And I want that too. We’ll get there. When the queen is well, we’ll send her back to the palace. Then you and I will go far away and live in peace. We don’t need her baby, Snowy. We can have one of our own.”
    “So now you make all the decisions?”
    “I just want to make everyone happy. Please do me a service when you return to the palace. Tell one of my brothers to destroy that mirror.”
    I flinch. “Why?”
    “The queen whimpers about it in her sleep. I don’t understand it, but it’s dangerous. It needs to be removed from her life. You haven’t gone near it, have you?”
    “No,” I say, feeling guilty because it’s a lie. But some things not even Hunter can understand. “I’ll take care of it.”
    He smiles. “Thank you, Snowy.” He pulls me in and kisses me slowly, his mouth gently pinching my top lip and then the bottom. His hand slides into my hair and curls around the back of my neck. My heart flutters like a hummingbird's wings. Oh my Hunter! I never want to let him go.
    He releases me, smiling. “Meet me here again tomorrow. And don’t worry. We’ll be fine.”
    I grin. “I will come.”
    The glow from his kiss lasts until I’m back at the palace. I barely notice the Dwarves have raided the armory and are trying out the weapons on each other, making the throne room sound like a battlefield. I’m so, so happy. And now I know what to do.
    Poor Hunter. Sweet Hunter. He thinks he can redeem the queen. But I know better. She has to die and I must do it myself.
    I’ll just have to be sneaky about it.

~*~ 20 ~*~
     
    The Dwarves and I have a fabulous supper. One of them – I don’t know all their names yet – can cook. Which is good because I found out most of the servants have taken off in pure fear. Anyway, the Dwarf who cooks made a huge meal that consisted mostly of meat: legs of mutton, sides of ham, two fat geese, huge venison steaks. I join them for supper but oh my stars, they eat like barbarians. Ripping the meat with their fingers, laughing through mouths full of food, hurling the bones over their shoulders. I’m shocked at first, but then I start tearing into the food like they do. It’s fun!
    Afterwards, I creep upstairs to see The Mirror. I need to ask it a few things. I still get nervous whenever I’m near it, but it’s not so bad now. I no longer think it will hurt me.
    Last night, I carried back upstairs the iron candelabra that Cinderella used to assault me. Now I light them on both sides of The Mirror. They create a hazy glow that pulses like a fearful heart and puts quivering shadows behind me. My eyes circle to the top of the golden frame where cobwebs float across the curling metal. I see a black spider crawling over the top, its hooked legs silently groping. And I shudder. The Mirror still creeps me out.
    What is this thing? Where did it come from? Why does it seem to be alive, have thoughts and feelings like a person? The Mirror has been here all of my life, long before Cinderella ever came. I remember my mother brushing her hair in front of it. But it didn’t seem weird then; I never felt a presence. And my mother never talked to it. I guess I shouldn’t trust something I don’t understand, but magical things are always a mystery, right?
    I give the glass a careful smile. “Mirror, Mirror, on the wall. Who is fairest of them all?”
    At first, my reflection looks like me. Then it changes. I look like a queen, the most breathtaking queen imaginable. My skin is pale and perfect as moonlight. My hair shines like spilled ink. The Mirror has given me a crown made of glass, and a dress that glistens like a field of new snow. A queen as harsh and beautiful as winter. That’s how it sees me.
    I feel exquisitely happy. I understand now why Cinderella always asked The