smiled, a mad, grasping smile that matched the starved look in her eyes.
“You did it,” Celestine said. “I knew that you would.” She stepped forward, snatching for the heart, but Aurora stepped back, clutching it against her chest. She could feel it beat. She thought, wildly, of Finnegan, how his heart had beat against her chest as they’d kissed out here in the waste. Yet this was fiercer, a persistent, terrifying beat.
“I can take it from you,” Celestine said. “I can take it from you and leave your precious prince to die. We had a deal.”
“You said you would answer my questions if I brought you the heart,” Aurora said. “And I’ve brought it to you. Questions for bringing the heart. Finnegan for putting it in your hand. A deal is a deal.”
“Yes,” she said. “A deal is a deal. Ask me your questions.”
The heat of the heart beat into her, making her bolder. Three questions, Celestine had promised her. Only three, and there was so much she needed to learn. She needed to be careful how she spoke. “You brought the dragons back.”
“That is not a question.”
“You made a potion, using my blood.”
Celestine only smiled.
“My blood has magic in it, because I was made with magic, wa—” She almost said wasn’t I?, but she caught the question at the last moment, biting her lip. Celestine’s grin grew.
“It took you so long to figure out why your magic is different. I must admit, I thought you smarter than that. I told you all you needed to know. But you stumbled around with your prince, wondering why, why did you have such spectacular magic, how could you have such a gift? You should have known it was because of me, Princess. It has always been because of me.”
“You’re weak,” Aurora said. “You could not get the heart without me. You have no magic here without me.”
“I wouldn’t say weak,” Celestine said. “You are relying on me to save your dear prince. But I never had magic in Vanhelm before. There was no magic in the air here, nothing to draw from . . . and now I have your blood in me, your magic, for now at least. And I am grateful for that. But you will not get more answers from me by goading me with statements. Three questions. Ask them.”
Aurora’s fingers tightened around the heart. She could think of a hundred questions to ask, but she had to be careful, to gain as much knowledge as she could from every word. “Why do you want this dragon heart?”
“I want what should be mine, Aurora. I want my magic back. I am just a shadow of what I was before, and the dragons . . . they will give me magic like yours. Magic that no one can take away.”
Aurora bit her lip. She could not return Celestine to full strength. She couldn’t. But Celestine only laughed. “Do not look so afraid. I am not going to hurt you. I want back what I used to have. I want to give the people in these kingdoms the magic that they crave.”
“And use it to hurt them.”
“Magic always hurts the weak. People unable to see the paths their wishes might take. People who think they can gain their dreams for free. Your mother was one of those people.”
“And me,” Aurora said. “Now.”
“No,” Celestine said. “Not you. You are like me, Aurora. I want you by my side.”
If Celestine still wanted Aurora by her side, she must have plans for her beyond fetching the dragon heart, beyond the return of her magic. But what use would Aurora be to her, once Celestine had all the power she wanted of her own?
She had to know what Celestine intended, what she thought Aurora would be. “What do you want to happen,” she asked, “after I join you?”
Celestine tilted her head, and her smile faded slightly. “I want you as an ally,” she said. “That’s all. It’s what I’ve been hoping for, from the very beginning. There has never been anyone like me, Aurora. And now there is you. That is why I accepted your mother’s bargain, you see. I knew who you would be. I knew we would be magnificent together.” She slid closer, running her fingers through Aurora’s hair. “It needed time, of course. You need to see what the world is really like. Everyone wants something from you, and they all turn against you in the end. But once you’ve seen the