had to learn boundaries, as they all did. She’d already dismissed half the staff. She didn’t need so many people lurking around, knowing her business. What if one of them found the mirror? No, it was better to shrink the number of people who worked in the castle and continue shrinking it if need be.
“No, as I’ve said before, if I need something, I will tell you,” she insisted. “I’m quite self-sufficient.” Mila’s smile faded and she retreated back into her corner of the room. “We were right in the middle of a session, so I will complete what we need to do, then attend to my headache.”
“It can wait, my queen,” said a member of the court. “Your health comes first. The kingdom needs you. You’re all we have.”
“Until young Snow is of age,” another courtier piped up.
She glared at the man. Replaced by a clueless child someday? She thought not. But she had time to worry about that little problem. She softened her expression. “I will go, but first, please tell me what it is you were just saying about the flag.”
Every nerve in her body was coming alive. She needed to get back to her quarters to see what was happening with the mirror. But she must be patient, too. She couldn’t risk upsetting the court and losing the power she’d finally just attained.
“Yes, my queen,” he replied, scratching his head, his white wig shifting slightly. She liked all of her court dressed the same, down to the white wigs. It was much more civilized, and besides, she hated being bothered trying to figure out who was who. This way they were just another number. “I was saying the flag has been flying at half-staff since Queen Katherine’s death six months ago.”
Queen Katherine’s death. The words still felt like a knife to the heart. She glanced quickly at the dark recesses of the room. She kept seeing flickers of her sister, looking as young and as vibrant as she had right before she died. This figment of her imagination, which was what it must be—there were no such things as ghosts—sometimes comforted her, and other times made her feel sick. No one could trace the poison she’d had her faithful huntsman slip into Katherine’s food. No one could have known that was what had caused her to fall ill.
Now she saw Katherine everywhere she went, just like she saw her master’s image whenever things with the mirror were not going according to her liking. It was as if both of them served as an irritating reminder of what she had given up to gain her power. What choice did she have? She couldn’t let her master keep the mirror, and she refused to allow Katherine to destroy it. And yet, there was still the unease she felt when she saw young Snow in tears, or refusing to eat her supper. Snow’s mother’s blood was on Ingrid’s hands, and always would be, no matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise.
“I suppose it’s time we end our mourning, knowing that our former queen will always be in our hearts,” Ingrid told the man.
She heard the mirror talking again. But to whom?!
He glanced anxiously at the other court members. “Shouldn’t we keep our flag at half-staff a while longer, in King Georg’s absence? What if he returns?”
Ingrid leaned forward, outraged. “The king is a traitor! He abandoned his throne, his people, and his daughter, not to mention his new wife. He does not deserve our sympathy. He will not be back, I assure you!”
The courtier looked down. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
She looked around. Her harsh tone had shocked the others, but too bad. She had to be firm where Georg was concerned. “I’m sorry.” She held her head. “This has all been so stressful for all of us, but especially young Snow.” Ingrid rose and the others bowed their heads. “The flag flies fully again. Send a decree throughout the land that the mourning period is through. Any searches for King Georg should be abandoned, or there will be consequences. The man is mad and is not fit to lead us anymore. Remind the people what he has done and in what condition he has left his kingdom.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the members of the court repeated.
She flew out of the throne room and rushed through the castle, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. She didn’t bother with small talk anyway. She could feel the mirror’s movements and the