In her dreams, the castle usually looked like it did in Snow’s memories of her childhood—vibrant and blossoming with flowers and merriment. But this scene was different. Her mother was walking ahead of her in the darkened castle and smoke was filling the hallway.
“Follow me,” her mother kept saying, leading the way by candlelight.
Snow didn’t want to follow. The path her mother was leading her on was unfamiliar. She wasn’t sure she’d ever been in this part of the castle before. It felt evil. Snow’s legs became rooted to the spot and vines instantly wound around them. She struggled to move.
“Follow me,” her mother urged again, ignoring the vines. “Quickly! It’s important.”
The vines disappeared and Snow had no choice but to listen to her mother. She started walking again and suddenly realized she was in Aunt Ingrid’s wing.
“We shouldn’t be here,” Snow told her mother. “She could catch us.”
Her mother turned and smiled sadly. “She already has. Come and see. It’s important.”
She led Snow through her aunt’s bedchambers to a closet wall. As Katherine pressed her hand on a wooden heart carved into the doorframe, the wall clicked, revealing a secret passageway. Snow’s mother motioned for her to follow. Snow did as she was told, finding herself in a darkened room with dungeon-like walls.
“Look,” her mother said, and pointed into the darkness.
Snow didn’t want to look, but her mother kept calling her name till she opened her eyes.
There, on a platform, was a large mirror.
It had a ghastly masklike face that appeared almost human and yet not. Thunder seemed to rumble from inside the chamber, where smoke thickened.
Snow stared at the mirror in wonder and felt the urge to touch it. It looked so familiar. Had she been in this room before? Why did the mirror seem to call to her?
“She knows you live. This much is true. She’s coming for everyone you love. She will try to hurt you,” the mask in the mirror said.
Snow woke up, gasping for air.
“Snow!” Henri jumped up from the floor near the fireplace and shook her from her stupor. Her father was right behind him. “Are you all right?”
She looked at Henri. “I saw it! The queen’s mirror! The one my mother was talking about!”
Her father and Henri looked at her worriedly.
“It came to me in a dream,” Snow explained. “Well, Mother led me there.” She looked at her father pleadingly. “I know where it is hidden. It’s in the queen’s chambers.” She lowered her eyes. “I think it knows me. I remember seeing it before.”
“What?” Her father’s voice sharpened. “She’s taken you to see this dark magic?”
“No, I went there on my own,” Snow said, pulling the distant memory into focus. “It called to me once, much like my dream. I was a child. I think it was after Mother died. It led me straight toward it like it wanted me there, but Aunt Ingrid came in at the last moment and took me away. She was furious.” Snow looked at Henri and tried not to sound alarmed. “This dream, though, was different. The queen knows I’m alive. The mirror told me. She’s coming for me.”
Henri exhaled slowly.
“Then you will stay here,” her father insisted. “I will defend you.”
Snow touched his arm. “No, Father. You know that won’t work. If she knows I’m alive, she will find me. She may even come here first.”
“Let her come!” her father thundered. “I am ready to face her.”
Henri and Snow both looked at him, and she knew they were thinking the same thing. Her father had aged, and the queen had magic on her side. Besides, if there was one good thing her aunt had taught her, it was that she didn’t need a man at her side to fight. She had lived in Ingrid’s shadows long enough. It was her turn to do the protecting. She’d just found her father again. She didn’t want to lose another parent to the queen. This battle had to be hers.
“We need to get to that mirror,” Snow said decisively.
“Yes, before she finds either of you,” Henri added.
Her father started to protest, but Snow cut in. “It is our best chance at stopping her. If I were to get ahold of that mirror and hold it hostage in exchange for her undoing her spell on you, she might agree to leave the kingdom and never return. . . .”
“No,” her father said flatly. “She cannot be allowed to just leave! She’s too dangerous. Too reckless! She’s done too