Trial of Magic (The Fairy Tale Enchantress #4) - K. M. Shea Page 0,170

the first band that doesn’t instantly believe what I say and ask me to fix everything?

Angel pinched the bridge of her nose. “Yes, it’s my failing. I didn’t notice the signs and connect them until Snow White brought it up. I can’t really explain it more than that, but knowing what I know, having followed a trail for years…If we can get that mirror out of Glitzern and Juwel, I am certain we can free Faina.”

Snow White left Fritz’s protective hovering and peered outside at the sky—which was still dark with night but had the faintest blush of dawn already lightening the sky. “We should send a message to Lord Vitkovci and the others. It’s early enough we could still meet today, couldn’t we?” Snow White asked, a wide smile on her face.

Angelique flicked her eyes at Marzell. And now all the political trouble comes home to roost.

Marzell sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “About the other lords…we need to talk.”

For Angelique, time passed both unbelievably slowly and so rapidly she could barely breathe.

She wanted to march on Glitzern immediately and rip Evariste away from the Snow Queen’s mirror—if that indeed was the artifact the Chosen had planted.

But an invasion of one wasn’t likely to work. And Angelique was determined to finally free Evariste, so she made herself remain with Snow White, who—hours after she woke up, when the world was barely pink with dawn—rode out to meet with the lords who had originally agreed to help invade Glitzern.

Unfortunately, the lords balked and told Snow White that her grandfather, Lord Trubsinn, was scheduled to arrive that day.

Which meant if they wanted to save Faina, they needed to march immediately, and the lords refused to do so.

…Until Snow White’s love for her stepmother combined with her deep knowledge of her country, and she verbally ripped the lords to pieces, shyness and all. With a brilliant bit of politicking, Snow White had the lords following her commands—not Marzell’s—and doing as she ordered, which was why that afternoon, mere hours before Lord Trubsinn was estimated to arrive with his troops according to scouts, Angelique, the Seven Warriors, and the four lords/Snow White’s new henchmen discreetly infiltrated Juwel, making their way to Glitzern Palace.

They came in waves, each making their way to specific meet-up points.

Angelique was charged with meeting Snow White and the Seven Warriors at a side entrance of Glitzern, where Snow White would notify the palace guards and tell them to secretly give access to the four Mullberg lords and their troops.

But before Snow White could do that, they had to escape notice on their way to the palace.

Angelique, far more certain of her infiltration skills than she had been a few months ago, volunteered to travel by herself.

But halfway to the palace, as she made her way up the streets of Juwel (pausing occasionally to barter for herbs and buy a bite of food), Angelique ducked up a darkened alleyway. She climbed a stone wall made of loose stones that made the climb far more exciting than she wanted and shimmied her way onto the roof of a stable attached to an inn.

She hadn’t volunteered to go alone out of the goodness of her heart, after all.

She’d spent the hours she didn’t listen to Snow White plotting out their invasion—the princess sounded like a compatriot of Severin’s with her ability to strategize—pondering how she was going to save Evariste.

I don’t have the knowledge of how to break a mirror spell. And I never learned the technical side of spells used to bind enchanters or enchantresses. The last thing I want to do is reach Evariste only to find out I can’t help him.

Which was why Angelique climbed on to the roof of the inn, squashing herself against the chimney so she wouldn’t be visible from the street.

A quick twist of her magic cast the warding spell Puss had taught her, and then she pulled her mirror free from her satchel and activated it.

Several long moments passed, and her chest constricted with worry.

Is she not going to answer?

She held her breath, and then the mirror’s surface swirled, and Sybilla’s warm, round face filled it. “Angelique? Is that you?”

There was something about seeing Sybilla’s kind face and silver hair that made Angelique’s throat ache. “Hello, Sybilla,” she whispered.

“Dearie, has something gone wrong?” Sybilla brought her face up close to the mirror so Angelique mostly just saw the older woman’s eyes and round nose. “Why do you look like you’re sitting in a