Snow's Lament (8 page)

“So, she’s free from you?”

One of his golden eyebrows rose. “Contractually, yes.”

I swallowed hard. “But not completely?”

“Oh now, fair Snow. Cinderella will never be completely free of me.” He walked over to one of Maleficent’s glowing roses and touched the petals delicately. He was truly a beautiful, terrifying specimen of man. My heart rate rose slightly as I watched him inhale the scent and sigh. Even if he weren’t a terrifying sorcerer, his sex appeal was just as dangerous to members of the opposite sex. Perhaps if they’d met at a different time or under a different set of circumstances, things would be different between them.

“Why are you telling me this?”

He lingered over the rose for a moment before standing to his full height. “I’m here to warn you.”

I stepped back. “Now you’re feeling benevolent?”

“Never,” he said. “I’m here solely for selfish reasons.”

I shook my head. Once a predator, always a predator. “I’m not sure what you can warn me about. Naomi has the gem and the blood. If we don’t get it back, we’re done.”

Rumple nodded. “That, she does. But that isn’t why we’re here. It would suit me for you to reclaim your kingdom, but allowing Naomi to move to Earth would be a dreadful mistake. Max is willing to slit your pretty throat if Naomi tells him to. You cannot trust him.”

I took a step back. “And I should trust you?”

He grinned, a fearsome spectacle in the soft light. “You should never trust me.” He flicked one hand. “But where we have a common enemy, I will not steer you wrong. If you unleash Naomi on Earth, it will be an irreparable mistake.”

My shoulders slumped. “I figured so. I don’t want to kill her.”

Rumple sighed. “Your soft heart is not fit for a queen. You must make difficult decisions to rule.”

Maleficent’s words drifted back to me. “I’ll kill her if I have to.”

“Listen to me.” Rumple stepped in front of me and invaded my personal space, his power swirling around him. “If you allow Naomi to live, you allow her to rise back up. As long as she breathes, you will have to live glancing over your shoulder. And if you allow her to go to Earth like Max wants, you will unleash a hell of torment upon your brethren.”

I nodded. “Understood. Anything else?” I found Rumple exhausting to be around.

He flicked an imaginary speck of dust off his familiar tan leathers. Emotions I couldn’t place fell over his face. He glanced at me, those maelstrom eyes swirling with ancient wisdom and power. “Yes. Max has given in to the compulsion. Naomi has broken him.”

My jaw dropped in disbelief. “I-I just saw him,” I gasped.

He nodded. “And in that short time, Naomi has stepped up her game after that clever trick Belle played. She is no longer toying with you. She is out for blood.”

My heart pounded and dizziness took my breath away. I bent over, taking deep breaths.

A strong hand fell upon my shoulders. “Do not make a mistake that will tear the kingdom apart, Snow.”

His hand fell away, leaving my shoulder cold and my heart broken.

“Snow!”

I straightened in alarm, unsure of how long I’d been bent over in shock. Rumple had been long gone.

“Snow!”

At the sound of someone crashing through the bush, I stepped out of the enclosed rose garden. Belle, dressed in skinny jeans and a now ripped tunic, pushed her thick-framed glasses up on her face as she frantically looked for me.

“What on Earth?”

Her gaze fell on me and relief spread across her features. She ran over to me, out of breath and gasping. “Max,” she said and bent over to catch her breath.

“I know.”

She peered up at me, the glasses slipping down her nose. “How could you possibly know?” She stood up and frowned as she realized her shirt was ripped.

“Rumple paid me a visit.” I motioned for her to walk with me. We started on our way back to the house.

I could feel Belle’s curious stare and I knew she wanted to ask me a million questions. “Rumple?”

“Is annoyed, but didn’t try to kill me.” I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. “Cyndi managed to get out of her contract with Rumple.”

Belle laughed with no surprise. “I knew she could do it.”

“I wasn’t so sure,” I said as we came atop a small hill and Maleficent’s home came into view.

“That’s because you’re a pessimist.”

I sighed. “Perhaps you’re right.” I stepped forward, but Belle grabbed me by the arm and turned me so we were face to face.

“Okay, Eeyore. What’s up?” Belle’s concerned brown eyes searched my face.

I lowered my head and heaved a deep sigh, trying my best not to cry. “He’s gone,” I whispered. “Taken from me before we could ever make this work.”

Belle tilted my head up, her lips thin with disapproval. “He was gone before you even knew he loved you. But it didn’t stop you. Why is this now an insurmountable issue?”

A flicker of annoyance nagged at me. “Because, Belle, I have a choice. Save my kingdom or save Max. I can’t do both.” I knew I was snapping at her, but I didn’t want to talk about it. There was no way she could possibly understand the heaviness of my heart.

She shook her head. “Why can’t you do both?”

“Max will not stop. As long as Naomi is in control, he will do whatever she says, whenever she says it. I can’t compete with him. I’m only human. He’s something…else. Naomi’s magic augments him. Now that she’s fully in control, I don’t even know if he’s going to be the same person.”

Belle linked her arm through mine and pulled me toward the house. “You really are Eeyore,” she sighed. “This is unlike you. Come on. Maleficent has a secret stash of chocolate inside the kitchen. Plus, there’s someone waiting for you.”

“Oh boy,” I muttered. “Is it the Grim Reaper?”

“No, but if you don’t shut up, I might call and invite him over for tea.”

Belle left us as we walked into the kitchen, making a lame excuse about changing her shirt. I suspected she might be off to find Robin. Cyndi sat at the table, her tinkling laughter seemingly out of place in Maleficent’s kitchen. She looked no worse for wear from being with Rumple over the past couple days. Her eyes lit up when she saw me and she stood to wrap her thin arms around me. A sense of comfort stole over me and I sighed.

She ruffled my hair. “Good to see you.”

I squeezed her a little tighter. “I have lots of questions for you.”

She sighed and let go of me. “I bet you do. Sit and have tea with me.”

Maleficent looked amused. I bet it wasn’t every day Cinderella took over your kitchen and started ordering you around. I did as Cyndi asked and she poured me a cup of something fragrant from the small, chipped pot sitting on the table. She added a little honey and pushed the tea cup over to me. I wasn’t a tea drinker, but I could make an exception considering my friend had all but been kidnapped.

I took a sip and found myself pleasantly surprised. I paused and my eyes met Maleficent’s. If she drugged this, I was going to be pissed. She gave me a short shake of the head and I relaxed.

“So,” I drawled.

Cyndi leaned forward, her eyes sparkling. “Did you hear?”

I nodded. “He underestimated you.”

She tapped perfectly manicured nails on the scarred wood table. “Everyone does,” she said, but didn’t sound upset about it. “It always works in my favor.”

This was true. Cyndi could get away with murder if she really wanted to. “Rumple came for a visit a few minutes ago.”

A gamut of emotions warred for first place on Cyndi’s face—fear, need, confusion, and resignation. “What did he want?” she asked in a low tone.

I shrugged. “To gloat, mostly.” That wasn’t exactly the case, but Rumple certainly didn’t seem upset about Max’s plight.

Cyndi dipped her head. “Did he say anything about…me?”

I tried not to smile. She might have escaped from him, but they were definitely not over. “Yes. He seemed impressed you broke the bargain. He’s not going to leave you alone, you know.”

Maleficent’s eyebrow rose at my words and if I weren’t tuned in to her body language, I wouldn’t have noticed her leaning in a little bit in interest.

Cyndi’s shoulders slumped. “He’s too intense. Too much.”

I took a sip of my tea and let the silence drag for a moment. “But you like him.”

She groaned. “I’m not sure like is the right word. He makes me feel like all the air has been sucked out of the room.”

Unfortunately, I knew the exact feeling she described.

Maleficent spoke. “He is dangerous, child. Extraordinarily dangerous.” She leaned back in her chair, a curious expression on her face. “But you don’t care.”

Cyndi’s gaze flew to Maleficent. She paled and opened her mouth to deny it, but she couldn’t. She pressed her lips together and tears shimmered in her cornflower blue eyes. “I can’t help myself,” she whispered.

A rare stab of pity punched me in the stomach. Why were we so attracted to complete psychos? I hated to say this. I shouldn’t have said it, but I did. “Then be with him.”

A teacup shattered on the floor. Maleficent gasped and stood up, shaking off pieces of the fine China that had landed on her robes. “Are you insane?”

I lifted a shoulder. “If she loves him, she should be with him.”

Maleficent lifted her face to the sky and closed her eyes as if to say,
Gods have mercy on this dumb woman
. “He is a monster.”

“Max is a monster, too.”

Cyndi watched us like a spectator at a tennis match. Her mouth was open in surprise and I could see the wheels turning inside her head.

Maleficent slowly sat back down. “Max was human, Snow. He has a daughter.” Some emotion I couldn’t pin flickered briefly on her face. “He is not a monster. He might have acted like a monster on a couple occasions, but when it comes down to it, he would absolutely make the right decision.”

I crossed my arms. “Even now?”

Her mouth thinned. “I don’t like this ‘friend’ thing. It makes me hesitate to tell you what you need to hear.” She thought for a moment. “I don’t know. It depends on his willpower and Naomi’s magic.”

“Exactly,” I said. “If Cyndi wants to be with him, if she loves him, then we shouldn’t stand in the way of it.”

“This is the worst idea you’ve ever had. You cannot possibly know the pain Rumple has caused over the decades. “

“Is it any worse than the things you’ve wrought?” I paused and immediately wished I could take the words back.

Maleficent paled and stood up carefully, her gaze avoiding mine. “This conversation is over.” Her boots crunched over the broken China as she left us alone in the room.

Cyndi snorted in disbelief. “Sometimes you really have no filter.”

Guilt squirmed in my belly. “I’m an asshole,” I moaned.

She didn’t disagree. “But you had a point. A poorly made one, but a point nonetheless.”

“I don’t know his history. I don’t know the things he’s done. But if you are serious about this, you need to make sure these are things you can live with.”

“That’s part of the problem. I don’t think I can.”

We sat in silence, sipping our tea. I put my feet up on the chair Maleficent had vacated. “Max is gone. I don’t know if I can get him back.”

“I know,” she said in a solemn tone. “Rumple was open with some information. Belle must have really done a number on Naomi.”

Speaking of the electricity-wielding devil, Belle walked in. “It was a fluke mostly.” She snagged the teapot with a disgusted snarl on her face but still poured herself a cup. “I have major parental dysfunction in my bloodline.”

I laughed. We were officially a hot damn fairytale mess.

Cyndi perked up. “Ooh, spill!”

Belle told her what Maleficent had said. While at first her interested was piqued, as soon as the words ‘Witch of the Woods’ came out of her mouth, Cyndi paled and tea sloshed over the edge of her mug because of her trembling hands. “Oh, Belle.” She shook her head in disbelief. “That majorly sucks.”

I snorted. I knew a little bit about the witch, mostly stories told to frighten the forest children, but I wasn’t as in tune with the Enchanted Forest as I’d like to be. “What are you going to do?”

Belle closed her eyes for a minute and pursed her lips together. “Nothing? Something? Hell, I don’t know. Is it even worth trying to follow that convoluted rabbit hole?”

“Just depends on whether you want to know your parents.” I tapped on the delicate china with my index finger. “Or you want to learn to control your powers.”

She took a sip of tea and looked back down at the cup. “This is surprisingly good.”

Cyndi laughed. “I know. I made sure Maleficent didn’t add anything ‘special’ to it.”

I switched the subject to the most pressing matter. “What are we going to do about the chronicler’s gem?”

“Kick ass? Take names?” Cyndi was always our best cheerleader.

“It won’t be that easy this time. We’re in a time crunch and she has both things she needs to control the portals for good. If we don’t get at least one of them back, we’re going to get shoved out of here and banned from ever returning.”

“Maybe we could infiltrate her castle?” Belle’s eyes narrowed in thought. “It would be difficult. Not impossible.”

I shook my head. “Only the most senior and loyal of guards get close to her.”

Cyndi sat all the way up abruptly. “What about Giles?”

I sucked in a breath. Maybe. “He’s under compulsion, too.”

“Maybe not like Max is. Maybe Maleficent could whip up another gem to help him control it.” Belle’s dark eyes glittered with excitement. “This could work.”

My heart was beating with a hopeful, deep
thud
. If we could get someone inside the castle who was close to her, we might be able to snag the blood and gem at the same time. It wouldn’t fix our end game—killing or completely disabling Naomi—but it would shut down one major problem we had. On the other hand, it could very well get Giles killed. I didn’t want to be responsible for that. He’d been my father’s right hand man and like a father to me. Plus, I’d just hurt Maleficent, so I wasn’t sure if she’d do anything for me right now.

I set my tea mug down and scrubbed a hand over my tired face. “Let me think about it.”

Sleep eluded me that night. I was still in a state of numb shock over Max and I felt completely clueless as to how to help him…if I even could. Maybe I should turn my efforts to rescuing his daughter and getting her out of the clutches of Naomi. I didn’t have a clue how to be a mom, but I did know she’d be much better off in my hands than she was in Naomi’s. I felt a mini panic attack at the thought of trying to bring up a teenage girl while also trying to run a kingdom. I certainly didn’t do anything small. If Max could be saved, I wouldn’t have to worry about it, but I didn’t think Max could do much of anything right now, other than obey Naomi.

If we were able to get Giles to spy for us and tell us where she was storing the gem, we could hit her where it hurt and maybe take her down at the same time. It was a venture not without risks.

Good thing I carried guns.

I tossed and turned as I thought of every outcome and maneuver I had, only drifting to sleep when the first gray wisps of morning swept over the horizon.