wasting time with your mirror instead of taking us to see her?”
“I thought I could find Lirea myself.” Snow kept her head low, hair hiding her face. “Beatrice asked me not to tell.”
“Beatrice is dying!”
Each word was like a blow to the stomach. Snow blinked back tears, but before she could respond, Danielle asked, “Talia, would you break a vow to Beatrice?”
Talia hesitated.
“Posannes was king of his tribe,” Danielle continued. “I don’t know how it is among the undine, but I’ve watched human royalty. What would happen if the other tribes learned one daughter was mad, the other hidden away? Beatrice was protecting them. It’s what she does.”
“Here.” Snow flung the cloak at Talia before she could say anything more, then grabbed another for Danielle. “Do you want to yell at me some more, or do you want to find a mermaid?”
“Why can’t I do both?” muttered Talia.
The wool cloak smelled of dust and cedar, but Danielle pulled it over her shoulders. Behind her, Talia gathered knives and other weapons from the armory.
“Do you really need so many weapons?” Danielle asked. “Beatrice was helping Lannadae. She wouldn’t—”
“Who says they’re for Lannadae?” Talia tucked a small whip into her belt. “I wasn’t ready when Lirea attacked the ship. That won’t happen again.” She glanced at Snow and added, “Though I might have been prepared if someone had warned me about Lannadae.”
“The last messenger Posannes sent told us Lirea was doing better,” Snow said. “He said—”
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Talia interrupted. “Where have you been hiding this mermaid?”
Snow ran her fingers over the books on the far wall, selecting a heavy leather-bound tome with Dwarven Architecture: A History of Rock, Iron, and More Rocks written on the spine in silver ink. She gave it a tug, and the bookshelves swiveled away from the wall with a painful screech.
“A secret passage behind the shelves?” Danielle asked. “Isn’t that a little cliché?”
“Sure, if that passage were the real one.” Snow grinned and moved to the other end of the wall. “Beatrice didn’t want the trap to be too difficult to find.”
Talia peered into the darkness. “What trap?”
“The sixth step triggers a counterweight that slams the shelves shut, locking them behind you. If you’re lucky, someone hears you screaming and comes to let you out.” Snow grabbed a second set of shelves on the other side of the wall and pulled. These slid open without a sound, revealing another staircase. “The architecture book also unlocks the real passageway over here.”
Talia grunted with reluctant approval. “How long has this passage been here?”
“You would have found it long ago if you ever bothered to pick up a book.” The mirrors on her choker glowed like tiny moons as she stepped into the darkness.
Talia looked at the trapped passage, then back at Snow, as if contemplating how hard it would be to toss Snow down those steps.
“If Beatrice wanted us to know about Lannadae, she would have told us,” Danielle whispered. “Don’t blame Snow for Beatrice’s secrecy.”
“She should have trusted us,” Talia snapped.
“How many people should she trust with your secrets? Or Snow’s?”
Talia glowered, then followed Snow down the steps.
Danielle didn’t bother to pull the shelves shut behind them. As far as she knew, only Beatrice and the three princesses even knew these rooms were here. She hurried after the others while she could still see the light from Snow’s choker.
The rock to her left was slick with algae and mildew. The wall to the right appeared to be made of loosely stacked stone, the kind of thing a child might build with rocks from the garden . . . if the child were playing with rocks the size of wagons. Sunlight peeked through the cracks, adding to Snow’s magical illumination.
“These stairs are over a century old,” Snow said. “This was the old
“I thought I could find Lirea myself.” Snow kept her head low, hair hiding her face. “Beatrice asked me not to tell.”
“Beatrice is dying!”
Each word was like a blow to the stomach. Snow blinked back tears, but before she could respond, Danielle asked, “Talia, would you break a vow to Beatrice?”
Talia hesitated.
“Posannes was king of his tribe,” Danielle continued. “I don’t know how it is among the undine, but I’ve watched human royalty. What would happen if the other tribes learned one daughter was mad, the other hidden away? Beatrice was protecting them. It’s what she does.”
“Here.” Snow flung the cloak at Talia before she could say anything more, then grabbed another for Danielle. “Do you want to yell at me some more, or do you want to find a mermaid?”
“Why can’t I do both?” muttered Talia.
The wool cloak smelled of dust and cedar, but Danielle pulled it over her shoulders. Behind her, Talia gathered knives and other weapons from the armory.
“Do you really need so many weapons?” Danielle asked. “Beatrice was helping Lannadae. She wouldn’t—”
“Who says they’re for Lannadae?” Talia tucked a small whip into her belt. “I wasn’t ready when Lirea attacked the ship. That won’t happen again.” She glanced at Snow and added, “Though I might have been prepared if someone had warned me about Lannadae.”
“The last messenger Posannes sent told us Lirea was doing better,” Snow said. “He said—”
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Talia interrupted. “Where have you been hiding this mermaid?”
Snow ran her fingers over the books on the far wall, selecting a heavy leather-bound tome with Dwarven Architecture: A History of Rock, Iron, and More Rocks written on the spine in silver ink. She gave it a tug, and the bookshelves swiveled away from the wall with a painful screech.
“A secret passage behind the shelves?” Danielle asked. “Isn’t that a little cliché?”
“Sure, if that passage were the real one.” Snow grinned and moved to the other end of the wall. “Beatrice didn’t want the trap to be too difficult to find.”
Talia peered into the darkness. “What trap?”
“The sixth step triggers a counterweight that slams the shelves shut, locking them behind you. If you’re lucky, someone hears you screaming and comes to let you out.” Snow grabbed a second set of shelves on the other side of the wall and pulled. These slid open without a sound, revealing another staircase. “The architecture book also unlocks the real passageway over here.”
Talia grunted with reluctant approval. “How long has this passage been here?”
“You would have found it long ago if you ever bothered to pick up a book.” The mirrors on her choker glowed like tiny moons as she stepped into the darkness.
Talia looked at the trapped passage, then back at Snow, as if contemplating how hard it would be to toss Snow down those steps.
“If Beatrice wanted us to know about Lannadae, she would have told us,” Danielle whispered. “Don’t blame Snow for Beatrice’s secrecy.”
“She should have trusted us,” Talia snapped.
“How many people should she trust with your secrets? Or Snow’s?”
Talia glowered, then followed Snow down the steps.
Danielle didn’t bother to pull the shelves shut behind them. As far as she knew, only Beatrice and the three princesses even knew these rooms were here. She hurried after the others while she could still see the light from Snow’s choker.
The rock to her left was slick with algae and mildew. The wall to the right appeared to be made of loosely stacked stone, the kind of thing a child might build with rocks from the garden . . . if the child were playing with rocks the size of wagons. Sunlight peeked through the cracks, adding to Snow’s magical illumination.
“These stairs are over a century old,” Snow said. “This was the old
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