She grinned, taking the goblet away from him and placed it back on the table.
“How do you like my apple cider?” she asked. “It’s an old family recipe I brewed myself.”
He didn’t answer as she waved her hand, making the ewer and cups disappear. Then she motioned to Erick behind him. He stepped forward with a heavy purse in his hands and walked it to the queen. She took it from him and placed it in her lap. The captain remained by the queen’s side. Roderick eyed the purse heavy with coin.
“I promised you five thousand gold coins.” She rested her hand on the purse in a protective gesture.
“You did, your majesty.”
“And I will give it to you when you do something else for me.”
Unease flickered through him. “That was not part of the deal. The deal was I forge the blade, which I did, and hand deliver it to you, which I also did.”
“Yes, and a fine job of it you did.” She gave him a vicious smile. “But there is something else I require. A certain task. If you agree, then you will receive this,” she patted the round purse of coins in her lap, “and an additional five thousand gold.”
His mind went blank, a whirlwind of confusion swirling inside him as he tried to make sense of her request and her offer.
“What sort of task?” he asked.
She extended the sheathed blade to the captain, who took it. He remained where he was, holding it as though waiting for her command. A flicker of fear went through Roderick as he watched the captain, wondering if he was about to be stabbed with his own dagger.
But surely not. She said she wanted him to perform a task. Her wicked smile widened.
“There is a woman living in the Wyldwood Forest. Hair black as ebony. Lips red as the rose. Skin white as snow.” Even as she said it, she rolled her eyes at the description, as though it pained her to speak the words aloud. “Her name is Snow White.”
With the description, the image of the girl he met in the forest immediately sprang to mind. He was certain she was the one he met the previous night as he traversed the forest. He stood ramrod straight, his nerves jangling and his heart pounding a wild beat.
“She is my sworn enemy,” the queen continued, “and a threat to the crown.Mycrown. She must be dealt with.”
Again, Roderick eyed the dagger as the captain turned it over in his hand, the hilt toward him. Understanding struck him. If the queen wanted him to deal with Snow White, there was only one outcome. But he waited patiently for her to continue with her request.
“I want you to kill her. Cut out her heart with this dagger,” she waved toward it in the captain’s hands, “and bring it to me.”
Then she placed her hand palm upward. A flicker of red smoke plumed in her palm and then was replaced with a wood box. The emblem on the top was that of a rose and crown, the royal sigil of the Mystic Vale.
“Place her heart in this box. It’s enchanted and will tell me if the heart you bring me belongs to Snow White.”
Erick reached for the box, holding it in one hand and the dagger in the other. He walked to Roderick and extended both to him. Roderick eyed them with disbelief. How was he supposed to kill the beautiful girl in the forest by cutting out her heart? And what sort of callous queen was this Seraphina? What had Snow White done to deserve such a fate?
“Do you agree?” she asked.
“If I refuse?”
She chuckled, a malevolent laugh deep in her throat. “If you refuse, then you will be placed in my dungeon for the rest of your days.” She rose from the throne then, unfolding her long, slender body in a fluid motion, and walked toward him. “I should tell you the cider you drank was poison. A slow-acting poison. If you fail to kill Snow White, if you betray me in any way, you will fall into a long, eternal slumber.”
Questions arose in his mind. Like how the queen would know if he betrayed her.
As if hearing his thoughts, she added, “And Iwillknow. Bring me her heart, and I will give you the antidote. Fail, and the sleeping curse will take you. You have a fortnight to accomplish this task. A fortnight before the poison takes hold and plunges you into a deep, everlasting sleeping curse.”
She must have spies within the forest itself. That or she intended to use her wicked magic to make sure he carried out her demand.
“So, what’s it to be, blacksmith? Do you agree to do this task for me?”
If he refused, he would never leave this castle. If he agreed, he would have to destroy a beautiful young woman. His choice was clear. He reached for the box and the dagger.
“I agree, your majesty.”
Chapter 18
