“Yes. You can get into the castle and find the king. Tell him you know me and that you are my messenger. Tell him the queen is mobilizing for an attack and to send forces north before she can march that way,” he said.
“Will he believe me? How will he know I’m telling the truth?”
It was a good question. He had dealings with the king on numerous occasions. He’d made the king his own enchanted blade. The king had commissioned it and asked for something specific to be engraved in the handle—three initials representing his wife, his son, and his daughter. FJP for Filomena, his wife; James, his son; and Pippa, his daughter. He told this to Annilen.
“Can you do this for me?”
She was silent a long moment, then finally nodded. “If it will help Snow, then yes. I will do it.”
Roderick grinned. He gave her directions to the castle and how to find the king. Then, the sprite fluttered away, carrying with her his hopes the king would bring his army.
Chapter 32
Snowglancedaroundthetavern looking for Roderick. He hadn’t said where he was going, and he hadn’t returned. She shifted in her chair, feeling the dark eyes of a man across the room. He’d been staring at her since Roderick left her alone. She rested her hand on the dagger at her hip. Though she refused to make eye contact with the man, she knew he stared at her.
Finally, he rose from his chair and lumbered over to her. Her heart leapt as he approached, and her hand gripped the handle of the dagger as she prepared to draw it.
“Snow White.” He drew out her name as he peered down at her.
She glanced up and met his sharp, assessing gaze. “Who are you?”
“The Chief Magistrate of this village.” He gave her a toothy grin.
This wasn’t good at all. Instinct took over as she whipped out the dagger and pointed it at him. “What do you want?”
He chuckled, clearly unaffected by the dagger pointing at him.
“The queen is looking for you,” he said, ignoring her question. He made a motion with his head and then suddenly the table was surrounded by his men. “Might want to put down the dagger.”
She clutched it tighter. Where was Roderick? She felt a prick on the back of her shoulder. She didn’t have to turn around to know there was a sword at her back. The tavern fell silent as she sat there in a standoff with the Chief Magistrate who stared back at her.
“You’re under arrest,” he said.
One of his men plucked the dagger from her right hand with ease. Another on her left grabbed her by the upper arm and dragged her out of the chair. The man with her dagger fell in step on her other side. As the Chief Magistrate led her from the tavern, she realized her error in judgement. Announcing who she was to the entire tavern was a mistake. She scanned the faces of the crowd that stared back at her in silence. None of them made a move to help her.
The men led her from the tavern down the deserted street. She had no doubt they’d haul her into a wagon and take her to Seraphina.
Suddenly, the man on her right stumbled and fell. Her dagger he’d been holding tumbled from his hand and landed on the ground by his side. She eyed it, wishing there was a way to grab it. But then she noticed an arrow sticking out of his back. She sucked in a deep breath and glanced around, looking for Roderick. The man holding her by the arm jerked her toward him, then wrapped his arm around her. A blade pressed against her throat.
The Chief Magistrate seemed unflustered by events. He halted in the road and slowly turned to face her and his guard, his eyes scanning the area for the intruder who had dared to kill one of his men.
“Whoever you are, you will be arrested and taken to the queen, too,” the Chief Magistrate said.
Still there was no one about. If Roderick was hiding, he was doing a great job of keeping himself invisible.
“Come out of the shadows and show yourself,” he said.
Silence reigned as they all stood there waiting. She heard the whistle of the arrow through the air before she saw it heading right for her. She sucked in a sharp breath as the arrow found it’s mark and landed in the head of the man holding her. His body went slack enough for her to jump away, the dagger falling to the ground as he died. She bent to pick it up and pointed it at the Chief Magistrate.
“Whoever you’re working with will be punished,” the man said, pinning her with his deep glare.
Those were his last words as an arrow landed in the center of his chest. He collapsed to the ground.
Snow remained where she was, her hand tightened on the dagger as she glanced around looking for her savior. William, the innkeeper’s son, emerged from the shadows holding a bow.
“William! Do you realize what you’ve done?”
“Yes,” he said, staring down at the dead men. “I saved you.”
