Page 101 of Down from the Tower

But they gave her to the Mad Queen, like she meant absolutely nothing.

I don’t think. One moment I’m standing there in a panic, the next I’m charging forward, letting go of my hair to hold out my hands. They burn as much as the realization does.

I could’ve had someone. We could’ve survived together. But that was never in the cards for us.

Dorah snarls, jumping backward when I race towards her. My hands burn, the suppressed power seeming to wash over me in a wave.

I can’t see past the rage. Dorah and Midas only ever thought of themselves, even down to the children who were their own. Rosen, whoever she could be, was never given a chance.

I see my mother's lips moving, but the words no longer register. I drop my hair, holding out my hands, and in a whirlwind of my own design, I let the magic burn.

26 Zarev

The castle shakes.

I’m traveling through the shadows, stalking some guards towards the King keeping an eye out for Rapunzel when it happens. The ground quakes, the walls tremble, and there’s a great explosion from someplace above.

“We’re under attack,” a guard yells, and the troops scatter. “Get to the royal wing!”

“The spirits got over the walls,” another voice cries, sinking to his knees. “We’re all damned!”

Obviously, these are troops who never had a reason to fight. Tressa’s golden wall offers false protection, and now faced with real danger, they’re crumbling. I dash over the ground in shadows, making quick work to travel upwards.

On the third floor, there are two maids scrambling to get away. I phase past them, moving to find the destruction that must have to do with Rapunzel.

I’m just not sure if she’s the attacker, or the one being attacked.

It’s no surprise the destruction is in the royals’ rooms. But the pink and purple feline that paces in front of the doors is, and he hisses at me when I try to shift past.

“Away, cat,” I grumble, trying to shoo him with the handle of my scythe. I don’t need this right now when she needs me.

The cat is incessant, no matter how much I try to push him away. He hisses again and I can’t believe I’m being blocked by a damn housecat.

He spits again, tilting his head high. The little pendant I’ve seen him wearing around a fat neck shines in the light, and I’m about to go lock him in another room someplace -

I slip from the shadows, bending to grab the pendant swinging from his throat. “Goddamnit.”

It’s the Queen’s emblem, a rose with a knife cutting through. I’ve seen it a few times on some of the larger pets she keeps but never a housecat. And Rapunzel cuddles this thing like a best friend, so I wasn’t about to get too close.

I rip the tag free, tag the collar with. “If you’re one of those shifters, Cheshie, now would be the time to change.”

Rapunzel screams before I get the answer and I can hear the pain in her voice.

Down the steps of the hidden room in the royals’ home, I see the chaos my princess has reaped.

The room is trashed. Any furniture that may once have graced the area is in splinters. The heat is appalling as I step further in, and I see again what happens when Rapunzel is pushed.

Her golden hair flows from her body like a shield, wafting in the air all around her in long, golden ropes. Her hands burn with untapped power and Dorah is gasping on the other side of the room. Zarev can see the Queen hasn’t escaped unharmed.

“You never gave her a chance,” Rapunzel snarls, and I shift into the room behind her. There’s a large gash in Dorah’s head bleeding freely and there are burn marks on her arms where the material of her gown has been burned away. “You didn’t even care!”

“She wasn’t strong enough,” Dorah breathes, her voice strained but still powerful. Her eyes never leave the princess, however. It’s obvious the Queen is afraid of her daughter now and rightfully so. “Her body couldn’t handle the gift. So she succumbed to death.”

“She was an infant! She didn’t have the ability to fight a gift!”

Zarev realized they were talking about Rapunzel’s twin and he’s shocked to feel a twinge of heartache for his princess.

“Your body was strong enough,” Dorah continues, holding out her hands. “You… you could handle the gift. Forcing the tea down your throat the first time was difficult, and you did get quite sick for a number of days, but you thrived, my flower! You were meant for the magical gift!”

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