Page 69 of Snow White

She digs her heels in, tugging against my hold. “Not without you!”

I whip around to face her again, trying to memorize every beloved feature while at the same time insisting, “Yes! Without me! I can’t come with you. You should forget all about me!” In my desperation, I turn to magic. “I’ll make you forget.”

I have never been able to push past those icy walls in her mind, but since being home, my mother has forced heart after heart on me. I am a wellspring of power, each bite making me feel more and more wretched, more and more lost. What little was left of my soul has been chipped away, piece by piece.

“Don’t you dare!” Snow snarls, trying to yank her hand from mine, but my grip tightens.

My hand sparks with the dark magic. Snow struggles as I reach out to touch her face. She struggles, slaps my hand away, and begs, but I grab her tightly. I touch my fingers to her temple and whisper, “I’m sorry.”

The magic glows, and when I look into her mind, I find the icy wall cracked. Before I can hit it, a violet glow blocks my way and forces me out with a shove. When my eyes open, I see Snow’s entire body emitting a violet energy. As I watch, it focuses, the aura dimming and dying.

Her eyes fill with tears. “Azura, please.”

I hiss at her, “What was that?”

That wasn’t Elemental or Snow’s magic. That was completelynew.

Snow lifts her chin. “Pixies.”

My eyes shoot wide. “You must leave!”

Snow’s eyes gain that determined glint, the one I’ve seen before. “If you do not come with me, I will face her.”

I frame her face, desperate to persuade her. “No, my love, please!”

She kisses me again. “I love you, Azura.”

Another tear slides down my cheek. “I love you, too. Which is why you must go!”

Snow presses her forehead to mine, kissing me deeply. For a moment, I lose myself in the taste and feel of her. She’s just so...Snow. But the sound of a loud thud on the roof has me pulling away and begging, “Go! Please!”

Snow looks up at the roof. “Pixies, I think I need a sword.”

Snow’s body glows, her dark clothes turning to scaled armor. Each scale is a different color, a cascading rainbow that matches the shimmering sword that appears in her hand. “Snow, please. You can’t fight her. No one can.”

I can’t count how many corpses I’ve been forced to remove from our home. So many thought to destroy her, but all had failed.

Snow glances up at me, smiling sadly. “I guess I’ll die trying.”

That can not happen. I will not allow it.I can’t live in a world where she doesn’t exist. She is everything light and pure. She’shope. For the first time, I understand her name for its true meaning. There is nothing so pure, innocent, and dreamy as the first snowfall of winter.

“I see we have a guest,” my mother says, her voice smooth with a sinister edge.

I position myself in front of Snow. “She was just leaving.”

Snow steps out from behind me, her prism armor and sword shimmering. “No. I wasn’t.”

Maleficent’s head comes up, her nostrils flaring. “I smell power.”

Snow gulps audibly, her hand tightening on the sword. “I will be taking Azura and leaving now.”

I move in front of her again. “It’s nothing, Mother.”

Maleficent’s movements are unnatural and jumpy as if time skips in between each movement. Her lips curl back from her teeth, showing the pointed edge of each one. “Fairy magic. And my daughter isn’t going anywhere.”

I know it’s too late. The Ice Elemental and pixie magic are leaking from Snow. My mother is already gathering the dark energy in the room, powering up to strike against Snow. She wants to kill the love of my life and eat her heart to claim her power. I can’t let that happen. I won’t let it happen.

I hurl magic at Maleficent, even though I know I can do nothing. My power is a whispered breath compared to the hurricane force of hers, but I have to try. My need to protect Snow is a driving force, and I keep shooting spells at Maleficent. She deflects or absorbs each strike, and I glance at Snow for a moment, thinking of all the things I never got to say to her. I should have told her how much I loved her innocence, her purity, her way of looking at the world. But I won’t get the chance.

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