Queen Rising (7 page)
Authors: Danielle Paige
“You lied to me.”
Ora's full pout turned into a resolute line. “I did. But I did it for you. For us.”
“I spent all those years believing . . .”
“I know . . . I thought you just needed time. I am sorry.”
This is who they were now. Liar and victim. Witch and thief.
“And now you have blood on your hands. Because of me,” Ora said, her voice full of what sounded like regret.
“I didn't mean to do it. I had to do it. I want to come home. Please, let me come home.”
“This is my fault. But this isn't your home anymore. It never was,” the Witch of the Woods said, appearing suddenly. “Margot . . .”
Margot hugged her and ran out of the Hollow.
Margot walked through town toward the boarding house. Outside, there were some of the King's soldiers. She remembered that she had left Rule there; she could not go back. She wasn't sure where to go. She was all alone again. But it was better being alone around people, somehow.
As night fell and the North Lights rose in the sky, she saw the little beggar boy on the side of the road again. The one who had called her “Mother.” She stopped.
“
There is no such thing as family
,” her mother had said when she sold her to the witch.
“
There is no bind that cannot break
,” the Witch of the Woods had said.
Ora's words chased all of the others. “
If you don't have magic, make your own.
”
“What's your name?” she asked the boy.
“Jagger.”
The little boy raised his hand to her like he had before. The word “mother” was half on his lips again.
“Not Mother. I'm . . . Queen Margot. If you want, you can come home with me.”
Margot did not have a home yet. But the boy didn't know that. The magic, the home, the
everything
was to come.
Margot and the boy made a home in the middle of the woods where the trees were lavender and the weather was mild. She started collecting things: little bits of things that belonged to others. They brought her comfort. She believed they made her whole and gave her purpose.
She took because she needed, she told herself. She took what they needed. And they were happy for a time.
But one day she learned of a girl named Snow who could change everything and a mirror that was rumored to hold new powerâmore power. Power that could be all her own. And Margot decided she had to have it.
When the Lights go out at century's turn,
The progeny of the King will rise to power.
She will either claim the throne herself . . .
or she will give the King more power than he has ever known.
Only she can choose the path for Algid.
But not every path is clear, and there are those who have the power to change the course of fate:
the prince,
the thief,
the thinker,
the secret.
If they are destroyed, the King will surely fall. And should the sacrifice come exactly when the Lights are extinguished, whoever wears the crown will rule Algid forever.
Read
on for an excerpt from
Before the Snow
, Danielle Paige's first prequel novella to
Stealing Snow
!
The King's royal palace was made of stark white stones that spiraled up toward the North Lights. The sparkly glow danced above all of Algid. It looked like there was magic in the sky every night.
When Nepenthe and the River Witch entered the Throne Room, Nepenthe took in the ice sculptures. There were six of them posed in midactionâbut their poses made no sense. The one closest to her looked like a soldier cast in ice midrun. His face was etched in horror. She had heard that the King had eccentric tastes, but this did not look like art to her.
She reached out to touch the ice sculpture . . .
“No, Nepenthe . . . ,” her mother stopped her. She put her arm around Nepenthe and squeezed her close, apologetic.
Nepenthe could feel the cold emanating off the statue. And then realized that these weren't statues at all. They were people who had been frozen to death.
“I am sorry. There is nothing I can do to bring them back to life. I can't help you,” the River Witch said as the King entered, soldiers at his side.
“This was not my doing. It was my son's,” the King corrected.
It was only then that Nepenthe noticed the boy. He was about her age and hiding behind the throne. She knew from the way he was dressed that he was the Prince. And she knew from the expression on his face that he had done this to these people.
“He has the power of Snow,” his father whispered, confirming.
Read
on for an excerpt from Danielle Paige's
Stealing Snow
!
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Who
you
are is what matters, Princess.”
I had been called a lot of names at Whittaker. “Princess” was never one of them.
He saw that he had my full attention. A smile spread across his face. He was pleased. Then he bent down, closer. “You need to leave this place, Princess. It's breaking your spirit. The gate on the north corner will open for you. Head north until you see the Tree.”
“The Tree?” I asked. I thought of the tree from my dreams.
This had to be another dream. It was too coincidental.
“You'll know it when you see it. I promise. When you get to the other side of the Tree, I'll be waiting. And they will kneel for you.”
Copyright
© 2016 by Danielle Paige
All rights reserved.
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce, or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
First published in the United States of America in August 2016 by Bloomsbury Children's Books
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ISBN 978-1-68119-384-7 (e-book)
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