"Shew's heart will spare the Queen the burden of killing all those girls and bathing in their blood," Ladle said. "She does it to keep her beauty, or she'd turn into a monstrous vampire. An ugly one. No offense, Beauty." Ladle giggled at the Beast standing in the darkest shade of the cave.
"As long as you call me Beauty." He sounded like he was smiling. Fable couldn't tell.
"Shew's heart can preserve the Queen's beauty forever," Ladle continued.
"We're not sure about that," Marmalade said. "We really don't know the real significance of the heart. I feel it's something much bigger than just a beauty issue."
"But we know one thing," said the Beast. "We know the power the Queen will acquire, whether through the mirror or Shew's heart, will help her kill us all. She saw us in the Schloss and knows who we are. The Queen never looks away from revenge."
"I thought she didn't know who the Lost Seven were in the ceremony," Marmalade said.
"I wouldn't count on what the Queen pretends to know," Fable said. "Like, how did she ever know about my breadcrumbs curse?"
Fable was sure everyone, including her, wanted to know about her breadcrumb addiction, and how the Queen of Sorrow knew about it. But they surely had other priorities now.
Everyone went silent again, but they were interrupted by Loki's distant voice outside. "Come out, pretty Princess! Sooner or later I will find you!" he shouted, sounding exhausted and angry. He must have been going crazy, searching the whole forest for them. "How about cutting out your heart and liver, and rolling them out to me from wherever you're hiding?" Loki's words were shocking this time, because he seemed nearer. Too close, and not really going away.
"Do you think he knows we are here?" Cerené asked.
"He seems to know we're close," Jack said. "I wonder how."
The answer came sooner than expected. It was the Queen's black panthers. Fable could hear them padding around the cave. They were sniffing the air. Cerené explained how they would be able to smell them, like dogs, from the scent on the cloaks left at the castle.
"If we find a source of fire, I can try to fight some as we leave the cave," Cerené suggested, still holding the unconscious Shew in her arms.
"I could get out and fight for a while as you escape," the Beast offered.
"Not a bad idea," Jack said. "As you do, I will steal their swords and find ways to stall them."
"I could help killing a few," Ladle said happily. Then her face knotted as she asked forgiveness from the Tree of Life again.
"I don't mind ending up dying to save us," Marmalade offered.
"We're forgetting the purpose behind all of this," the Star said in that alien-like voice. "We can't let the Queen of Sorrow have Shew's heart. Like the Beast said: Shew's heart, controlling Bloody Mary, and finding the secrets the devil's mirror splintered all over the world—the Queen would be invincible. We can't risk dying, being caught, or losing Shew to the Queen. We need another way out. A safer plan."
"You talk as if you're sure we are on the good side," the Beast said.
"We are the good side," the Star insisted as the light dimmed a little.
The Beast said nothing. He only let out a sigh. It seemed like he considered himself evil. Because of his looks, maybe?
"I don't think I'm on the good side." Ladle raised her bloodstained scythe.
"I am a thief," Jack said. "I won't stop stealing, whether you count me good or bad."
"Don't say that," Marmalade said. "You're good, and I am also on the good side."
"I think I am good," Cerené said, really unsure, as if she'd never thought about it.
Fable didn't know what to say. She hadn't felt quite on the good side since she'd practiced the Black Art to seal the cave. Something inside felt wrong. The spell she was remembering wasn't leaving her alone. She couldn't tell how it came to her mind, but it was like an annoying memory hunting her inside her head. A dark spell she thought she was about to use.
"I am waiting!" Loki shouted outside. "I know you're here!"
"It's only a matter of time before they locate us," the Beast said matter-of-factly. Unafraid, though. "The black panthers will eventually expose the spider web trick. Either you have a magical exit, or we fight back."
"Fable?" The Star turned to her. She felt safe when it talked to her. "Do you have a magical exit?"
Fable wished the earth would swallow her. It was as if the Star could read her mind, as if the Star knew about the dark spell that had been buzzing in her mind for while.
"Don't hesitate, Fable," Cerené said. "It doesn't matter if it's a Black Art. Just help us save Shew's heart."
The six of them were staring back at Fable. It was obvious now that they didn't care what had happened to her in the past three months if she could help now.
"Come on! Why not just cut out your heart and roll it out to me, Princess?" Loki seethed outside. "Save me the burden."