“Why would I listen to a villain?” I interrupt.
The Evil Queen moves out of the shadows and I get a glimpse of her polished, made-up face. Her black dress glistens with silver crystals that make me blink. Exile has not diminished Harlow’s ability to look polished. Or scary. Her lips curl into a familiar scowl. “You foolish girl. We are your only hope and time is running out.” She holds out her hand. “Come with me now and we’ll explain everything.”
“Come with you?” I laugh. They must think I’ve lost my mind. “Never!” I slowly pull the velvet bag Wolfington gave me out of my pocket, but Harlow spots it.
“Do not waste that gingerroot on me!” Harlow commands. Jocelyn lungs for the bag, but I climb onto a long table so Jocelyn can’t reach me.
Jocelyn quickly climbs on after me. “Stop running! Cobbler, you’re going to cause your own doom! Listen to my sister!”
“Never!” I open the small bag and look quickly at the roots and petals in the bag. There’s no way I can tie the roots around Harlow’s wrists. She’ll stop me. The petals don’t work as long, but it’s the only shot I have to get away. “A leopard doesn’t change its spots.” I repeat the words I’ve heard Harlow say before.
Harlow’s laugh is long and throaty. “And you are so reformed, missy?” Harlow inches closer. I can feel Jocelyn closing in from the other side. “Think, peasant. What is your head telling you?”
“I may be a thief—some would even call me a villain—but even I am smart enough not to trust a witch.” As Jocelyn reaches for the bag, I open it and blow the petals into the air. Within seconds, the Evil Queen and her little sister are frozen.
I breathe a sigh of relief.
That’s when I hear someone clapping.
“Nicely done, Miss Gillian,” says Princess Rose, emerging from the shadows and smiling warmly. “You’ve saved the day again! Capturing the Evil Queen and her sister! Such a hero you are. How will we honor you this time?”
“Princess Rose!” I say breathlessly. “Forget honors! We don’t have much time. The traitor in the castle is a princess. I think Rapunzel is working with Alva.” Her brow furrows and I worry that Jax is right—I shouldn’t knock a princess to a fellow princess—but Rose is kind. She could help us. “We have to stop her before she lets Alva in the castle.”
Rose purses her lips. “I think it’s too late for that.” She gently pries the gingerroot bag from my hands, but I don’t understand what she’s doing. Rose opens the bag and pulls out the roots. “She’s already here,” she whispers in my ear.
I feel my throat begin to constrict. “She is? Where?” I whirl around to reach the door. “We have to warn the others!”
Something zaps me in the back and my legs feel like they’re on fire. I fall to the ground and see Rose standing over me with the gingerroot stems in her hands. She leans down and begins to tie them around my wrists. The stems are stronger than just the roots and leave me soundless.
“Gillian, it pains me to do this to you,” Rose says calmly as she ties the roots around me. I may not have magic, but I can be frozen. I feel the tingling spread from my fingertips to my toes. I try to move and can’t. I want to scream. Warn Jax and the others. We were wrong! It’s not Rapunzel! It’s Rose. But I’m too late.
Rose shushes me like a baby to calm me. “I like you. I really do.” Her blue eyes narrow as she strokes my forehead. “But I like having power more.” Her face comes close to mine and I can smell her rose-scented perfume. She smiles sinisterly. “Now let’s hand you over to Alva so I can take control of the kingdom.”
CHAPTER 17
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
I struggle to move, willing my body to wake up, but it doesn’t. I can feel the tingling, but I can’t speak, I can’t lift my pinkie, and I can’t scream. I’m all alone with the mole and I’m trapped. I feel like such a fool. We picked the wrong princess. How could I not have seen this coming? The obsession with power? The way Rose threatened me to join the RLWs? She must have been the one who sent that note to Father too.
Princess Rose uses a wand to lift my body off the table and bring it slowly toward the open doorway where she is waiting.