Lucinda shook her head. “Circe, no! You don’t understand!”
“I understand everything, Mother. And if you ever want to walk in the waking world again and see me in the flesh once more, you will wipe that girl’s memory clean. You will make sure Aurora has no memory of these events. None whatsoever! And you will stop tormenting Snow White in her dreams! Do you understand?”
“I do,” Lucinda said soberly, taking her daughter very seriously.
“Now, do you think Aurora has inherited her mother’s powers?” Circe asked.
Lucinda thought about Maleficent’s greatest attributes. Her power was one of them. “Well, my darling daughter. You inherited our powers. I have to assume Aurora inherited her mother’s, as well.”
“I see.” Circe seemed to be thinking, wondering what to do.
Lucinda sighed. “This isn’t how this story was supposed to end.”
“It’s exactly how it was meant to end. It’s the only way it could have ended from the moment you and your sisters came crashing into Maleficent’s life! You destroy everything you touch! You’re vile torrents of destruction, ruining everything in your wake!”
Lucinda was speechless. She just stood there, letting her daughter’s words flow over her like a deluge of grief. “Will we ever see you again?”
Circe looked at her mother. “If you do what I’ve asked of you, I will consider it. If you don’t, then no, you will never see me again!”
“I will do what you’ve asked. But you have to do the spell that binds Aurora’s powers. I’m not strong enough, not from here. Do it soon. The prince is on his way to the castle. He’s about to wake the sleeping princess with his kiss. Look in the book of fairy tales and see the mirror you’re meant to use to complete the spell. You will find the mirror in my room.”
Circe wanted to ask her mother many questions. She wanted to know how her mother knew that part of the story would be in the book of fairy tales. She wanted to know if the dreaded three had spellbound the book. She wanted to know what had happened to Ruby and Martha. But there wasn’t time. She needed to bind the princess’s powers.
Circe would do this last thing for Maleficent. She would make sure Maleficent hadn’t died in vain.
Lucinda motioned for her to leave. “Go, Daughter, now! I will take care of things here. You go and do your magic.”
Circe stood in her mothers’ house. She was exhausted and numb, staring at the empty mirror that no longer held her mother’s reflection.
“Circe! What happened?” Snow White asked. She looked frightened, and Circe couldn’t blame her. Everything had been thrown into chaos when Aurora had called Circe to the mirror. Even now, she didn’t understand how the princess had managed it. “I need to see the book of fairy tales, quick!”
Snow grabbed the book and handed it to Circe. Circe flipped through the pages to find what she was seeking. “Look here, Snow! She was right! I bind Aurora’s powers using this mirror!”
And before she ran into her mothers’ room to perform the spell, she hugged Snow tightly, not wanting to let go. Circe was so happy to have Snow White there with her. She didn’t know what the following days would bring or how they would find their way out of that dark place. She didn’t know what would become of her mothers or whether she would decide to wake them. But she did know, for the first time, that she had a true family in Snow White, Nanny, and Tulip, and she wanted nothing more than to get back to Morningstar Castle so she could tell Nanny and Tulip the rest of Maleficent’s story.
THE END
SERENA VALENTINO has been weaving tales that combine mythos and guile for the past decade. She has earned critical acclaim in both the comic and horror domains, where she is known for her unique style of storytelling, bringing her readers into exquisitely frightening worlds filled with terror, beauty, and extraordinary protagonists. The books in her best-selling Villains series are best enjoyed when read in the following order: Fairest of All, The Beast Within, Poor Unfortunate Soul, Mistress of All Evil. The fifth book in the Villains series will hit shelves in July 2018.
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