Chapter 7 - THE SLIPPER’S FIRST WARNING
The sound was not loud in the ordinary sense. It entered every mind in the sapphire chamber at once—a cry of grief so sharp that guards dropped their weapons and Helena sank into a chair.
A line of light appeared inside the slipper. It formed a map of the western forest, ending at the dead ash tree where Ella had been found.
Orren interpreted the reaction. “Iron did not expose the woman. It exposed a lie attached to her.”
The council sent soldiers to the tree. Adrian went with them despite Helena’s objection. Beneath the roots, they uncovered a staircase leading to an underground room filled with blue candles that burned without heat.
At its center stood an empty crystal coffin.
The lining held dark hair and a silver chain identical to the one Cinderella had worn at the ball. The chain’s pendant was missing.
On the wall, someone had written in fresh ash: THE PRINCE CHOSE THE COPY. THE DOOR WILL OPEN.
Captain Rowan found drag marks leading to a flooded tunnel. Before the soldiers could enter, the water rose against gravity and sealed the passage.
Ella, still confined at the palace, began choking at the same moment. Golden water poured from her mouth although she had drunk nothing.
Mara saved her by placing the second slipper against her chest. The water vanished, leaving a tiny blue flower on Ella’s tongue.
When Adrian returned, Ella handed him the flower.
“She’s alive,” Ella said with certainty.
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“How do you know?”
“Because whatever hurts her is learning how to hurt me too.”
