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The fox inclined its head, and she turned to Grim. “How did you know which room I would be in?”

Grim threw the fox a glare. “This one seemed to know for some reason.”

“I told you,” said the fox in a long-suffering tone, “I came here before to offer my suit to the princess. It’s how I was able to sneak into the castle while you took a shortcut up the wall.”

That seemed to sour Grim’s mood further, and she let out a watery chuckle. He swept her up in his arms and strode to the bed.

“I’m fine now,” she protested.

He ignored her and laid her gently down on the soft sheets with a scowl on his face.

“What happened just now?”

Serena thought back to the dress and the note and how the queen had instructed her to wear both.

“The queen is trying to kill me,” she said to her two companions, who looked at her astonished.

“The queen is trying to kill you?” asked Grim.

She nodded.

“Yes, but it seems vastly different to the real tale, even more so than the others. The queen looks exactly like my real mother, so she’s not my stepmother in this world. I can’t even begin to guess what’s motivating her to do all this.”

The fox looked at her with a peculiar glance. “I don’t think the queen is trying to kill you.”

She looked at him in surprise, but he did not elaborate. Instead, he stilled, his ears lying flat on his head as he seemed to focus on some unseen object. In a startling movement, his snout went up in the air and he sniffed before bounding to the mirror that stood beside her bed.

“What the hell are you doing?” Grim said.

“This mirror reeks of magic,” said their four-legged friend, his tone edgy. “It smells just like the comb did.”

He put a paw on the surface, but nothing happened.

Serena swung her legs off the bed and joined him. She had dealt with several magic mirrors by now. The ones in the beast’s castle had been activated just by touching them, like the fox had already tried. Nerida’s mirror however, had been triggered with her words.

“Show me what you’re hiding,” she whispered to the mirror. The glass shimmered, and a flight of stairs appeared inside it. “Where do you suppose it leads to?”

“Only one way to find out,” replied the fox.

“I’ll go first.” Grim unsheathed his sword. The stairs were narrow and winding, illuminated by torches, and the three of them made their way down one at a time.

Serena then turned to the fox behind her.

“Why did you say you don’t think she is trying to kill me?”

“I was cursed by your mother for asking for your hand in marriage,” he said, his eyes glowing under the light of the flaming torches. “While cursing me, she said that you were too good for me—too perfect. She is mad, yes, but I do not think that madness makes her want to kill you. ”

She looked at him in astonishment. From her short interaction with the queen, she had considered her completely capable of murder. Thinking of her cold, cold gaze caused a shudder to go through her, making Grim slide his cloak around her.

They finally made it to the bottom of the steps and pushed open a heavy iron door.

Rina stopped dead. The room reeked of evil.

A thick noxious miasma hung in the air, and there was almost no light to be found except for the bubbling cauldrons in the corner and the candles that were littered sparingly across the room.

There were glass instruments littered on the massive wooden table in the center, and floating shadowy creatures similar to those she had seen in Lore’s lair were suspended in the air.

At the far end of the room was a large shelf filled with rows of crystal jars containing… were those… hearts?

She clapped a hand over her mouth, nausea churning in her belly. “What is this place?”

“I don’t know,” said Grim, the muscle in his jaw ticking, “but I think we should leave as soon as we can. Check if there’s a way directly out of the castle from here.”

“Leaving so soon?”

Stifling a scream, Serena turned to see the queen stepping into the room from the door opposite of them. Grim maneuvered in front of her, his sword in his hand, glinting in the flickering candlelight. The queen looked at him in cold fury.

“What is my Huntsman doing here?” she snapped. “And with the fox prince I sent him to kill! My, my, Serena, what lowly company you are keeping these days.”

As she glided forward, Grim rushed at her, brandishing his sword.

A bolt of light flashed from her hand, and he dodged, swinging at her with his blade.

He caught the edge of her cloak, and her eyes widened in angry surprise.

She slashed her hands, and vines thrust out of the ground to grab his ankles, which he easily cut away.

It was then that the queen met Serena’s gaze.

She smiled.

The next bolt came toward Serena, and Grim’s eyes widened with panic as he raced toward her, throwing her to the ground just in time. The queen took advantage of his panic, and ropes whipped out, grabbing him from the wrists and ankles, tearing them apart.

“Grim!” cried Serena, reaching for him in vain. “Stop it, don’t hurt him please!”

He flew back, landing on the wall with a thud, as the ropes bound him completely. The queen gave him a disdainful glance and turned her full attention to Serena. “What is the meaning of all this, child?”

Serena gaped at her. “You tried to kill me!”

“I did not try to kill you, foolish girl!”

“Stop lying! The dress, the comb, you were clearly trying to take my life!”

“Take your life?” snarled the queen. “I am trying to protect you! In this world that threatens to snuff out your innocence, I am the only one who can keep you safe. You must remain precious and pure, and I will let nothing taint you!”

Serena took a step back. “You’re mad.”

The queen’s eyes glittered with a feverish light. “Think what you want, but it is the truth. Tell me,” she said, calmer now, her voice soft like honey, “do you remember the story of your birth, flower?”

She shook her head, feeling unnerved. In contrast, her mother’s face took on an almost dreamy gaze as she spoke.

“It was the dead of winter when I sat at the window, you in my belly.

I was embroidering and enjoying the beautiful view of our snowy kingdom.

So entranced was I that I did not notice the needle pricking my finger, and a drop of my blood fell onto the pure white snow.

Ah, I thought, I wish for my child to be as white as snow, with lips red as blood. My little snow-white angel.

“A while later you were born, and you were so beautiful and angelic, you did not even cry. Just opened your beautiful eyes and looked at me with trust. It was then I decided, flower, that no one would ever hurt you. Not while I drew breath. I have spent all these years amassing power simply so I can keep you safe and untainted. Look at those.” She waved her arm toward the shelf of hearts.

“Those are all the hearts I have accumulated over the years—the people I sacrificed for you.”

Serena felt sick. “This is not love…you are deranged. Whatever you feel for me has been twisted into something evil; this cannot be what love is.”

“Foolish flower!” cried the queen. “What would you know about love, cooped up inside your home?

Only I know what dangers lie outside and the corruption that would rot you if I did not step in.

But I had started suspecting your intentions, ever since that prince came to court you, and you looked at him with those calf eyes.

I could not let him sully you with his dirty, lustful hands; it is why I decided he must be cursed.

So that there was never any chance for you two.

“It was not enough though, I could tell. That was what the dress and comb were for. Not to kill you, no—they were supposed to put you to sleep. So that you could forever be my beautiful angel no one could touch.”

She was close enough to caress her cheek now.

Serena could not move, whether it was because of the queen’s magic or her own fear, she could not tell.

The woman’s evil words wrapped in love rang in her ears, and she had a sudden flashback of when she was a young girl and her mother told her she was only harsh to her so the world could not hurt her.

This…creature in front of her, this was the proliferation of her mother’s fears, and the worst of her love. So struck was she by the realization that she could not even bring herself to hate her. Not when she understood what had driven her insane.

“Serena!” roared Grim, but he sounded so far away, “Run!”

“Grim?”

“Serena, listen to me!” He turned to the queen. “Get away from her, you monster.”

This made her eyes widen with anger as she turned back to the man bound by the wall.

“You see, Serena?” she hissed, “if I leave you for just a little bit, you start associating with riff raff. This is exactly what I’m protecting you from. No matter, I can fix this as well. I will just get rid of him right now.”

She extended a hand in front of her, the palm facing outwards, and it began to glow again as she aimed straight at Grim’s heart.

The sight finally jolted Serena out of her paralysis, and she scrambled forward to put herself in between the two.

The sight made the queen’s eyes narrow, and she looked at her daughter and the man she wanted to kill.

“Serena, what the fuck are you doing?” Grim shouted from behind her. “Get out of the way.”

“No,” she said firmly, planting her feet to the ground. Then she addressed the woman in front of her. “I won’t let you hurt him.”

“Stand aside, silly girl.” She snarled, and vines grabbed Serena’s ankles and threw her to the side. Grim yelled at her again, warning her to stay away, but she forced herself up and threw herself in front of him again.

“Stay away from him,” she repeated, her eyes burning. Her earlier fear and indecision had disappeared as soon as Grim had been threatened. She did not care about the reasons or motivations of the queen any longer. What was important was that she not hurt the man she loved .

The queen seemed to pause, assessing. And then she smiled, in a particularly unpleasant way.

She turned away from Serena and approached the shelf of hearts.

Plucking one of them, she made her way to the wooden table and dropped it into a cauldron of green bubbling liquid, alongside a bone that was tied with a bright red ribbon.

The cauldron turned purple, and then a deep crimson.

Dipping her hand straight in, she drew out a shiny red apple that looked like it had been freshly plucked from a tree.

She drew back toward Serena and held it out.

“Here’s what I propose. You eat this apple, and I’ll let the boy go.”

Her heart sinking, Serena realized what she would have to do. Apparently the tale was not so different from the original.

“One bite of this apple, and you shall fall into a deep sleep. Do not worry though, I will keep you safe, and you shall have only pleasant dreams for the rest of your days. I will have my daughter with me, and your lover walks free. That way, everyone wins.”

Grim snorted. “That’s a stupid deal. There’s no way she’ll do it.”

The queen looked at him calmly and snapped her fingers. The ropes binding him turned into thorny vines, digging into his wrists, making him gasp.

“Stop it!” cried Serena, her throat and heart raw.

“You have the option of stopping me,” replied the queen, the thorns temporarily retracting from Grim’s skin.

Serena looked at the apple in her hand.

It was smooth and red and smelled of the evenings spent baking pies with Aunt Maeve in their tiny cottage—of the nights she’d spent laughing with her family in their home.

“If I eat this,” she said steadily, “you’ll let him go?”

“Why, yes, my child,” crooned the Queen, ‘One bite. Just one. And your lover is free forever. ”

“Serena, listen to me," rasped Grim, “You can’t, please. ”

She looked at him and smiled, a tiny heartbreaking smile. “I know you’ll save me, Grim.” She turned to the queen. “Swear it. Swear it on your magic, that he will be free to go.”

“NO!” The scream tore out of Grim’s throat.

Looking vaguely put out, the queen agreed.

Serena took a bite, and the last thing she heard was the tortured scream of the man she loved.

Before everything went dark.