Free Sneaky Snow White (Dark Fairy Tale Queen Series Book 2) by Anita Valle

looking astonished. He removes his vest, grabs the button off the shelf, and takes them to her. She digs a needle and thread out of a drawer in her bedside table. And then she sits there, drawing the needle up and down, and sews the button back on.
    Hunter’s face is strange as he watches her. He’s not smiling but his eyes are very soft. When she hands back the vest, he nods a thank-you and strokes the button with his thumb. Touched. He looks touched.
    I blow the air out of my cheeks. There are definite disadvantages to having a sensitive man.
    “Maybe I went about this the wrong way,” I say to The Mirror. “Hunter didn’t want to kill Cinderella. I wouldn’t listen and now he’s afraid to come back. I love Hunter. I shouldn’t have tried to make him do something against his nature. I’ll go to him and agree to his plan. Cinderella can be the queen again and keep her babies. And Hunter and I will go far away. So long as I’m with him, nothing else matters.”
    The Mirror’s tone becomes sterner. I must be the queen. It is my destiny. I can’t give that up for the sake of a boy. Cinderella must be destroyed.
    “Why should you want to kill Cinderella?” I ask hotly. “You loved her once and now you want her dead? You nearly killed me when I was a child! Just what are you, some kind of demon?”
    I try to walk away but it holds me fast. It shows me another image of myself as queen but I squeeze my eyes shut. I won’t let it tell me who I am or what I do. I can feel The Mirror becoming angry.
    Something grips my waist and I’m lifted off the floor. I hear a gruff voice but can’t tell what it’s saying. My head feels heavy and fogged. After a minute, I realize Cooper is carrying me down the stairs. He takes me to the white sitting room and drops me onto the chaise lounge.
    “I heard you talking,” Cooper says. “When I looked in, your eyes were shut and you were shaking all over. You told me to drag you away if you did anything weird.”
    “Thank you,” I say weakly. I lean my head into both of my hands. The sudden rip away from The Mirror has left me cold and sick. It wants me to come back, I can feel that from here.
    “Cooper… will you please take me to your cottage? I need to see Hunter, it’s very important.”
    Cooper pats my knee. “Rest a bit, little miss. That infernal thing has made you tired. We can go another day.”
    I look at him, suddenly suspicious. “Why do you keep refusing me? Every time I ask to go to the cottage, you give me some excuse.”
    Cooper shrugs. “Best if you stay here, I think.”
    “Does this have anything to do with Hunter? Did he tell you to keep me away from him?”
    “No.” That’s all he says. Too quick, too short.
    I sit straighter. “I want to know what he said.”
    “Fine, but you won’t like it. He spoke to Barker the night we sent him to check the cottage. Hunter thinks you and the queen should be kept apart. Says you might kill each other if you’re together. He asked us to keep you here at the castle, and he’s trying to keep the queen where she is. Just until things are settled.”
    “How dare you!” I jump up from the lounge. “All this time I thought you were my friends!”
    “We are, you little lunatic. You just don’t know what’s good for you.”
    “I’m leaving. Now! And you won’t stop me.” I stalk to the door but Cooper simply blocks me and folds his arms. “Well, that was easy.”
    I grind my teeth. “So I’m a prisoner here?”
    “Until Hunter says otherwise, yes. Now come on, little miss, don’t make a fuss. We did some good work on the castle, gave the throne room a nice granite floor. Barker is building you a new chair, I think you’ll like it. Just take a look and forget about Hunter for a while.”
    I wish I could hurl him across the room. I hate being small and fragile like this, I have no power! And if I throw a fit he might lock me up in the dungeons. So I’ll have to play along. But no one, not even Hunter,