protective arm around the princess, he glared at the queen and said, âGet away from her, Mother!â
âDo you honestly think Iâd tell you about it if I were actually going to accept the witchâs offer?â the queen said, sounding scornful. âI came here right away to tell you about it, Montague. Iâm not the monster you think I am. You have to see that now.â
âPerhaps,â said the king. âDo you know this Terobella?â
The queen shook her head. âNo, but I assume that sheâs a witch if she can control all those crows.â
âPerhaps,â said the king. âYou may return to the tower. Iâll discuss this with you later.â
The queen inclined her head and swept from the room, casting an exultant look at Liam as she went.
âThe only reason she told me is that she hopes to get in my good graces,â said the king. âThat woman doesnât do anything unless she thinks itâs to her advantage. Sheâd probably accept the offer if she thought she could trust the witch to keep her promise, but your mother doesnât trust anyone. Well, son, I think you have a real problem on your hands. Whoever this Terobella is, sheâs obviously strong if she can control all those birds.It might be better if you and Annabelle stayed with me until weâve found out more about this witch. At least youâre protected here.â
âI canât stay,â said Annie. âI need to get to Helmswood and my friend Snow White as soon as possible.â
âWho do you suppose this witch Terobella is?â said Liam.
Annie shrugged. âWeâve met lots of witches, but none named Terobella. I do think Iâve heard it before, though; I just donât remember where. What I want to know is why someone whom Iâve never met wants to hurt me.â
âThatâs a very good question,â said Liam.
âDo you have any enemies? Do you know if anyone hates you?â the king asked Annie.
âIt never occurred to me that I might have enemies, but Iâm sure there are lots of people who donât like me. There are all the princes who wanted to marry Gwendolyn, then found out they couldnât because Iâd helped Beldegard turn back into a human.â
âNone of them seemed angry about it, just disappointed,â said Liam. âWhat about the fairies Voracia and Sweetness and Light? I can guarantee that neither of them likes you.â
âThatâs true, but why would they get a witch to help them? If they mean me harm, they would handle it themselves.â
âAnd then thereâs the dwarf named Cragery, and Snow Whiteâs stepmother.â
âBut Cragery is a squirrel now, and Queen Marissa is locked in her husbandâs dungeon,â said Annie. âEven if they were able to cause trouble, I doubt very much that either one could control a flock of crows.â
âRegardless of who it is, the most important thing now is to keep you safe,â Liam told her. âWe should probably stay here as my father suggested, butââhe held up his hand when she began to protestââI know you, and youâd never agree to that. Weâll just have to take the carriage. I know we were looking forward to riding together, but youâll be safer in the carriage than on horseback. The crows wonât be able to reach you in there, not with the bars on the windows.â
âI suppose,â said Annie. âAlthough the bars make it feel more like a dungeon cell. At least I wonât have to listen to Granny Bentbone ask about my hair.â
Chapter 7
The flock of crows started following them the moment they entered the forest. Annie didnât like riding in the carriage, but she was grateful for the bars on the windows when the crows landed on the roof and began pecking. Some well-placed arrows chased them off, leaving dead crows littering the forest floor.
The