Page 67 of Once Upon a Midnight Clear

She walked to her, knelt, and placed two fingers on the side of her neck. There was a faint pulse. She would live.

Noella rose to her full height, a pang of sorrow for her sister going through her. She hated that she would be here, alone, for the rest of her days, but then, Malvina brought that all upon herself. Her last act would be to place a spell over the fortress, so her sister couldn’t hurt anyone again.

But now, she had to make sure Ella, Nicholas, and the young Ingrid made it out of the fortress to safety. She hurried to the door, passing by the shards of mirror and noticed they had dimmed from shimmering and bright to dull and dark. The magic inside the mirror was destroyed. She knew her sister had the mirror, knew she used it to spy on her, knew she used it to plan her way to claim the throne of Rovenheim for herself. Now, with the mirror gone, Noella would finally have peace of mind.

She stepped over the glass and into the hall, leaving her sister behind once and for all.

Chapter 23

EllafollowedNicholasdownthe hallway to a set of stairs. He led the way down with Ingrid in between them. At the bottom, a guard waited. Nicholas wasted no time in disarming him and taking his sword. He pulled the dagger from his waist and handed it to her.

“Here. Just in case.”

She clutched the dagger in her sweaty palm, not sure how to use it but grateful for the weapon nonetheless. Ingrid clung to her side as they charged into the grand hall.

And were confronted with a swarm of guards, forcing them back to the wall. One of them, who appeared to be in charge, stepped toward Nicholas with his sword raised.

“It’s back to the dungeons for you all,” he said.

Ella watched as Nicholas took in the surroundings, glanced upward, then to the side. An idea ignited in his eyes. He gave them a smile.

“Are you certain about that?”

He swung his sword, not at the guard, but at a rope tied off near his head. He sliced through it cleanly. Overhead, a candelabra fell from the ceiling, trapping the rest of them. Nicholas ran around them, heading for the exit, Ella and Ingrid followed.

They were almost home free.

Until they made it into the courtyard and realized they were once again faced with more guards. None of them noticed their arrival since they were busy with whoever was on the outside of the wall—Captain Bart and Gustav, no doubt. But they were a skeleton crew. How could they hold their own against so many of Malvina’s men?

“We should have gone out the way we came in,” Nicholas said.

“Don’t worry, dear.”

Noella arrived in a puff of glittering magic. With a wave of her hand, she tossed something shimmering at the three of them. Ella coughed and sputtered. So did Ingrid. Nicholas merely closed his eyes and took it as if it was something he was used to dealing with.

“The concealment spell won’t last long,” she said, urgency in her voice.

“What about you?” Nicholas turned to her, gripping her by the arm.

“I have one more task to accomplish.”

Nicholas started to protest when she poofed away again.

“Let’s go,” he said with a wave.

Ella and Ingrid exchanged a glance as they took off after Nicholas. He wove his way around the men who seemed not to notice them at all. With her heart in her throat and the dagger clutched in her hand, they were almost to the gate.

It was difficult to traverse the rocky ground, though, in the slippers. She tripped and started to fall. She managed to release the dagger, throwing her arms out to break her fall as she crashed against the ground.

Ingrid gasped. “Ella!”

Nicholas halted and spun toward them as Ella turned round to sit. Her right ankle throbbed and her left wrist ached. She grimaced, as she tried to get to her feet, but it hurt too much. Nicholas was at her side in an instant. He wrapped a hand around her upper arm and helped her to her feet. She sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth when she tried to put weight on her right foot.

“You’re hurt,” he said.

Ingrid bounced from one foot to the other in front of her, her youthful face creased with worry.

“I twisted my ankle,” she said. “It hurts to put weight on it.”

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