Goddess of Magic: A Snow White retelling (Kingdom of Fairytales Snow White Book 4)

edge off my win.
No. That wasn't fair. He wouldn't have disappeared if he didn't have a good reason. Which probably meant that he'd be getting more information from his contacts. I wasn't sure how any of it worked, but I suspected it was better if I didn't know the ins and outs of his secret meetings.
"He'll be back soon," Rhi promised me.
I nodded. "I hope so." Because I wasn't sure what I'd do if he wasn't.
No. That was a lie. I did know what I'd do. Exactly the same thing as I had for the past eighteen years of my life. I'd learn to be the best ruler Enchantia had to offer while helping my parents and as many other people as possible. If I got to do it with Topher by my side, learning with me, and offering the support I would need, then that was all the better. But if he wasn't as interested as I thought he was, I'd be all right. I was too strong for a broken heart to leave me useless.

2nd November
The dream was different than it had been for the past couple of nights, and excitement thrummed through me as a result. I wanted to see more things. I needed it to know more about what was going on, then I'd have something to tell Topher when I saw him again.
"Are you all right there, Kelis?" Azia asked.
I startled. She was talking to me? That hadn't happened before.
"Yes. I've just never seen Skyla before." The words came out without me having any control. Did that mean I was actually saying them in the future, not just in my dream? This was even better than I'd hoped.
"It's amazing, isn't it?" one of the others asked, but I wasn't paying enough attention to work out who it was.
Nothing could distract me from the sights in front of me. Castles towered in the sky, peeking between clouds and going up even higher than I'd even imagined possible. The cloud walkways connected them, but from the dots in the sky, a lot of the people flew around instead of using them. The cloud walkways must be used for transporting goods or for people who didn't have wings. Visitors, mostly, I imagined.
I'd read about this place in books, but it was nothing like I'd pictured. It was magnificent—beautiful and unique in a way nowhere else in the world could be.
My gaze locked on a waterfall, cascading from behind one of the castles down to the ground. The water shimmered in the sunlight, creating a magical atmosphere that couldn't be recreated.
"It's beautiful," I whispered.
"It is," Azia agreed. "But we're not here to admire Skyla. We have something far more important to do here. Then we can get back to Urbis."
I nodded. As much as I wanted to stay and admire the natural beauty of this world, we had curses to break, and there was no time to waste.
The dream faded into darkness, letting sleep overtake me once more. I welcomed sleep, knowing that in the morning, I could see Topher and tell him about everything I'd seen. And find out where he went last night. I'd gone to his rooms once I'd returned from the competition, but he hadn't been back yet.
Before I told him anything about my dream or what I thought it meant, I needed to tell him something more important. If I went one more day without telling him how I felt, then I risked exploding. I had to tell him—the moment I woke up!
I threw on my clothes, not wanting to waste a single moment of my day. Not when I had so much I needed to get out of my mind. I skipped breakfast, grabbing a pastry to eat on the way instead. It wasn't something I'd do very often, but this was a special occasion. Besides, once I was at Topher's room, we could order some breakfast brought to us and share it.
That would be nice.
I bit into the pastry as I rushed through the corridors, being careful not to go too fast this time for fear of choking. The last thing I wanted was for something as embarrassing as that to happen.
Topher and Jake's door appeared in front of me faster than I'd anticipated. I must have been too lost in thought to realize how close I was.
I took a deep breath, steadying myself. I wanted this. More than that, I needed it. But that didn't mean I wasn't nervous still. I reached out and knocked, then waited for someone to answer.
There was nothing I could do to stop bouncing up and down on the balls of my feet. It was how all of my energy was making itself known.
Movement sounded on the other side of the door, and my heart rose into my throat. I should have thought through what I was going to say before arriving. I'd been too focused on getting here and hadn't even considered what to do once I was here. But it was the right thing to do. I'd find the words once I saw Topher's face. Or maybe I'd just kiss him.
The door swung open, and my heart sank.
Not Topher.
"Kelis," Jake said coldly.
Ah. So he hadn't forgiven me for beating him in the competition. Personally, I'd have thought running away from him trying to kiss me would have gotten more of a reaction, but apparently not. Jake didn't make any sense.
"Morning, Jake," I said brightly. "Is Topher around?"
His eyes narrowed.
Hmm. Maybe he was more bothered by the whole kissing incident than I thought. That was his problem, though. I hadn't done anything wrong. Perhaps, I should have refused to go with him when he dragged me away from our friends, but I’d only done that to spare his feelings and to avoid a scene.
"No," he said coldly.
"Oh." I failed to keep the disappointment out of my voice. "Do you know when he's going to be back?" I