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

shifted on my feet before I realized what I was doing and put a stop to it. I didn't want Jake to see how much I cared about what he said.
"He's not going to be back. He's gone."
My mouth fell open. "Gone?" Without saying goodbye? Something didn't feel right about the statement, but it didn't stop my heart from splitting in two at the thought.
What was I going to do without Topher in the palace? In so little time, he'd become the person I came to rely on the most, and I wasn't ready to change that.
"Gone," Jake repeated.
He really must be mad at me.
"Did he say where he was going? Or why?" It felt so awkward to be asking those questions, but I knew I had to.
Jake shrugged. "He said something about a girl breaking his heart. I didn't even know he'd been seeing anyone."
Oh no. What had I done? Had he not liked it when I talked to Jake while we were waiting to be called into the final test?
No. That didn't seem likely. Topher hadn't seemed like the jealous type at any other point, and he knew he was the one I'd chosen to spend my time with during the Fright Festival.
"Where did he say he was going?" I asked.
"Urbis."
I blinked a couple of times, trying to process that one. How could he go to Urbis? They'd told me last week that the gates into the city were shut and no one was getting in. Topher had been struggling to get news from his sources as a result. Going there would be a strange thing for him to do. Unless things had changed, and that was what he'd been called away from while the contest results had been announced.
"Are you sure?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" he snapped. "Topher said he was going home. This girl he's been spending a lot of time with chose someone else, or something like that. I wasn't listening properly. I didn't even know he was spending time with anyone but you." Venom dripped from every word. Clearly, I needed to fix whatever was going on here. While I didn't want a romantic relationship with him anymore, that didn't mean I wanted something strained.
But that could wait. Right now, the world was dropping out from beneath me. Because Topher hadn't been spending any time with someone other than me. Which meant he'd told Jake I'd broken his heart, and that couldn't be good.
"Thank you, Jake," I murmured quickly, already forming a plan in my head. "Sorry to have bothered you."
He grunted, then shut the door with a little more force than was strictly necessary. I'd deal with that later. First thing's first, I had to get down to the stables and saddle up one of the horses. Then, I needed to try and use my powers to see where Topher had gone. It was a long shot, but the only one I had, which was why I had to take it.
I closed my eyes and focused on thoughts of Topher, trying to bring up a vision of him. I'd been trying to do it as little as possible, as each vision left me more and more exhausted. But sometimes, it was unavoidable, especially if I wanted to check whether I was going in the right direction of something.
Things began to grow hazy, and I relied on the strength and training of my horse to keep me upright. A glen I recognized sprang to mind, and while Topher wasn't in the vision, I knew that was the way I had to go.
I dismissed the vision and opened my eyes, tugging on the reins so my horse would head in the right direction. I was eager to find him, not only because it would put my mind at ease, but also because it would be better to have someone with me in case I fell off my horse in exhaustion.
The trees thinned the closer I got to the glen. I hoped once I got there that things would become more obvious. I wasn't entirely sure I had enough energy for another vision, even if I wanted one.
Except that I knew I'd manage. I'd come this far. I wasn't going to stop at the final hurdle in finding Topher.
Sunlight streamed through the trees, dappling the green leaves on the forest floor. The birds tweeted from the trees, joining the rustle of the undergrowth as smaller creatures went about their day. It was beautiful. And peaceful. I'd spent too much time in the palace and the surrounding city recently and hadn't taken much advantage of going into the woods that surrounded us. At least, this journey could go some way toward making up for that.
I rode on a little way further, listening out for any indication that something bigger was passing through the trees.
"Kelis?"
My heart lifted at the sound of Topher's voice. I looked around for him, more energized than I had been before, despite nothing having changed.
He crashed through the trees opposite me on a horse I'd never seen before. It must have been his from Urbis. We'd never been riding together and had used the carriage when we went to the stadium.
"Topher." Relief tinged my voice as I said his name. He didn't seem angry with me. Or particularly sad either. Had Jake been lying about the whole thing? I didn't understand why he would when he had nothing to gain from it, but who knew as far as Jake was concerned.
"What are you doing on a horse? You look exhausted," he said.
"I am." I swayed a little as if to demonstrate my point, though it wasn't intentional. "I was seeing the future to find out where you went."
"By the spells, Kelis. Why? You could have hurt yourself." He jumped from his horse and tied it to a nearby tree, then pulled out a blanket and lay it down on the ground.
Next, he came over to my horse and walked it over so he