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

our privacy was too important to ask any of the staff members to bring more.
"Nothing about your mother, though?" he asked.
Sudden tears filled my eyes. I hated that I could be reduced to that by a mere thought. But it didn't matter. Topher had seen me cry before. If he saw it again, it wasn't the end of the world.
"I tried, but whatever is controlling my visions just kept taking me back to the people in the room." A tear splashed against the table. I wiped them away.
Topher reached out and placed one of his hands over mine. He squeezed gently. I couldn't explain why the action was so reassuring, but I liked it. It was nice to feel like I had someone completely on my side.
"I'm sorry," he said. "We can find a way that will show you more about her."
"Maybe." Even I wasn't convinced by the word. But I still appreciated the sentiment behind what he was saying. "But I don't want to try and see her again yet. I'll try once I have more control over it."
He nodded. "That makes sense."
We sat in silence for a moment, both of us thinking about what was going on.
"You said you had papers for today?" I asked, remembering that we'd pushed that aside for a moment.
A quick grimace flickered over his face, but he covered it almost instantly. "I do, but you're going to be disappointed. There isn't anything interesting in any of them."
He got up and walked across the room to a dresser where a stack of papers was waiting. I should have noticed them when I came in, but I hadn't been looking for them. Plus, it was rude to snoop, even if it was on something that was for me anyway. Topher had been bringing me papers from Urbis almost daily, and we went through them together to try and piece together what was happening.
Not that it had helped. We were still clueless. I just wished my visions would help fill in some of the blanks. So far, they hadn't, and it meant we were shooting in the dark when it came to any of it.
I sighed loudly.
"You all right?" Topher asked as he dropped the stack of newspapers on the table.
I shuffled the tray of tea slightly to the side so it was out of the way and picked up the first paper to flick through. It wasn't that I didn't believe him when he'd said there was nothing of interest, but more that I hoped I'd spot something he missed.
"I just wish we knew more," I admitted.
"Me too. Being cut off from Urbis sounds....not good."
He was right. It was all a very strange situation. But I was convinced it was all linked—the curse on Mother, the odd happenings throughout the kingdoms, and the people with the golden eyes. There wasn't another explanation that made sense. There were too many strange events for it to be completely coincidental.
I got to the end of the paper and refolded it before dropping it onto the floor. That would be the start of my new discard pile. I pulled the next one off the pile while Topher watched me patiently. No doubt, he understood why I needed to look at them all myself. Perhaps, he was hoping I'd find something as much as I did.
"There really isn't anything here," I muttered, throwing another paper down in frustration. I was most of the way through the stack already, and there was simply nothing to go on. If these papers were to be believed, nothing at all was happening in any of the kingdoms, which didn't seem likely.
"I know. Even the lack of news is suspicious," Topher agreed.
"So, what do we do? If no one's reporting anything, and we have no idea what's going on, even in Enchantia, then what are we supposed to do to fix it all?"
"I think we have to rely on the visions."
"I was afraid you'd say that," I half-joked. "But what if they don't tell us anything new?"
"They might not," he admitted. "But I think we have to try. Don't we?"
"I like how you're saying we, despite the fact all you're going to do is watch me while I try."
"So that means you're going to?" he asked.
A light laugh escaped me. "Yes. I will."
"Want me to go get a refill of tea while you try?" he offered.
"That would be good. And can you see if they have any cookies or cakes too?" I hadn't been able to eat much at breakfast while I worried about everything, and I was starting to get a little hungry as a result.
"Of course." He got to his feet, and hesitated, almost as if he wanted to say or do something else. Maybe he wanted to kiss me on the forehead? I'd like that.
I pushed the thought aside, a little confused about where the desire had come from, especially when there were bigger things for me to worry about.
"I'll be back in a minute. Why don't you try and see something else while I'm gone?" he suggested.
"Got it."
The moment the door clicked behind him, I closed my eyes and thought of the golden-eyed people. It was the first time I was trying to find them on purpose, and I hoped that the other visions I'd had were a sign I'd be able to control this vision. Whatever magic was controlling things, clearly wanted me to see them.
My vision swam, and a scene around me started to take shape. I almost let out a scream of excitement as I realized I wasn't seeing the basement.
Trees swayed in the breeze, though they weren't dense enough to be a forest. I didn't recognize the exact location, but from the height of the sun and the kind of plants around, it looked as if the place I was seeing was close to Enchantia, or one of our neighboring kingdoms.
My attention shifted to the people in the vision. Bingo. They were the same ones I'd been