“It can wait.” Angelique held her wild hair flat against her head with her free hand while the wind attempted to swat it in her face.
“I don’t know that it can.” Evariste swiveled so he faced the mountains. “Their leader, Liliane, is Conclave trained.”
“What?”
“She apparently studied at Luxi-Domus well after she’d joined the Chosen. I have no idea how she wasn’t found out, but obviously there is a hole somewhere in the Conclave.”
Angelique tried to massage the wrinkles of worry from her forehead. “I guess it’s not too shocking. Lady Enchantress Lovelana believes there is at least one Chosen mole in our ranks—perhaps more.”
Evariste sighed. “You’ll have to send the message to Clovicus—since I, obviously, cannot.”
Angelique shook her head. “I have a magic mirror that lets me contact him instantly. We can tell him, but I refuse to contact anyone until tomorrow at the earliest.”
“You have a magic mirror?” Evariste whistled. “Those are expensive.”
“Arcainia gave the funds to the alliance to purchase the mirrors, and they were rather less expensive than they would have been given that a veritable army of craftmages are living at Prince Severin of Loire’s chateau. It was an easy thing for them to work together to enchant the mirrors.”
“There’s an alliance?” Evariste asked.
“Yes.” Angelique mashed her lips together as she debated if she should dump six years’ worth of history on him or wait.
Wait, I think. She glanced down in the courtyard where Oswald was rearranging the barrels of alcohol in the cart, loudly complaining whenever Rupert pointed to a dissatisfactory barrel.
It’s the same as contacting Clovicus. Evariste just got out of captivity after six years of nothingness. It’s better to be slow—particularly since he’s been through so much.
“I will tell you everything,” Angelique said. “But first, I think we should eat. I don’t imagine you were well fed in the mirror?”
Evariste shrugged. “I wasn’t fed at all. The magic that held me captive in the mirror also sustained me. Or rather it kept my body in the same condition it had been when I arrived. I didn’t ever hunger.”
Angelique shuffled her feet. “Earlier, you were talking about the pain that came from the mirror feeding off your magic…how bad was it?”
Evariste stared at the blue-hued mountains and their snowcapped peaks. “I’ve never experienced something so horrible before. There were many times I thought I’d die.”
Angelique reached out, then hesitated, her hand hovering over his arm.
I don’t know what to say. What can I say in a situation so horrible? Mere words can’t possibly soothe the kind of pain he experienced!
Slowly—almost scared—Angelique leaned against Evariste’s side. Feeling particularly daring, she slipped her hand in his again. “That sounds horrible.”
“It was dark,” Evariste amiably admitted. “But I survived—because of you.”
Angelique blinked. “Me?”
“Yes. Once your tracking spell found me, a piece of your magic made it through the mirror and stayed with me.”
…what?
“I’m not entirely sure how it did it, but it seemed to slice through some of the mirror’s magic that fed on me, which greatly reduced the amount of pain I was in. It’s why I’m as healthy as I am, when previously there were several months, I couldn’t even stand.”
Angelique stared at the sky for several moments as she tried to grasp just what Evariste was saying.
The amount of pain he was in must have been excruciating. But…how could my magic help him? And how could it last without a connection to me?
“You mean to say it is still with you?” she asked.
“Indeed.” Evariste tapped his chest with his free hand. “I can feel it in the wellspring of my magic—where the spell that blocks my magic stands.”
Angelique peered at Evariste’s chest and subtly tried to sense her disobedient, wayward magic. “Oh, really?”
Evariste laughed. “It’s not a naughty child you need to scold, Angel.”
“Yes, but…that is to say…how is this possible?” she finally asked. “It goes against everything we know about magic.”
Evariste squeezed her hand. “I suspect it might have something to do with your powers.”
Angelique shook her head. “I don’t think so. My magic is too…well…pointy. It’s not the assuring type.”
“I found it assuring.” Evariste stared out at the courtyard. “On numerous occasions.”
The dreams. He’s referring to the dreams. Now I’ll finally get my answers, and I’ll have a chance to set myself straight.
“Yes, I’m ashamed to say it took me months to learn the time we connected in my dreams was real. What…” she paused, not knowing how to phrase everything she wanted to say.
“What was the reason for our connection? I’m not sure,” Evariste said. “It certainly wasn’t my magic. I’d say it perhaps had something to do with my being in a mirror, but I was in two.”
Angelique pressed her lips together. That felt…evasive.
“Regardless, I have to apologize. You told me about Acri and Liliane, and until recently, I did nothing with that information.”
There, that should give him the chance to clear the situation up!
A muscle twitched in Evariste’s cheek. “There’s absolutely nothing to apologize for, Angel. How would you know it was real? But perhaps we should insult Clovicus about our various connections.”
Yes, he’s purposely evading the topic. Or was it really nothing after all so his near closeness was just my own awkward interpretation of the situation and he’s avoiding it out of thoughtfulness? But…he drew SO close to me!
Regardless, Angelique’s will to push the subject faltered in the face of Evariste’s obvious refusal. “Oh?” She weakly asked when she could think of nothing more to say.
“Whether your lingering magic is something special about your powers or some other reason, it would be useful to know,” Evariste said.
Angelique nodded, her innards a knot of emotions, and silence fell over the pair.
They watched as the sky gradually faded to a deep red before it was invaded by the velvety blue of night. By the time Rupert, Aldelbert, Oswald and his cart-pulling mare left the courtyard, Angelique had calmed enough to appreciate the night.
Even if Evariste wasn’t answering her, she recognized the moment as something quiet and beautiful.
It was very different from the times she’d sat with Quinn, Elle, Gabrielle, and Puss, gathered around a fireplace or fire of some sort and laughing together. Those had been occasions that warmed Angelique and made her heart feel lighter.
This time with Evariste was…restful. It was like finally coming home. Even if she’d changed, and his experience in the mirror had changed him, Evariste was still Evariste.
Eventually we’ll talk about those dreams. I’m just glad to have him back.
Angelique stifled a yawn and tried to discreetly fidget so she changed positions—her feet were starting to hurt from standing still in her oversized boots for so long, but she didn’t want Evariste thinking they needed to leave.