“To Loire!” Angelique agreed.
Pegasus, surprisingly, covered ground at a slower-than-usual pace. Angelique suspected it was out of concern for Evariste, as she caught the constellation sniffing him several times when Evariste was preoccupied—typically with writing notes on everything he’d observed during his time with the Chosen.
As a result, several days passed before they nearly reached the area where Mullberg’s border mingled with both Arcainia to the south and Verglas to the west.
Angelique peered up at the clouds that glowed ominously in the rising sun’s orange light. The warm spring temperatures had cooled overnight, and a strong wind tugged on Angelique’s dress.
“Smells like rain,” Angelique said.
“It’s a beautiful scent,” Evariste said wistfully. He glanced at the cloudy sky, then finished securing Angelique’s enchanted satchel to Pegasus—they’d spent the night camping and had only just called Pegasus to begin the day’s journey.
“Just wait until we get to Chanceux Chateau.” Angelique patted Pegasus’ muscled neck. “It has the most beautiful gardens. I swear to you Prince Severin must have a tiny bit of plant magic because flowers bloom there in seasons that they shouldn’t. It’s wonderous!”
Evariste smiled. “I look forward to seeing it—and to meeting Severin and Elle, since you talk about them so much.”
“Hopefully Severin is at Chanceux. He was in Erlauf with the Loire army for some time.” A flash of black and purple caught Angelique’s eye, distracting her.
She shifted, her magic automatically flowing to her fingertips as she warily watched what appeared to be a butterfly. It had gorgeous purple wings with black swirls and an elaborate tail to its lower wings that trailed behind it as it flapped up to her, moving faster than a normal butterfly.
The faint whisp of magic that accompanied it marked it as magic-made, and Angelique recalled a similar looking messenger butterfly she’d once received that contained a summons to present herself to the Council.
But they haven’t tried to contact me in years—what could they possibly want? Unless Clovicus chose to send a message this way?
Angelique held out her hand, and the purple butterfly landed in her palm. The purple color of its wings intensified to a darker hue as it turned into a papercraft, and then its wings unfolded, turning the butterfly inside out to reveal the thick sheet of paper.
Angelique narrowed her eyes, carefully tracing over the message for any hidden spells, but she sensed nothing.
Evariste circled around Pegasus so he could join her. “A letter?”
“It appears to be so. Can you sense any magic coming off it?”
Evariste shook his head. “You’d better open it.”
Angelique chewed on her cheek as she unfolded the paper, her heart plummeting into her stomach when she read it.
The Council of the Veneno Conclave wishes to express its joy in Lord Enchanter Evariste’s freedom from captivity, and requests that Lord Enchanter Evariste and Angelique present themselves to the Council immediately.
Chapter 33
Several curse words dropped from Angelique’s mouth before she recalled she no longer traveled alone. She smashed the letter to her chest and, horrified, peered at Evariste.
Rather than be scandalized or disappointed, he grinned. “That feels about right,” he said. “I believe we’ve been summoned.”
“Yes, but!” Angelique flapped the letter in the air. “How did they find out? Did Clovicus squeal?”
“Doubtful,” Evariste said. “He takes a certain amount of pride and amusement in denying the Council anything they want. Telling them I’m free would steal a great deal of joy from his life.”
Angelique held the letter above her head and scowled at it as if she could get it to fly off. “I bet it was that assistant of his—Wallace! Clovicus said Wallace used to work for Crest; I bet he talked!”
“That sounds more plausible,” Evariste agreed. “However, I find it unlikely Clovicus left such secret information out for anyone—much less his assistant—to uncover.”
Angelique lowered the letter and slapped it into her side. “But how, then?”
Evariste frowned. “I don’t know. It’s possible someone from Glitzern Palace said something. We didn’t try to keep my identity from anyone, after all.”
“That’s true.” Angelique gnawed on her lip. “That means, then, that they probably don’t know you’ve been sealed. We only told Snow White, Queen Faina, and the Warriors about that.”
“True,” Evariste said. “Won’t that be an upsetting reveal for them? But, in the meantime, it appears we need to change our plans.”
Angelique whipped the paper up for inspection one last time, glaring at it as though she could change its contents. “Do we really have to?”
Evariste laughed. “Yes.”
Angelique groaned.
“Think of it as reordering our priorities,” Evariste suggested. “When we go to the Conclave, we can tell Clovicus about the strange cases of your magic connecting us.”
Slightly placated, Angelique folded the letter up and stuffed it in her satchel on Pegasus’ back. “And we can research the spell that blocks you from your magic.”
“That, too,” Evariste agreed, though his tone said he didn’t think it was a fruitful pursuit. “Besides, we’ve sent Severin a great deal of information already. Delaying our meeting with him by a few days shouldn’t do much to our timeline.”
“You’re right,” Angelique admitted. “Fine. Let’s get this over with. If we leave soon, we should arrive at the Conclave by late afternoon—with Pegasus carrying us, that is.”
Angelique fondly petted the constellation, then dug into the satchel.
Evariste rested his hand on Pegasus’ shoulder. “Besides, there is one major consolation to this change in plans.”
“What’s that?”
“They cannot possibly keep us for more than a day or two because I can’t do anything for them as long as I’m in this state!”
Angelique laughed as she thrust her entire arm into the satchel. “There is that.”
“What are you searching for?”
Angelique grinned. “A wardrobe change. I intend to make Elle proud and use my clothing to make a statement at the Veneno Conclave.”
Late in the afternoon, when the sky was a swirl of colors as day turned to dusk, Angelique and Evariste arrived.
Pegasus carried them past the fortress walls and through the magic city. Although they were given a few curious looks, all the mages that passed them gave them a large berth upon glancing at the flames of Pegasus’ mane and tail.
It was helpful. Evariste had pulled up his hood to shadow and hopefully hide his face, but with Pegasus working as a natural deterrent there was an even smaller chance they’d be stopped.
They clattered up to the stable that was arranged snugly against the main Conclave building and dismounted.
Angelique landed with a satisfied hop, then brushed off her trousers before impulsively hugging Pegasus’ neck. “Thank you for the ride.”