Pegasus ignored the sign of affection and chewed on the hem of the blue, overly large tunic she’d changed back into out of sheer spite. (She wasn’t going to wear the dress Evariste had given her to face the Council—they didn’t deserve it.)
Angelique plucked her tunic free, then removed her satchel from his back. “You may as well head out. I think we’ll be here several days, and I doubt you’d enjoy it here.”
Pegasus tossed his head in agreement. He nudged Angelique’s neck, then trotted back the way they’d come—nearly running over a mage who had to throw himself clear.
Evariste stood with Angelique. “I’d venture to say you’ve nearly started to domesticate him.”
“If you brushed him, you too could have your clothes chewed on.”
Evariste laughed. “I’m not certain I’d survive the brushing experience.”
“Angelique?”
Angelique and Evariste spun around to see Lady Enchantress Lovelana walking with two mages.
It took Angelique a moment to recognize them as Sinèad and Alfonso of the Assignment and Appointments Department. Sinèad was the head of the department, but Alfonso was her second in command, as well as her husband.
“Lady Enchantress Lovelana, hello!” Angelique smiled genuinely at the enchantress. “I have great news to share with you!” She glanced up at Evariste, her smile turning impish. “Lady Enchantress Lovelana will be very excited to see you again.”
Evariste merely raised his eyebrows, but when Lovelana glided closer, he adjusted his hood so it didn’t fall quite so low over his face.
“Angelique, I’m glad you are—” Lovelana froze when her eyes fell on Evariste. “Lord…Lord Enchanter Evariste?”
Evariste smiled, but Angelique outright cackled. “Yes!”
“L-lord Enchanter!” Lovelana repeated. She touched Evariste’s cloak, but her eyes slid sideways to gape at Angelique. “You did it.” She grabbed Angelique’s hands and squeezed. “You found him! You really found him!”
“Yes!” Angelique squeezed the enchantress’s hands in return. “He was here, in Mullberg!”
Lovelana pulled back, one of her hands resting on her throat at the scandal of the thought. “Mullberg?”
“Indeed,” Evariste said. “I was held captive in Mullberg for several months. Angelique freed me days ago.”
“Then please, allow us to welcome you home, Lord Enchanter Evariste!” Sinèad said.
She and Alfonso strolled up behind Lovelana— Sinèad wearing a smile as bright as the sun while Alfonso adjusted his glasses and gave a small smile that was the equivalent of an enormous grin from him.
Hah! The Conclave isn’t his home; Wistful Thicket is.
Evariste glanced down at Angelique, and she could see the same thought in his eyes. But he smiled politely. “I am glad to be free again.”
“Where were you being held?” Lovelana wrapped a lock of her hair around her finger and gazed at Evariste with adoration, then (shockingly) turned to Angelique. “How did you free him, Angelique?”
Evariste had always been attractive to female mages—for both his looks and his magical genius.
Despite having forged a tentative relationship with Lovelana, Angelique had assumed Evariste would be the sole receiver of Lovelana’s shining attention now that he had returned.
“Um,” Angelique said, unprepared for this development. “It’s a long story?”
“Angel and I will be staying here at the Conclave for several days,” Evariste said. “So we will be free to tell you every detail. Unfortunately, we were sent for by the Council. We should report in to them.”
Angelique tried to scrutinize him out of the corners of her eyes.
Since she’d pulled him out of the mirror, there had been an aura of exhaustion to him—happiness, too. But he didn’t sleep easily and just seemed so tired. As he smiled at Lovelana, Sinèad, and Alfonso, however, she couldn’t detect any hint of fatigue.
Is he settling back into life outside the mirror? No—no matter how spectacular a person is, they can’t recover from that kind of trauma in mere days. Why, then, is he acting like he’s fine? Does he also trust the Conclave so little?
“Oh, that’s a shame,” Sinèad said. “But understandable. However, we will look forward to hearing your story.” She linked her arm through her husband’s and leaned in. “Won’t we, Alfonso?”
Alfonso blushed at her close contact—though the way he linked his fingers through hers gave him away. “Yes. We look forward to seeing your name again in the Assignment and Appointments Department, Evariste.”
Angelique narrowed her eyes. He cannot be serious. Even if he doesn’t know that Evariste’s magic is sealed, he knows perfectly well that Evariste has been missing for years. He just expects him to jump back to work?
“Lord Enchanter Evariste?”
A mage wearing a purple robe with the seal of the Conclave emblazoned on it approached them, looking back and forth between them.
“It seems you are right: you are needed. We look forward to seeing you soon—Sybilla will be happy to see you, Angelique!” Lovelana grinned at Angelique, then Evariste, and stepped back, leaving Sinèad and Alfonso no choice but to follow her lead.
The mage peered at them for a moment before he slightly bowed to Evariste, then Angelique. “The Council is waiting for you.”
Angelique and Evariste exchanged glances.
“Then lead on, please,” Evariste said.
The mage guided them through the maze of the Conclave, and it took Angelique several minutes before recognizing the route they were on would lead them to Hallowed Hall—the place where the Council meted out judgments and held meetings.
How did they know we were here? I suppose it’s possible those guarding the fortress gates sent word by magical methods, but why would they have started to watch for us? They had no way of knowing we were in Mullberg. It seems especially strange, given that Lovelana—the leader of the committee charged with finding Evariste—had obviously not been informed he’d been found.
There was something about the Council already knowing that Evariste was out that still didn’t sit right, but Angelique didn’t have much time to think about it as the mage delivered them into the large hallway that would take them straight into Hallowed Hall.
The mage then scurried off, disappearing around a bend of an intersecting hallway.
“Why do I feel like I’m about to be in trouble?” Angelique asked.
“Nonsense,” Evariste said. “You freed me. What could they possibly criticize?”
“A lot,” Angelique said. “Particularly because I didn’t tell you every sordid detail about my various…disagreements with the Council when I was trying to catch you up on what’s been happening.”
“Then we’ll call for Clovicus, and he’ll throw every magical law he can after them, and enjoy it,” Evariste simply said.
Angelique grinned, but she relaxed only when their shoulders brushed.
It doesn’t matter what they complain about now. Evariste is free. He’s here with me.
Though it had been days, she half-expected to wake up and find the whole thing had been a bittersweet dream.