Pegasus turned away from Evariste, gracing him with a view of the constellation’s rear end.
It was on the tip of Evariste’s tongue to ask Pegasus if he feared what Angelique’s reaction would be once she found out just how powerful the constellation really was. But there was no benefit in making Pegasus mad.
It’s not like my situation is so different from his. He fears she’ll pull back once she learns the truth. I fear she’ll reject me when she learns how I feel.
“Evariste?”
Sybilla and Finnr skirted round the edge of the camp, joining Evariste where it was calmer and, more importantly, quieter.
“Sybilla, Finnr. Good evening.” Evariste smiled warmly at the pair.
“Oh, none of that polite civility, child.” Sybilla marched straight up to him and wrapped her plump arms around him in a hug. The embrace was warm, and her clothes faintly smelled of soap as they always had, but there was an unyielding strength beneath the affection.
The gesture brought back a flood of memories of similar hugs he’d received from the Fairy Godmother when he was a boy.
“Are we ignoring our rules, now?” Evariste teasingly asked as he hugged Sybilla back.
“Pish posh. Our rules aren’t necessary,” Sybilla barked. “Not in times like these!”
“Sybilla and I decided it was still best to keep our distance until we reached Verglas, so if any Chosen spies remained, they wouldn’t see.” Finnr’s voice was low and rumbled like ice falling from a glacier. “But as we have passed into the Snow Queen’s land, it is no longer necessary.”
Sybilla squeezed Evariste tight for one moment more, then stepped back. “We should have tossed our rules aside years ago.”
Finnr slipped past Sybilla and approached Evariste for a slightly awkward but no less love-filled back pat. “There are many things we should have done—we would have done—if we’d known the truth about the Conclave.”
Sybilla sharply elbowed Finnr. “Oh, like treat dear Angelique better?”
Finnr bowed his head.
“Treat Angelique better…what do you mean?” Evariste flicked his gaze from Sybilla to Finnr and frowned.
Sybilla waved her hand. “Merely that Finnr was his usual, unpleasant self to her—which is to say he made her life more difficult than necessary.”
Evariste shifted, his posture going from relaxed to tense. “Finnr…”
“Sybilla is right,” Finnr flatly said. “I…mis-stepped. But I will have to confess my sins at a later time. Now, I’m more worried about you.”
Evariste shook his head. “No, we can’t just smooth over this—”
“We’re not.” Sybilla patted his arm. “Truth be told, I could have tried to help Angelique more, but I was too concerned with my own tasks to realize just how large of a burden she was carrying. It’s something we’ll have to discuss—we need to discuss—but, Evariste, please. Tell us how you really are.”
The worry shining in Sybilla’s eyes was the only thing that moved Evariste to let the topic change. That, and he figured if Finnr had been unspeakably horrible to Angelique, she’d have said something by now.
Though, she hadn’t told me that she was still considered an apprentice after all these years until the Council said something…
Evariste glanced at Pegasus, but as the constellation didn’t seem any grouchier than usual, he figured Angelique must have just bucked heads with Finnr—hardly a surprise given the Grandmaster mage’s stone-like temperament.
I’ll get her side of the story first.
Evariste scanned the camp, his eyes lingering on a campfire of pink flames where Clovicus was lecturing several Luxi-Domus students who gazed at him with rapt attention. “I still love every noise, touch, and sensation I encounter, but it can be…overwhelming,” Evariste admitted.
“I’m sorry,” Sybilla wiped at her eyes. “So sorry, Evariste.”
“My capture was not your fault,” Evariste said.
“No, but we failed to find you,” Sybilla said.
“Or failed to believe you were still alive.” Finnr briefly shut his eyes. “I’m sorry, Evariste.”
Evariste shrugged. “Given what we’ve learned about the Conclave, it’s not surprising no one was able to locate me. I imagine Angelique found me only because she ignored them all.”
“True, but to think we allowed ourselves to be so manipulated…” Finnr trailed off and shook his head.
“I was the same,” Sybilla added with a sigh. “I tried to track you down by finding and capturing black mages, but in hindsight, I can see I focused on targets that were too small and insignificant to know about you.”
“I’m free, now. That’s all that matters,” Evariste said.
His eyes strayed to Angelique—as they always seemed to since he’d gotten out. It was only Finnr’s and Sybilla’s presence that kept him from skulking over to her. She was still snarling at the instructors (who at least now had the decency to appear sheepish).
As long as I can see her, it’s enough.
“Say, Sybilla, Angelique mentioned she grew closer to you during my…absence,” Evariste said. “What do you think of her?”
Sybilla shrewdly eyed him. “Clovicus told me you fancy her, so I’ll do you a kindness and tell you if you confess to her, with the emotional state she’s in now and her well-advertised disdain for romance, I’m fairly certain she’ll sock you in the nose.”
She meant for it to be a joke; he could see the humor playing in her eyes.
But for Evariste, given the seal on him, it was a cruel reminder that freeing himself would jeopardize his relationship with Angelique…who’d come to mean more to him than he’d ever dreamed.
Evariste tried to cover his pain with a short laugh. “She’s that against romance, is she?”
“She’s not against it, but I believe she finds it inappropriate in these times.” Sybilla winked. “No need to give up hope, though. Once we root out the Chosen and secure the continent, I imagine she’ll be open to it. And you mean more to her than I think either of you suspect.”
Evariste tried to laugh. “How encouraging.”
Finnr looked pained as he rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable with the topic. “What are the particulars of the curse that separates you from your magic?” he finally asked.
Evariste hesitated, but with Sybilla’s answer hanging like a cloud over his head, he wasn’t too eager to explain it. “It’s an old spell,” he evasively answered. “Clovicus and I plan to go over it in detail before Angelique and I leave for Loire.”
“Good,” Sybilla said. “If anyone can figure out a workaround for a spell, it will be Clovicus.”
“I hope so.” Evariste watched Angelique, who finally smiled when a teacher timidly asked her a question, making her beauty blinding. “I really hope so.”
“How could you reveal yourself?” Liliane’s voice was harsh and taut. “You were meant to stay at the Veneno Conclave until we made our move. This is far too early—we still have preparations to make!”