“Hmm.” Themerysaldi nodded slowly, his eyebrows twitching as he thought.
He’s actually thinking about it.
Something in Angelique loosened at the realization. So many times Evariste or Sybilla had swatted off her concerns as silly. But Themerysaldi had listened and was actually considering Angelique’s fears.
There was something about it—that he hadn’t bothered to minimize her worries—that made Angelique feel better.
It felt almost disloyal to even think that (Evariste had done so much for her), but it seemed to Angelique he was so certain in her magic that he didn’t listen to her.
“This happens all the time, or only in specific situations?” Themerysaldi asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“All the—” Angelique paused when Pegasus sucked a lock of her hair into his mouth and pulled just hard enough that she felt pressure on her scalp. “Well, whenever I use my core magic, which is only when I fight.”
“Ahhh. That is an important distinction,” Themerysaldi said, “and one that explains a lot.”
Angelique furrowed her brow. “In what way?”
“Because when you fight, you face—what were some of the enemies you told me about? A basilisk, a wyvern, black mages? Goblins too, obviously. It doesn’t matter.” Themerysaldi dramatically swept a hand through the air. “The point is you are fighting evil and darkness.”
“Yes.”
“And that is why your magic acts so.”
“…I’m not following your reasoning.”
“Look. Your magic comes from your soul, right? While it’s not a sentient thing per se, given where it’s coming from, it’s going to have a flavor of you to it,” Themerysaldi said. “And you can’t stand anything evil or twisted. It’s abhorrent to you. Naturally, that’s going to mean your magic reacts stronger—perhaps almost violently so—to it as well.”
Angelique blinked. “That seems like a large leap in logic.”
“How? You’ve never really hurt anyone with your magic—that one incident with Evariste-the-sloppy doesn’t count,” Themerysaldi countered.
“There’s never been a moment where I’d consider using my magic on others, so we can’t know for sure it wouldn’t react just as enthusiastically in attacking the helpless,” Angelique said.
“Yes, we can—because you’d never harm someone like that.” Themerysaldi casually nocked an arrow in his bow and leaned back against the tree.
“You can’t say that for certain. What if in the darkest moment I do strike out at the innocent,” Angelique argued. “We can’t know—”
“But we can,” Themerysaldi interrupted. “Because you’ve had dark moments. You’ve practically lived in dark moments these past few years. Your master was taken; you’ve been forced to face down an assortment of evil creatures and vile magic users that normally only a seasoned enchanter would be sent after; you had to face down fellow mages and strike out from the Veneno Conclave.”
“Never once have you turned on the innocent. Rather, you’ve doubled down on fighting against what is wrong,” Themerysaldi said. “Your magic is going to have that same kind of awful—annoying—stubbornness. And enthusiasm.” Themerysaldi peered around the trunk of the tree.
The chunk of the goblin army that Themerysaldi’s archers had split off and driven away were visible. Mostly Angelique just saw the sputtering torches they carried—which were pinpricks of light in the smothering darkness of the forest.
An elf stepped out of the shadows and bowed to Themerysaldi over his arm. “We have driven another group of goblin troops here, Your Majesty.”
“I can see that, but thank you. Keep ‘em moving, and we’ll take care of it.” Themerysaldi said.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The elf stepped back into the shadows, disappearing.
“Your rationale makes sense. At least it’s the most sensible explanation I’ve been told,” Angelique said.
“About your magic? Of course, I’m right. But you don’t believe it, do you?” Themerysaldi gave her the side eye.
“It’s not that I disbelieve you.” Angelique hesitated and stepped around a tree trunk, watching the goblins as they scrambled closer—hollering and shrieking as they charged through the underbrush. “You’ve given me a lot to think about. And what you’ve said makes more sense than any of the empty platitudes I’ve heard others say.”
“I assume you’re referring to Evariste, which—in his defense—it would be pretty obvious you’d never hurt anyone, so he’d never think it would even be necessary to break it down for you. Annoying prodigy—most geniuses are a pain that way, you know?” Themerysaldi started to scoff, then froze.
Judging by the brief look of pain that flashed across his face, Angelique guessed the Elf King finally remembered that Evariste was missing.
She looked away from him, giving him a moment to grieve as she studied the goblin force. They were now close enough that their torches lit up the woods, showing that Themerysaldi’s guess of approximately thirty goblins was correct.
I guess it’s time to act.
“Let’s have an experiment,” Themerysaldi said abruptly.
“Huh?” Angelique peered over her shoulder to scowl at the Elf King.
He removed his nocked arrow from his bow and slid it back into his belt quiver. “I’ll go out there in the goblin force. You let your magic run wild—if it’s as dangerous as you say it is, it will try to harm me. If I’m right, it’ll be harmless.”
“Are you insane?” Angelique scoffed. “Did the curse finally break that thin thread of sanity you’ve been holding onto for most of your life?”
Themerysaldi clicked his tongue. “Temper, temper. And no—but I’m the best shot you’ve got at answering this question. I’m an elf, after all. Your magic won’t be able to keep up.”
“Maybe, except for, oh, I don’t know—the part where you don’t have any magic!” Angelique hissed, her shoulders hunching like an angry cat.
The goblins were almost on them, now. A few of the creatures leading the charge flicked their enormous bat-like ears—probably hearing Angelique’s raised voice.
“I don’t have any magic, but I still have my speed and strength,” Themerysaldi pointed out.
“I don’t care! I don’t want to be known as the Elf King slayer!”
He smirked. “Now you’re getting a big head. Do you really think an enchantress could kill an Elf King?”
“One that doesn’t have magic at the moment, clearly lacks intelligence, is currently doe-eyed over a human soldier, and is generally insufferable? Yes. I think one could.”
One of the goblins left the front line—which had slowed now that the elven archers were no longer driving them—and was about two trees away from Angelique.
I’ve run out of time. I’ll have to address these goblins before I give Themerysaldi a detailed analysis of all the reasons why his plan is stupid.
Angelique gathered up her core magic. Whether it was because she’d used it so much over the past few hours, or because it was just that eager, it encased her body in a silvery light. She flung her magic at the goblins—heaving it like a fisherman throwing a net. But of course her magic had to be deceptive, so rather than looking as frightening as it was, it fell on the goblins like starlight, dusting them as it dripped down their bodies and pooled around their crude weapons.