“Lady Enchantress Angelique—and Quinn of Midnight Lake, I presume?” Severin asked. Even above the wind, his low and growly voice—Angelique had wondered on more than one occasion if the growly tone was natural or leftover from his time as a cursed beast—was still perfectly audible.
Quinn saluted. “At your service.”
“Severin, are you leaving?” Angelique held onto the skirts of her dress—although the heat charm kept her body toasty, it didn’t keep her skirts from ruffling in the icy wind.
“Indeed—I actually believed I’d be gone before you arrived. You traveled much faster than I expected.” Severin glanced at Pegasus and Fluffy.
Oliver had maneuvered Pegasus over to Fluffy and the other stablehand, to join her in looking over Emerys’ unusual mount.
“What do you think it eats?” the female stablehand asked Oliver.
“Hay and grain, maybe? Pegasus pretends to eat it sometimes,” Oliver said.
Carefully, the female stablehand offered a shriveled carrot to Fluffy.
Fluffy—with an elegant, deer-like grace—nibbled delicately on the carrot.
The two stable hands visibly relaxed…until Fluffy spit it out.
“Ahh, yes,” Angelique tried to hide her amusement as trepidation made the stablehands visibly shrink under Fluffy’s intelligent gaze. “Our swift travel is all thanks to our mounts.”
“I am aware of the pace at which Pegasus can travel.” Severin studied Fluffy, who raised his head high so his antlers towered above the prince. “But I’ve never seen such a steed as this fine animal before.”
“His name is Fluffy. The King of the Elves gave me permission to borrow him.” Quinn said. “He isn’t as fast as Pegasus—his stamina isn’t quite as good either—but he’s faster than any horse I’ve ridden and can go longer than I can ride.”
“What Quinn isn’t saying is that she’s engaged to King Themerysaldi, so he gave her his fastest mount to potentially limit the amount of time she’s away from him,” Angelique dryly said.
“Reasonable,” Severin decided. “I would love to hear more of your exploits—particularly your recount of breaking the elves curse, Quinn of Midnight Lake. Unfortunately, I’m due to take more troops south to Erlauf.”
“More?” Angelique frowned. “I thought you’d taken several armies there already?”
“Erlauf needs the fortification. Goblins have been coming down from the mountains at a previously unseen rate. They’ve even been organizing into large armies and marching into Torrens as well, so Erlauf has been forced to send some of their soldiers to help.” The wrinkles that sliced across Severin’s forehead deepened into canyons. “It’s strange. I didn’t think the Chronos Mountains or the Arkane Mountains could support much life besides a few cave and mountain goblin packs, but there’ve been veritable hordes marching upon Erlauf in the past few weeks.”
“To my knowledge, there is nothing—no spell or artifact—that would allow the Chosen to breed goblins,” Angelique said.
Off to the side, Oliver dug a piece of jerky out of a pocket of his cloak. After exchanging shrugs, he offered it to Fluffy.
Fluffy sniffed the meat, then backed up.
Oliver and his fellow stablehand visibly slumped with relief, until Fluffy stepped forward, swiped Oliver’s knit cap off his head, and then proceeded to eat it despite Oliver’s squawk of outrage.
“Yes, I’ve asked a few mages about such a phenomena, and they assured me of the same thing.” Severin shook his head. “Regardless, I must be off. But I am glad I am able to see you before I leave, so I might have the honor of sharing the intelligence the rangers uncovered.”
Angelique fidgeted and tried not to let herself hope. “What did you find out?”
Maybe he learned if Liliane and Acri are really Chosen members, or maybe he can confirm Evariste’s location?
“We’ve found a medium-sized black mage stronghold in our northern territory, which is a confirmed site of Chosen mages,” Severin said.
Nothing to do with Evariste then.
“Elle will give you the exact location inside, but we’re giving you first crack at it,” Severin said.
“What do you mean?” Angelique asked.
“We need to shut it down, but before my men do so, I wanted to give you the opportunity to infiltrate it,” Severin said. “Given that only Verglas is to the north, it’s likely one of the Chosen holdouts closest to Mullberg. If Evariste is indeed captive in Mullberg as you suspect, it’s possible they’ll have record of it.”
Angelique dumbly watched Oliver and the female stablehand lead Pegasus and Fluffy to the stables—if by lead, one meant charge ahead of the stablehands, who protested the fast pace as they were dragged along.
“I hadn’t thought of that.” Angelique’s heart throbbed again with hope. “Who knows that you’ve discovered it?”
“The ranger who found the information, Elle, my staff, and Stil and Gemma.” Severin cocked his head. “And now the two of you. We’ve kept it from other countries because we believed it was most important to give you priority access.” The prince hesitated, sliding his fingers across the width of his sword belt. “And we have not told any mages—not even Lord Enchanter Clovicus—due to Lady Enchantress Lovelana’s suspicions of a Chosen spy within the Conclave and their history of botched attempts at infiltrating Chosen dens.”
Lovelana did say that was what made her suspect there is a mole in the Veneno Conclave—every operation she held against black mages, the locations were already cleared out.
“If you’d like help, we’d be happy to provide it,” Severin said. “Just tell Elle what you need. Stil has already volunteered to produce any charms you should need.”
Angelique released a shaky breath. “Thank you, Severin.”
Severin bowed over his arm. “It is we who must thank you, Angelique, for all you have sacrificed for our cause. We will help you find Lord Enchanter Evariste. I promise.” He met her gaze with piercing amber eyes, then straightened. “But, unfortunately, I must deal with the goblins.”
“Of course. The information alone is more than I ever hoped for,” Angelique said.
Severin shook his head. “It’s not nearly enough. But in this case, I expect Elle would be a bigger help to you, regardless. She specialized in undercover work and intelligence gathering in her years as a ranger.”
“I will be thankful for her expertise,” Angelique said.
Severin nodded. “Good luck—and be safe.”
“You as well.”
Severin nodded, then strode across the courtyard, heading for a furry gray gelding a soldier was holding. He mounted up, inclined his head to Angelique and Quinn, and then was off, his horse trotting down the driveway.
The troops started moving from their positions to follow Severin, turning the white lawn into a sea of movement. The clattering of wagons and the stamp of horse hooves on snow filled the air.
Angelique and Quinn watched the impressive sight for a moment.
“Lady Enchantress and Mademoiselle?” A maid curtseyed to them and indicated to the double doors. “If I may—would you like to be shown to your rooms first, or would you be more inclined to visit Madame Elle?”