Blanche stopped trembling and instead mashed her lips together—as if Angelique’s careless attitude sparked something more similar to irritation in her rather than the fear she’d previously displayed.
“You’re going to become a menace,” Rein said.
“What, because I don’t use pretty smiles and say pretty things to cover up ugly truths?” Angelique asked.
“You’ve lost your mind—and your pride as a magic user. We’re called to be better than this! To act with respect and good manners.”
“Nah.” Angelique casually rested a hand on Pegasus’ shoulder. “It’s merely that I don’t care what you think, so I have no incentive to use respect and good manners.”
It surprised Angelique when she felt the truth of the statement in her core.
I really don’t care anymore.
Not about the Conclave, not about how other mages perceive me. It doesn’t matter.
“Why should you act respectful when they’re being downright shameful, anyway?” Odette asked—surprising the mage pair.
“Indeed.” Quinn rested her hand on her belt quiver, and Fluffy’s eyes seemed to glow in the morning sunlight as he stomped a hoof. “Mages always seemed courteous—to the public, anyway. It’s a pity to see what they’re really like.”
Rein narrowed his eyes. “And who are you?”
“I’d choose your tone a bit more carefully,” Odette called out in a sing-song voice. “That’s Quinn of Midnight Lake, the future queen of the elves, you’re scowling at.”
“She’s—what?” Rein squinted at Quinn, then whipped his gaze back to Angelique. “Then why is she traveling with you?”
“Because we’re close friends.” Quinn nudged Fluffy closer to Pegasus, and together the two magical mounts loomed over Rein and Blanche. “And this is Odette, Head of the Black Swan Smugglers and soon-to-be princess of Kozlovka.”
Rein’s mouth slid open, like a barn door flapping in the breeze. Blanche’s face looked like it was carved from stone.
Hmm. They are genuinely shocked. Did they really think the rest of the continent held me in the same contempt mages did? It doesn’t matter. Odette is leaving today, and I’m not going to waste our remaining time subjecting us to their vitriol.
“Seeing how you have nothing useful to say, you should run along now,” Angelique said.
“You’re dismissing us?” Blanche said—the octave of her voice going higher.
“Your arrogance knows no end,” Rein snarled.
Feeling more than a little like Clovicus, Angelique flapped her hand at them. “How cute you both are. But I’m tiring of your charms. Now run along, shoo.”
The two mages didn’t move—they appeared to be too startled to do anything but continue to stare.
Angelique sighed. “Fine. Then it shall be us who take our leave from you.”
Pegasus started walking before Angelique had even finished speaking, and Fluffy stayed shoulder-to-shoulder with him.
Together—with their long strides and fast pace—the two magical mounts left the weather mages behind, rapidly putting distance between them.
Quinn twisted at the torso to hook her bow back on Fluffy’s rump—Angelique hadn’t noticed the soldier had even gotten it freed until then. She watched behind them for several steps before untwisting. “They’re not following us.”
“They have no reason to,” Angelique said. “They don’t like me—they legitimately fear me.”
“I’m not so sure,” Odette said. “At least, I don’t think they fear you quite the way they’ve led you to believe.”
“What do you mean?” Angelique asked.
Odette settled both of her arms around Angelique’s waist as she thought. “I think they treat you so poorly because it’s a way to control you. Rothbart tried to intimidate us Black Swan Smugglers every once in a while—I thought he just liked making us scared. But I think it’s more that he wanted to make sure we’d dislike him and resist him. I think this is the opposite. If they act afraid of you, they can make you doubt yourself. And wouldn’t that doubt affect how you use your magic?”
Angelique squinted up at the bright blue sky. “Maybe some mages treat me that way for that reason. Others are just plain rude—or only see the possibilities of my magic and don’t even think of me as a person.”
“Sounds like you’re thinking of a specific individual,” Quinn said.
“Not really—though there is a mage named Finnr that I don’t much care for because he’s willing to be careless with my life.”
“Why does he—a mage you said? So he’s not even an enchanter? Anyway. Why does he get a say on what you do with your life?” Odette asked.
“It was at the Summit—we were trying to decide how to best dispose of Rothbart. Finnr and a number of other mages decided it was best to send me to scout it out, and they’d send backup.”
Odette frowned. “Except backup didn’t arrive—unless you meant Stil and Gemma? But you specifically sent for them.”
“That’s just how things occurred,” Angelique said.
“Hmm,” Odette said.
“You are a Lady Enchantress. You have rank and power. You need to start telling others no,” Quinn said.
“Or you need to start charging for your services,” Odette said. “It will make them second-guess just how badly they need your help.”
Angelique laughed. “I’m not going to charge Prince Severin for helping him save the continent when he and the other royals are also investing so much into this.”
Odette made a grumbling noise. “You need to be more like me.”
“We already are alike—you run around the continent just as much as I do.”
“I meant be more selfish!”
Angelique laughed at the thought. “Odette, you might think you deceive others with that empty boast, but it’s far too late for that for anyone who has known you more than a day.”
“She’s right,” Quinn said. “Your character is obvious—you’re far too valiant.”
Odette made a few choking noises, then hurriedly changed the topic. “Isn’t Angelique supposed to be practicing magic? Quinn—you ought to continue drilling her!”
Angelique tilted her head back as she laughed from her belly.
In that moment, she felt freer than she had since the day her parents had died.
It’s not just that I have friends—as special as they are to me. It’s that I don’t have to pretend to be someone I’m not in order to keep them. I can be as sarcastic and rude as I want. And they encourage me to use my magic.
The only thing Angelique could think of that would make life better—besides beating the Chosen, obviously—was finding Evariste.
She wanted to apologize for how little she had valued his encouragement, and thanks to her time with her new friends, she was starting to understand just how much Evariste valued her as a companion.
But he didn’t treat me quite the same way Severin or Quinn treat me. What does that mean?
Dimly, the memory of her dream-that-wasn’t-a-dream rustled at the back of her mind.