“That appeals to you,” Ellie teased, looking over at the two women.
“Notthem.” Prospero didn’t look away, though. She’d never seen that, never tried that. All the supplies they had in Crenshaw came from one warehouse that supplied food and clothing,orthey had things that they made or grew.
“Perhaps we should take a shopping trip,” Ellie said mildly.
Nothing Prospero could think to say seemed appropriate, so she walked in silence, trying to tune out the moans and cries all around them. Everything felt too real, too exposed, and Prospero had to remind herself that these people would not recall the worst of their misadventures.
We just have to find Allan and get him out of here, so his magic isn’t spilling out and making people amorous.
31Maggie
Since Sondre slept longer than she had, Maggie had been offered a chair by the doctor in the early hours. Maggie looked at her and asked, “Medical-magic class?”
“It was an awkward thing, but I had to tell him.” The doctor gave her a tight smile. “He was already in a snit because I got back at him by having sex with Prospero.”
“With… you?Her?”
The doctor shrugged. “Life is long. I get lonely.”
Maggie couldn’t fault the logic, other than the fact that her general impression of Lady Prospero was that the woman was a cold fish.Not my business, though.She held the doctor’s eye. “That really happened, though? You, me, Axell?”
“It did.” Dr. Jemison scowled. “Do you not remember?”
Maggie gave a single shake of her head.
“What has that woman done now? And he asked her. You know he did.” She shot a furious look at Sondre. “If he wasn’t sick, I’d give him an emetic. Make him spill his guts.”
Briefly, Maggie thought that the doctor was her sort of person.Clearly, Sondre has a type.Then the doctor walked away to check on Scylla, so Maggie continued to annotate what she could piece together of her missing memories from what Sondre told her, what Dan and Axell and Ellie and now Dr. Jemison had added.
A few hours later, she was sitting there with a notepad and pencil, making plans on her next steps and keeping an eye on him, when Sondre woke muttering, “Magic.”
But Sondre was half off the bed and fumbling for shoes before he was alert enough to say, “Who are you?”
“Your wife. You’re in the infirmary.” Maggie reached for his hand to try to lead him back to bed. His eyes were wide, and his pupils looked too large. It made her feel less angry with him, but that was more of a deferring it for later than dismissing it.
Sondre looked around, gaze darting too quickly. “I’m in Crenshaw. Thisisthe castle, and you’re… who now?”
“Your wife.” Maggie pushed him onto the bed, realizing his skin was burning up. “Maggie. I’m Maggie.”
“Right genius, he is,” a hob muttered. “Better call the doctor.”
“Dr. Jemison!” Maggie put a hand on Sondre’s arm, as if she could restrain him. Luckily, he didn’t resist. “Doctor!”
When the doctor came bustling over, Sondre gave her a dopey smile. “I always had trouble deciding whether I liked your bottom or your boobs more. I’ll figure it out later. Got to go, though. Duty calls! Hob!”
“Dear lord,” Dr. Jemison said.
“He has a fever.” Maggie felt awkward, more at the fact that she was there to hear his proclamation to his ex-lover than anything else. “He woke up talking about magic and trying to get his shoes.”
“He’s the headmaster so he can feel a magic spill. There’s either a new witch over there, or one of the escapees has done something again.” Dr. Jemison tucked back a stray bit of hair that had come loose. “Either way, it’ll have to wait. He’s not going anywhere in this state.”
“Hob!” the doctor called out.
“Youbothbellowed?” The hob, one Maggie didn’t know, balanced on a water pitcher in a pose like a ballerina. Clad entirely in shades of yellow, the creature was memorable in multiple ways. Their gender was impossible to guess accurately from clothes or hair.
“Lemon.” The doctor looked relieved. “There’s awakened magic or—”
“Prospy has already gone to fix it. Probably want to have an empty bed for the bleeding that’ll come soon. Get this one fixed, Lady Mae.” The hob executed a perfect pirouette and then bowed. Then they were gone.
