Elemental magic Viggo could understand. He’d witnessed Evander and Leon’s powers enough time now to grasp how theirabilities worked. But Enchantment—the ability to manipulate minds, to fog memories and compel obedience—that was something else entirely. Something that made him wonder what else the War Office spy had been concealing behind his bland exterior. Yet, Viggo sensed Fairbridge would never deliberately harm them.
Call it a gut instinct.
According to Fairbridge, Brassard and Guillaume would need days to piece together what had happened. The confusion wouldn’t last forever, but it would buy them time.
Time they needed now more than ever.
CHAPTER 25
Rousseau studiedEvander for a long moment, his gaze probing like he was trying to unearth the Duke’s secrets.
“Very well,” he said finally. “I shall inform the Police Commissioner of your findings and arrange a surveillance operation of the viscount and his associates.” He rose, signalling the end of the meeting. “Comte Beaulieu will remain in Paris to coordinate with our officers. I trust you will share any relevant intelligence as your investigation progresses?” He arched an eyebrow.
“Of course,” Evander said with a deferential nod.
They bade the Frenchmen goodbye and made their way out of the building. Leon caught up with them in the courtyard, his expression thunderous.
“A word, Evander.” He jerked his head toward a quiet corner near a fountain. “In private.”
Evander followed without protest. Viggo positioned himself within earshot, ostensibly examining a statue of some long-dead French dignitary.
“What really happened last night?” Leon demanded in a low voice.
“I told you?—”
“You told Rousseau a story so full of holes I could strain pasta through it.” Leon’s grey eyes flashed. “I’m not a fool, Evander. I know when you’re lying.”
Evander was silent for a moment.
Viggo could sense his ambivalence about how much to reveal to the Frenchman.
“We clashed with a group of dark mages,” Evander finally confessed in a low voice.
Leon swore colourfully, causing Fairbridge and Rufus to look over with curious stares. The Frenchman paced the courtyard angrily before pinning Evander with a suspicious glare.
“How the hell did you make it out of there without alerting Brassard and his accomplices?!”
“I can’t tell you that,” Evander said stubbornly.
Leon’s face reddened. He raked his hair with a hand.
“You could have been killed.” Leon’s voice dropped, which was somehow worse than shouting. “All of you. Walking into a den of dark mages without backup, without—” He broke off, visibly wrestling with his temper. “This isn’t London, Evander. You don’t have jurisdiction here. If something had gone wrong?—“
“But it didn’t.”
“That’s not the point!”
Viggo watched the exchange with mixed feelings. Leon wasn’t wrong. They’d taken an enormous risk, one that could have ended in disaster. The memory of Guillaume’s bloody smile and his ominous words still lingered in Viggo’s mind.
London will be your grave, Ice Mage.
“We should arrest Brassard,” Leon said flatly. “Right now. Before he warns whoever he’s working for.”
Evander frowned, the first sign of true emotion he’d shown during their exchange. “If we move against him now, we’ll alertthe entire network. They’ll scatter, change their routes, destroy evidence. We’ll lose any chance of tracing them to the source.”
“And if he warns them anyway? If people die because we sat on our hands?”
“Then their deaths will weigh on my conscience.” Though Evander’s voice was steady, Viggo caught the flicker of anguish in his eyes. “But stopping one man won’t end this conspiracy. We need to find whoever is pulling the strings. We need to find ‘I’.”
