She laughed back and kissed him again. “Never mind. Let me take over,” she repeated. “You can relieve me when you’ve rested.”
Her magic was a gentle warmth. It washed over him, reviving him, and the terrible burden of protecting the Prince Regent was taken from his shoulders.
“Redmond?” he heard her saying. “You can let go now.”
“How did you find me?” he said, still trying to wrap his mind around this miracle.
“You know I would be able to find you anywhere,” she said. “Your magic signature was weak, but I managed to sense it.”
Then another familiar face appeared before him. “Bingley! What are you doing here? Why aren’t you in Rosings?”
“I told you I would join you when Jane – Miss Bennet – was better, didn’t I? Only I had to go all the way to Kent and all the way back. They told me where you would be.” He took out his box with sugared almonds and offered one to Darcy. “You look terrible. Here, this should help.”
Bingley handed one to Redmond, then turned to Elizabeth. “I would be happy to help in any way. I have not performed magic for days. I am completely fresh.”
Elizabeth nodded. “Let us Link, then, and I will draw on your magic.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam came round the corner, picking his way through the rubble. “Thank heavens you are safe, Darcy! I saw Mrs. Darcy coming in and followed after her. But you all need to get out of here at once! The building is about to collapse.”
“We can’t,” said Darcy, his voice thick with a mix of dust and salt. “We can’t leave the prince.”
Richard’s expression changed. “Where is he? They have been searching for him everywhere. He never followed the contingency plan.” He stepped forward carefully to examine the situation. He felt the prince’s pulse and pursed his lips grimly.
Darcy held his breath, waiting for Richard’s verdict.
“His pulse is faint.”
Darcy closed his eyes, relief flooding through him.
“I will bring some men to dig him out.” He looked at the ceiling. “It is about to give way. Mrs. Darcy, can you shield us while we work?”
“I will need more Warders,” said Elizabeth, “but I can do it for now.”
“I will find them for you. Nobody move. We don’t want anything to shift.”
Darcy wanted to laugh. As if he could move! Even if he was able to, he had no intention of letting Elizabeth out of his sight ever again.
It was painstakingly slow. Darcy wanted to shout at them to hurry. He expected another earthquake at any moment. The only reason it had not happened yet was that the Imperial Earth mage must be resting after expending so much magic.
Finally, with the help of several men, two Elemental mages and a handful of Warders, Colonel Fitzwilliam was able to bring out the Prince Regent. Their tasks completed, everyone else followed, treading with the utmost caution. Elizabeth and the Warders maintained the shield as long as anyone was still in the building, giving the colonel a chance to move the prince to a safe distance. Even when Redmond went out, Darcy stayed at Elizabeth’s side, stubbornly refusing to budge.
Colonel Fitzwilliam paused at the entrance to announce the news to anyone within hearing distance.
“The Prince Regent is safe! His Royal Highness is alive!”
Loud cheers erupted, along with wide smiles. Evidently, many people had believed him dead. He trembled at what would have happened if the prince did not have the Janus mages with him.
Elizabeth hooked her arm in his. "Mary's here," she said. "She's supposed to be spotting balloons so that Miss Bingley and other mages can undo the Concealment spell and reveal them, but I don’t see any yet.”
There were plumes of smoke everywhere. Many of the buildings around Darcy had been affected by the earthquake.
He looked towards Regent’s Park, frowning. “I can see a balloon,” he said, puzzled. “Why is no one attacking it?”
She smiled. “That balloon belongs to Riquer’s brother, Luis. They brought me and Mary here from Founder’s Hall. I can tell you, I had a very difficult time trying to convince people not to shoot at us.”
Darcy was certain that exhaustion was addling his brain, because nothing that she said made sense.
“Didn’t you travel through your mirror? I saw you disappearing into it.” He did not want to remember the staggering pain he had felt at the sight. “And isn’t Riquer in France?”
