The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
The man moved first, bolting back inside, the door crashing into the wall. Gabriel went from a dead start to a sprint as he raced after. I hiked my skirts and ran as fast as I could in their wake.
The fleeing man tossed himself through an open window, and I gasped as Gabriel dove after. I looked right, then left. A closed door innocuously stood to one side.
I forced it open. Both men were picking themselves off the ground, the stranger in the lead, Gabriel going from a somersault into a full-on sprint once more. Rubbish bins overturned, laundry ripped from its pins. A Yorkshire terrier gave chase and its little legs pumped after the two men, who were in no danger of being caught by the small bundle of fur.
I rushed after them, but I was about as useful as the Yorkie, trailing and yapping at their heels. Gabriel harshly gestured to the right, and I followed the movement. The street formed a U. They would come right back to me. The men disappeared into the bend.
I wished I had my pistol. I had always prized it over a nonexistent power for combat magic. But maybe I could work magic now that I couldn’t before? What could I do to grab Worley?
Our estate magic had dwindled further with no Winters living on the premises, so I still couldn’t draw from that, andthe East End had none of the ambient magic overflow found in gilded neighborhoods.
And even if I could work the magic of my name, I couldn’t coat the neighborhood in ice. People carrying babies or on their way to work were on the walk and in the street. The best I had ever been able to do was sparkles.
Sparkles. Catching someone with sparkles. The thought caught.
Crash. Yelling. The two men curved around the bend, legs and arms pumping as they wove through foot traffic, horses, and trash. Worley was unsurprisingly agile. The notes had said he was a former footman, and most footmen were quick on their feet. Physical magic was used often in the servant classes to strengthen muscles and hold posture.
The shock was that Gabriel was catching up.
I touched the stars at my wrist, almost unconsciously.
Worley veered, and I scrambled forward. The old me would have reached for the cold weather magic my name destined me for—icicles, frost, blizzard clouds. Cold sparked at my fingertips automatically, but I let it pass. This wasn’t the magic for me. Not yet.
And I would not fail.
Sparkles formed on the tips of my fingers. I pictured the ferns I hid behind when Felicity Tercake tried to find me at a ball—the feeling of being unseen—and shoved it into the sparkles, then lunged into his path.
He caught me in the midsection, grunting in surprise, while I shoved my hands against his uncovered neck. The magic left my fingers in a rush.
I slammed the ground. Everything went gray. No sounds, no smells, the image was static in front of me. Then it wavered. Gabriel’s face appeared in front of mine. His lips moved.
Whoosh. I gasped for breath. His fingers tightened around my arm and then he was off again. I pressed one hand against my stomach. I thought rather inanely that all the butterflies may finally have been crushed for good.
Gabriel returned a minute later, swearing. He crouched in front of me and moved my hand. A quick press around my ribs had me gasping. He pressed against my chest, my stomach, and under my arms. I was too dazed for more than murmured answers to the questions he asked.
“Bruising, definitely, but nothing looks broken. Nothing a healing potion won’t fix.” He picked me up and set me on my feet. The coldness was gone from his eyes, replaced by something wild.
I grabbed the edges of his coat. “I invisible-sparkled him.”
“What?” Some of the wildness retreated. “You tagged him?”
“Yes. Invisible to him, but he’ll glow for those who know to look at night.”
“You are a wonder.” His hand went to the back of my neck, eyes closing briefly. “We need to turn Worley’s room. He may have a lapse of judgment and return. But we won’t get a second chance at seeing what’s inside.”
People were already staring and pointing.
“Share your magic with me.” He held out his hand. “Coat me in it.”
“Make you forgettable?”
“You have no idea how valuable that would be to me. But you are still finding your feet and halfway out from what you did to Worley. Just a blur is all we need.”
I carefully placed my ungloved hand atop his. Magic trickled through the contact. I pictured him becoming one with a crowd of equally unrealistic, beautiful men.
My eyes shut, lethargy stealing over me. Then a torrent flooded into me, making me nearly jackknife.
