Angelique slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from bursting intolaughter.
Roland hissed andgrowled.
“I didn’t laugh!” Angelique defendedherself.
Roland growled and stretched his neck as he flicked his black tail back and forth, obviously demanding she take off thecollar.
“I guess it worked after all,” Angelique chuckled. She reached for him, intending to loosen the collar—and restore Roland’s voice and magic, knowing he would thoroughly lecture her, now, for an entirely newreason.
She paused when she felt a shiver of foreign magic brush her. Frowning, she turned away from her desk and stared unseeingly across the cheerfully litworkshop.
The magic was faint and muffled—as if it was hidden. In fact, the more she tried to pinpoint its location, the more it slipped from her grasp. Regardless, it certainly wasn’t Evariste’s orhers.
Her frown deepening, Angelique started down the stairs, her browfurrowed.
Behind her, Roland growled deep in histhroat.
“I’ll be right back,” Angeliquepromised.
Roland flicked his tail and narrowed his bronze-colored eyes. She was halfway down the top flight of stairs when she heard the tell-tale thump of the cat landing on the ground, likely with the intent of followingher.
But the foreign magic tugged on Angelique’s senses, and she passed through the middle floor and clattered down to the mainlevel.
Deep inside of her, she felt her magic quiver. Angelique paused with her hand on the front door and tipped her head. Her magic tried to surge out of her control, but Angelique caught it with the ease of practice and stuffed it backdown.
“What is going on?” she muttered as she pulled the dooropen.
A dozen people stood outside in the front yard. They wore dark gray cloaks, and when a few of them turned to look at her, she didn’t recognize any ofthem.
Angelique opened her mouth to call out to them when her magic roared deep withinher.
Blood. These mages have spilled blood with theirmagic.
She didn’t know how she could tell, but she knew it with every fiber of herbeing.
Angelique slammed the door shut. “Evariste!” shescreamed.
“Angel?” Evariste’s voice came from thelibrary.
Angelique ran, pausing just long enough to scoop Roland up—who was standing on the bottom stair with his back arched and tail puffed. “There’ssomething—”
The front door was blown off the hinges with enough force that it skidded down the hallway, smacking into Angelique andRoland.
Angelique yelped but managed to turn so she sheltered Roland as she was nearly flattened to the ground. She gritted her teeth—her left side, which bore the brunt of impact—was numb with pain.Hopefully I didn’t break anything, she thought as Roland slipped from herarms.
Evariste shouted words of magic that should have made the cottage’s defenses flare tolife.
Instead, the gray-robed mages (theyhadto be magic users of some sort) started to file through thedoor.
Angelique shouldered the broken door so it fell off her back and forced herself to stand. Muttering under her breath, she pulled on and twisted her magic, a white-hot fireball forming at her fingertips. She flung it at the mage sauntering in through the busted doorframe. It made him pause and take a staggering step backwards before he was able to dispelit.
In that time, Angelique shot off two more fireballs, effectively halting the intruders’ progressinside.
But the four who had already made it into the house streaked towards her like insubstantialshadows.
A female mage grabbed her by the wrists, but regretted it immensely when Angelique yanked her arms into her gut then smashed her head into the enemy mage’snose.
The mage yelped and nearly fell on one of hercompanions.
