She curled her hands into fists and wanted togrowl.
He believed in me, and I failed him. Because of me, he was taken. I might never have a chance to apologize for our fight or to thank him for all he hasdone.
Angelique wanted to scream orshout.
Evariste had rescued her from being sealed and had given her the chance to become an enchantress. Yes, he infuriated her with his insistence that her war magic was wonderful, but he was also the first magic user to extend a hand to her since the depth and horror of her powers had been revealed, and the first to really teach her how to use hermagic.
Her eyes strayed back to thedress.
Evariste gave me a new life…and then shielded me withhis.
He was a legend. And in the hour he most needed help, the Conclave was abandoninghim.
Deep in her soul, Angelique felt her magic shift, and the last chain of her patiencesnapped.
“I’m not waiting for acommitteeto save him,” she whispered, her voice a hardened vow. “I’ll find himmyself.”
A lopsided smile—one she never dared show because it made her look all too dark for most magic users’ sensibilities—lingered on her lips. She stalked to her armoire, removing her usual traveling cloak—the white and purple one edged with coins that matchedEvariste’s.
With its charmed pockets, it was an easy thing to slip several different purses of coins into hercloak.
I don’t need clothes—I can always magic up some simple ones. I have enough money I should be able to pay for food and passage. But what do I need…papers. I need to be able to prove myposition.
She left her room and rushed upstairs to the workshop, struggling to form plans and organize her thoughts at the sametime.
She reached the workshop and started digging through the chests around Evariste’s desk. “Where do I begin my search for him?” she wondered as she flipped open a chest, shutting it again when she saw it only held glitteringjewels.
Both the Council and the Investigative team confirmed there were no leads here, but aren’t there magical means of findingpeople?
She paused, her hand on another chest, when the thought struck her. “Loire. They have the magic mirror Evariste and I authenticated yearsago.”
There were other magic mirrors, of course—Evariste himself had told her as much. But those that she knew of were all owned by other magic users, who likely wouldnotsupport her self-appointedtask.
“Loire it is. And here we go!” Angelique smiled when she flipped open a spelled chest that held important papers, including several documents that cited Angelique as Evariste’sapprentice.
Her smile dimmed when she saw the flourish of hissignature.
I’m just a lowly apprentice…how can I even try this when he deserves so muchmore?
She looked at his desk, remembering the afternoons he had spent patiently tutoring her, the monster no one elsewanted.
Lowly or not, I have totry.
Angelique started for the stairs but paused halfway across the room. Again, she turned around and stared back at hisdesk.
“There,” Angelique started, stopping when she realized the soft timidity in her voice was the only thing breaking the stillness of the house. She swallowed and licked her lips. “There is one thing I could do…that might make this a bit morefair.”
The reason why she had failed Evariste was because she hadn’t unwound and twisted her magic fast enough. She could fix that…if she releasedit.
It was too dangerous to use in its raw form, but if she let it flow through her like most mages did, instead of keeping it locked up andstrangled…
Slowly, she walked back to her desk and set the needed papers on the wooden surface. She started to sit down in her chair before changing hermind.
No, I might damage something. She moved away and instead sat down on the plush carpet in front of thefireplace.
“No one is here,” Angelique told herself, “not a living creature besides myself. I can’t hurtanybody.”
Her hands shook, and she couldn’t hear anything besides the throbbing of her heart.This is insane. I can’t do this. It’s too dangerous.She almost stood up and walked away, but she glanced at the desks andremembered.
