To be fair, Emerys likely would have thought differently of Angelique if he had not witnessed how she dealt with the boy inBoyne.
Though Evariste agreed Angelique could approach Wybert one last time by herself, there was not even the slimmest chance he was going to let her go alone through the woods, no matter how safe Farsetwas.
Evariste instead followed her from a distance, then trekked down to their usual spot south of the meadow as she walked through thevillage.
He couldn’t help but smile when she gave free rein to her irritation and growled at Wybert, but he almost fell out of the tree he had climbed because he was laughing so hard when he saw her start to weave her wolfillusions.
She had pulled off her idea beautifully. The wolves were a solid piece of spellwork—even if she put less power into them than she should have. (It was, Evariste was coming to learn, her signature mistake.) Moreover, Evariste would bet his house that Wybert would never cry “wolf”again.
He was still snickering to himself, which is why he unfortunately lagged behind her in returning to AlabasterWoods.
Thankfully she had evaded the troll with relative ease, butstill.
What was a troll doing inFarset?
Evariste shifted uncomfortably in his bed, itching with the desire to get up and go chat with Emerys’generals.
Though the continent had seen some shake-ups in the past fifty years or so, they were usually limited to specific areas. (Baris, for example, had seen some trouble.) But for the most part, the continent was enjoying unprecedentedpeace.
So why was a troll wandering around a populated human forest—and so close to elventerritory?
He’d have to submit a report to the Council about it with his monthly progress report forAngelique.
We probably shouldn’t travel home by portal gate,either.
Evariste eyed the door and wondered if he could safely disobey Emerys, or if one of the elves was lingering unseen, posted to stop him from gettingup.
I hope he can get through to her—I hope I can make her see that her magic isn’t evil. She’s too clever to waste—and too powerful tolose.
Chapter 11
“So,you see, it’s his fault. All his fault.” King Themerysaldi scratched his elbow and looked as though he would rather be anywhere else. “He is your teacher. He should have known better. But sometimes he acts like a dunce—try not to hold it againsthim.”
The sun shone brightly, casting warm beams on Sideralis through the branches of the giant trees that surrounded thecity.
From their spot in a gazebo constructed of white wood that stood at the center of the palace gardens, Angelique could hear the neigh of horses and faint laughter and chatter ofelves.
“Do you understand?” King Themerysaldiasked.
He had spent the last fifteen minutes telling her why she shouldn’t feel guilty about injuring Evariste. (“He should have known better than to stand directly behind your target,” and “he was an idiot for pushing you to use your magic without any guidance,” were commonly repeated phrases throughout thetalk.)
Angelique didn’t doubt he believed his words—at least partiallyanyway.
But even so, Angelique could have accidentally killed Enchanter Evariste with her volatile magic. As it was, she had injured him—more badly than he let on given that he wasstillresting in bed under the attention of an elf doling out healingmagic.
King Themerysaldi tapped his foot. “Do you understand?” herepeated.
Angelique nodded slowly—though she didn’t agree with the Elf King’s explanation. “Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you for taking the time to explain this tome.”
The Elf King narrowed his eyes. “You don’t believe me atall.”
Angelique forced a smile. “You are a wise elf, Your Majesty. How could I—” Her false words of assurance were drowned out by King Themerysaldi’sgroan.
“Look. Evariste is one of my only friends, and he likes you quite a bit. Believe me for his sake—because then I can tell him, and maybe he’ll finally stop sighing like a disappointed dog,” hegrouched.
Angelique curtsied. “I will take the time to ponder your words, Your Majesty, and contemplate on myactions.”
The Elf King stared at her for a minute. “I really hope you turn out to be worth all the effort Evariste is going to put into you.” He shook his head slightly, making his thick black hair dance. “And I sincerely hope one day you lose this syrupy edge of yours.Farewell!”
