Angelique slapped a smile on and did a quick curtsey. “Good day to you, LadyEnchantress.”
“Good day,” Enchantress Lovelana frowned thoughtfully at Angelique, as if she were an unexpected tangle found in a spool ofthread.
“I’m taking Angel to a dress modiste,” Evaristeexplained.
You said we were going to a tailor!Angelique kept her lips clamped in a smile that nearly cracked her teeth.This sneaky man! That’s it; I will ingratiate myself to his admirers without regretnow!
“Angel?” Enchantress Lovelanarepeated.
“My pet name for her—because she is as sweet as an angel,” Evaristesaid.
Both Lovelana and Angelique stared at Evariste for several longmoments.
Who does he think is going to believe such a blatant lie?!Angelique clasped her hands so tightly her knuckles turned white. “Hah-hah,” she saidlamely.
“I see,” Enchantress Lovelana said slowly. “Do you mean to stay long in Noyers,then?”
“No, I will make a portal to take us home this evening. Will you be here much longer?” Evaristeasked.
They exchanged pleasantries for several minutes longer, until Evariste declared they would soon be late for their appointment and swept Angeliqueoff.
Angelique glanced over her shoulder to look back at Enchantress Lovelana, who was fixing herhair.
“There might be some unusual aspects to being your apprentice I never counted on,” Angeliquesaid.
“Whatever do you mean?” Evariste asked with far too muchinnocence.
Angelique kept herself from rolling her eyes and instead answered in a sing-song voice. “Nothing! Now, Master Evariste, I fear you have mixed yourself up. You told Enchantress Lovelana we were going to see a dress modiste. What you really meant was tailor, was itnot?”
“We’re seeing the tailor first, and then dropping by the dress modisteafter.”
“What?”
Chapter 14
Roughly eight monthssince she had been made an apprentice, Angelique sat crouched in front of the crackling fireplace in the workshop, papers fanned behind her like the tail of apeacock.
Evariste sat on the edge of his desk as he sorted through the correspondences he had retrieved from the Veneno Conclave that morning. “I think you’re just about ready to finish with weather magic and start on fire,” he said as he opened a scroll, glanced over its contents, then added it to the stack of requests foraid.
“Fire magic?” Angelique studied the flickering flames for a moment. “When it behaves soerratically?”
“Which is exactly why we will start on it. You’ve mastered illusions and alteration magic, and you’ve done well with weather magic. But all three of those magics act within boundaries and rules. Fire is a little more difficult to control, which will make it a new kind of challenge foryou.”
“As you say, MasterEvariste.”
Evariste grinned as he set an envelope thick with papers on his desk. “It’s because you’re so talented, Angel,” he chuckled. “Or I’d be forced to teach you somethingtamer.”
Angelique highly doubted this but held her peace. Instead, she turned around to snatch up a fistful of her notes. “Are we going to continue with my magic theory lesson? Or should I put this allaway?”
“We are nearly done,” Evariste said. “We spoke of the different kinds of black magic,yes?”
Angelique peered at her notes. “Yes, Master Evariste. You last mentionedcurses.”
“Ah, curses are a week’s worth of lessons in their own right, but we won’t be covering them for a few more months. The last thing I wanted to cover today was countering a blackmage.”
Angelique nodded and scooted a little closer to the fire to warm her cold hands. The wind howled outside, making the window panes rattle, but the study was quitewarm.
“Much of it depends on the type of magic the black mage uses,” Evariste said, “but there are some common methods. You can subdue them using items charmed by a craftmage or other basic magics, but physically knocking them out is often the safer method until you can seal their magic—temporarily orpermanently.”
