She shivered in the whipping wind that made the stinging cold air hard to breathe and nearly let out a sigh of relief when they stepped into the ornatepalace.
The inside of the palace was just as awe-inspiring as the outside, and held with the Sole theme of knights. There were statues of knights, shields, armor, and weaponseverywhere. But as she brushed snow from her hair, Angelique brightened when she saw who else had come to Princess Rosalinda’schristening.
“Yoo-hoo!” Sybilla beamed as she marched across the entrance hall. “Enchanter Evariste, ApprenticeAngelique!”
Evariste smiled so his eyes crinkled in delight. “Sybilla, what a pleasure to see youhere!”
“I must say the pleasure is likewise!” Sybilla warmly patted Angelique on the hands. “How are your lessons, dear? It seems you have comequitefar in your illusion abilities since we last met—your eyes look perfect! That is a neat bit of magic you have there.” The older woman peered at Angelique’s eyes, admiring the spellwork that changed Angelique’s eyes from her natural—and unnerving—shade of silver to a brightblue.
(As soon as Angelique had mastered alteration magic and built up the stamina to keep a spell running for an extended period of time, it was the first spell she hadtried.)
“Thank you.” Angelique dipped in anothercurtsey.
“Quite neat,” Sybilla repeated. “Although, it’s a shame you’ve covered up your naturalcolor.”
Angelique barely kept from snorting and had to itch her nose to cover up the involuntary twitch that seized herface.
“There are four other representatives present from the Veneno Conclave,” Sybilla continued. “You’ll need to greetthem.”
“I see them—I’m surprised both you and Finnr were asked to come,” Evariste said as he nodded at a tall, blank-faced man standing next to a marble supportpillar.
“Yes, well, word has it Princess Rosalinda’s delivery was a difficult one. It seems unlikely Princess Alessia will have another child, leaving Sole in aprecarioussituation as far as heirs go,” Sybilla said. “Added to it that Sole is especially emphatic in the line of nobles—particularly of the royal d’Avalas family—and we’ve got a recipe for disaster if the little princess doesn’t makeit.”
Angelique listened to the exchange withinterest.
When Evariste made the arrangements for them to arrive on the day—via portal magic—of the Christening, he had found out that five other mages would be present at the ceremony—for the very reason Sybilla had justgiven.
Sole was famous for its pride in the d’Avalas family—particularly with the birth order. It would not bode well for the country if something happened to Princess Alessia or Princess Rosalinda, as a distant cousin would instead be put on the throne. In fact, it would almost certainly result in civilwar.
And that is why we arehere.
In addition to the tall man Evariste had called Finnr, there were three other mages—allfemale.
The shortest of the bunch was busy searching through the pockets of her gray robe, while the other two slowly drew closer to Evariste, Angelique, andSybilla.
“I didn’t know you were going to be here, Lord Enchanter Evariste,” one of the mages said in a musicalvoice.
“Yes, mage…?” Evariste tilted his head as he studied thepair.
The musical one giggled. “I’m Melody—I have music magic. This is my friend Nimal—she’s ashapeshifter.”
The shapeshifter curtsied deeply when Evariste nodded ather.
“I am Enchanter Evariste—as you both seem to know—and this is my apprentice,Angelique.”
“Good morning.” Angelique smiled as broadly as possible, determined to appearfriendly.
Melody’s smile faded. “Yes, we heard you had taken on a student.” She studied Angelique, and her mouth quirked in what could reasonably be called a slight frown while her shapeshifter friend merely quirked aneyebrow.
Ahh, yes. They don’t approve.Angelique almost relaxed at their reaction—for Enchantress Lovelana had made a similar expression.At least they are subdued about it, compared to the reactions my magic got in school,anyway.
Evariste seemed unaware of the dampening of their spirits as he leaned closer to Angelique and rested a hand on her back. “Yes, I am quite proud of myapprentice.”
“I see,” Melody said after a few awkwardmoments.
This seems like the precursor to a smashing day, Angelique thoughtwryly.
“If you will forgive me for listening in on your conversation, I’d like to offer my greetings to you, Lord Enchanter Evariste—and to you, Apprentice Angelique,” The short, pixie-thin mage smiled brightly as she joined them, her storm-cloud colored eyes bright with interest. “I’m Breeza—a weathermage.”
