He pranced for a few steps, demonstrating hisapproval.
Angelique shifted on her saddle—Pegasus had arrived still wearing it—and was about to nudge him forward again when she heard ascream.
She froze, straining her ears for a sign of where the noise had comefrom.
Anotherscream.
“Pegasus—” shestarted.
He moved before she could ask, lunging into a fast canter that traveled parallel to theforest.
He stopped abruptly—Angelique would have tumbled over his shoulder if not for the saddle—and she saw ahead a peasant woman in a brown dress, struggling with a stout and piggish-facedman.
“You are trying to cheat an honest woman!” said the peasant woman, her black hair barely contained by a dirt-brown kerchief. “This is blackmagic!”
Angelique sprang from Pegasus’ back, twisting her powers in the blink of aneye.
But before she could throw her spell, the peasant woman abruptly stopped flailing. Instead, she jabbed her thumbs into the man’s eyes. When he automatically raised his hands to his eyes, she slugged him in the gut, slumping himover.
The peasant woman backed up, then delivered a brutal kick to the man’s head, hitting him in the left side of his face, up and down hisjawline.
His head kicked back before he collapsed with amoan.
The peasant woman dusted off her hands in satisfaction, and Angelique could onlystare.
What did I justwitness?
The peasant woman yanked her dress straight and glanced in Angelique’s direction. She cocked her head and said—in markedly more cultured tones, “Lady EnchantressAngelique?”
Angelique gaped. “PrincessElle?”
The Loire Princess was barely recognizable—she had somehow stuffed her dress to give her a plump figure, and the way she had smeared her face with dirt gave the suggestion of wrinkles, aging herprematurely.
Elle smiled and gave Angelique a curtsey that was at odds with her sack-like dress. “I am so glad to see you—what brings you toLoire?”
“I—I’m traveling to Sole.” Angelique tried to collect her thoughts as she stared at the man Elle had just beaten intosubmission.
“It is a great time to be traveling,” Elle breezily said. “The weather is sonice.”
Are we just going to ignore him?Angelique wondered as she stared at the crumpled body. “I suppose so.” She finally succeeded in yanking her gaze back to Elle and offered her a smile.I’d like to compliment that kick of hers—it was a thing of beauty—but that seems like it would very muchnotbe something an enchantress would comment on.“You are doing well, Ihope?”
“Very well indeed,” Elle assured her. “Severin is in high spirits during the growing season, and he hasn’t banned me from the rose gardens yet for touching his preciousflowers.”
“I see,” Angeliquesaid.
Her gaze had just started to creep back to the man, when a body abruptly fell from a tree branch overhead, hitting the ground with a painfulsmack.
Angelique and Elle stared at the newcomer—an unconscious woman dressed in orange whose face was already starting to bear the marks of a black-and-bluebruise.
Elle’s smile grew even wider, and she released a small peal of lady-like laughter before patting her kerchief. “Did I say the weather was nice? I meant it was unusual, for Loire seems to be experiencing the strange phenomena of people falling from thesky.”
Angelique laughed quietly. “Elle.”
Elle cast her false pleasantry off and scrunched her nose. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell Severin aboutthis.”
“How did you drag that woman into atree?” Angeliqueasked.
“It was a lot of work,” Elle groused. She grabbed the woman by the arms and dragged her off the still-unconscious male. “You said you’re going to Sole? Why don’t you stay with us tonight atChanceux?”
