Acri—standing in attendance near his mother—smirked at Evariste, as if he could sense the pathetic nature of histhoughts.
Evariste narrowed his eyes.The first thing I’m going to do when I get out of here is clean this brat’s face. Then I’m going to break a hole in this cave so I can see the sun again.It was one of the things he missed most—the warm caress of the sun, the fresh smell of dampened soil, teasing Angel—don’t think ofAngelique.
Heavy footsteps pounded down the hallway that led into Evariste’schamber.
“Liliane!” Suzu rushed into the room so quickly, her black skirts wereaskew.
Liliane set her paintbrush aside. “Is something wrong?” She pointedly looked at Suzu’s windblownappearance.
Suzu glared angrily. “Yes,” she snapped. “Something is most certainlywrong! We just received word: Apprentice Angelique placedallof Ciane under a spell—including the royalfamily.”
Liliane stiffened. “What?”
Suzu shook her head, tossing her mussed black hair out of her face. “Apparently she showed up after the princess set off her own curse. The whole capital is asleep—from the nobles to the maids to thechickens.”
Acri frowned. “But it was going perfectly. King Giuseppe was acting irrationally and well on his way to starting a civilwar!”
“She—or someone else—must have noticed, because she stopped that! Many of the Legendary Knights made it out of the city before she shut it down—they’re forcibly holding the country together.” Suzu snarled like an angry cat and stalked back andforth.
Evariste peered in Liliane’s direction, trying to gauge herreaction.
She was frowning sharply but remained seated on her stool, her hands in herlap.
“She’s getting to be dangerous,” Suzu said. “I received a report from some of our contacts. Apparently when the Council called her in to take her to task for putting an entire city under, she shouted at them and informed them she wasn’t going to listen to their summonsanymore.”
Acri cursed. “I thought she was supposed to be docile andfragile!”
“She was,” Suzusnapped.
“Then what happened? You said the loss of Evariste alone would be enough to mentally cripple her! Funus said we didn’t have to worry about leaving her loose.” Acri flicked his hands, and one of his black daggersappeared.
“Indeed,” Liliane said. “I, too, would like to know how we came to so badly underestimate a singlemage.”
Evariste straightened, but he didn’t dare stand. He didn’t want to draw their attention to him and distractthem.
“All our observations about her said she would self-destruct without support. She is the pariah of the Veneno Conclave,” Suzu said. “By all our predictions, sheshouldbe trampled underfoot bynow.”
“Thenfind outwhatever is keeping her afloat and destroy it!” Liliane shouted. For a moment she looked frightening, her sweet features twisted in an ugly sneer. “I will not have centuries of planning ruined by one inexperiencedmage!”
Acri played with his dagger. “She’s more powerful than we thought to be able to put all of Ciane under aspell.”
“I don’t care if she’s as strong as theSnow Queen!” Liliane’s voice wasn’t musical, but hot and crackling like the ravenous roar of a forest fire. “She is afraid of her power and won’t use it—we cannot lose to such a pathetic example of a mage! We are stronger and have been preparing for centuries. This failure is onyou!”
Suzu shrank back, and even Acri backed up a few steps and looked down. “Yes, Liliane,” Suzumurmured.
Liliane cleared her throat, and some of the savagery left her, though her voice was still growly, and a sharp scowl bent her lips. “We can no longer afford to let her languish in our belief that she will self-destruct.Acri.”
“Yes,Mother?”
Liliane’s expression turned cold. “Kill her. I don’t want her alive or taken captive; I want her in the ground. Endit.”
“NO!” Evariste lunged at the mirror, smacking against the glass as he pounded onit.
Acri ignored him and bowed. “Yes, Mother. I will enjoy this mission.” He smirked and glanced mockingly atEvariste.
“Donotfail me,” Liliane warned him. “She has war magic—even if she’s clumsy with it. Take her out fast—no playing around. Do youunderstand?”
Acri bowed. “Yes,Mother.”
